Milan hail Kaka

A late goal from AC Milan's newly-signed Brazilian midfielder Kaka gave the European champions a 1-0 revenge win over FC Bruges in their Champions League Group H tie here at the Jan-Breydelstadion on Tuesday.

Bruges failed to make the most of an injury to Milan captain Paolo Maldini and the early dismissal of Italian defender Alessandro Nesta after a challenge on Peruvian forward Andres Mendoza, the scorer of the goal in the Belgian team's surprise win in the San Siro two weeks ago.

The result puts AC Milan top of the table on seven points, ahead of former leader's Ajax who went down 3-2 at Celta Vigo, with Bruges bottom on four points after three games, and needing to win their next two games to stay in the chase.

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said that they needed the win to restore pride after their home loss.

"Circumstances weren't really in our favour after the injury of Paolo Maldini and the sending off of Alessandro Nesta but we leave Bruges with three points, that's what is important," said Ancelotti.

"We had difficult moments after Nesta went off. Bruges got confident and at ten we suffered. But you have to believe until the end. These three points are extremely important and put us in a strong position.

"And above all this win gives us peace of mind again after the defeat to Bruges two weeks ago."

The home side got off to an attacking start with Belgian international striker Gert Verheyen, the only change from the San Siro leg, missing the target to the right of Brazilian goalie Dida after just a minute.

Milan replied with Giuseppe Pancaro and Paolo Maldini driving forward in a bid to break down their opponent's defence, with the home side trying to soak up the pressure.

Gennaro Gattuso had Milan's first unsuccessful shot at goal after 22 minutes, which was followed by attempts by Edgar Davids five minutes later and a failed header by Andrei Shevchenko.

Milan's challenge took a knock however when Nesta was shown the red card after 38 minutes, just minutes after captain Maldini was substituted following a knock on his left thigh and replaced by Alessandro Costacurta.

Bruges tried to make the most of Nesta's departure, but an attempt by Serbian international Ivan Gvozdenovic went straight into the hands of a waiting Dida.

In a bid to compensate for the loss of Nesta, Milan reshuffled their pack and Danish striker Jon Dahl Tomasson was replaced by Croatian defender Dario Simic.

Both sides played defensively in the dying minutes of the first half with a Verheyen effort from a Mendoza corner just before the halftime whistle never troubling Dida.

After the break Gattuso had an early run at the Bruges defence, but Czech defender David Rozehnal covered well.

Mendoza missed what was one of the best chances of the match after 54 minutes, with the Peruvian jumping above Costacurta to meet a Peter Van der Heyden cross from the left, but it hit the bar.

Two minutes later Mendoza had another effort, but Milan's Brazilian keeper was again on the mark and stooped to save.

Shevchenko, who has so far failed to open his Champions League account this season for Milan, missed a shot at goal after 76 minutes from Giuseppe Pancaro's left-wing cross.

But the home side were stunned to silence when 21-year-old Kaka scored against the run of play four minutes from the whistle with a volley high into the net from inside the box after a chip from fellow Brazilian Cafu.

Kaka hardly had time to celebrate when he was immediately substituted by AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti by midfielder Massimo Ambrosini, as the visitors were already thinking about their final two ties against Ajax and Celta Vigo.