São Paulo have finished last in the Audi Cup after a narrow 1-0 defeat to Milan at the Allianz Arena on Thursday.
The Brazilian outfit were beaten 2-0 by Champions League winners Bayern Munich on Wednesday, in which veteran goalkeeper Rogério Ceni saw a penalty saved.
Milan also entered the game on the back of a two-goal defeat, after losing to Manchester City, but any lingering disappointment was not evident as both sides played some good football.
Jherson Vergara survived an early scare when he twice gifted possession to São Paulo but Marco Amelia in the Milan goal spared the youngster’s blushes.
Stephen El-Shaarawy almost opened the scoring when his volley from distance curled agonisingly wide of Denis’ left-hand post.
The match had all the makings of a forgettable pre-season friendly, as the Italian side could not find a decent delivery when it mattered and allowed the Brazilians to keep parity.
São Paulo tried to capitalise on their opponent’s wastefulness but Milan had Amelia to thank as he denied Maicon, before saving again after Bryan Cristante had gifted the ball to Aloisio.
The Rossoneri had the best chance of the game minutes before half time when Andrea Petagna’s effort deflected onto the bar after good work from M’Baye Niang.
And it did not take them long to finally break the deadlock after the restart, as half time substitute Kingsley Boateng raced onto a through ball to slide the ball under Denis.
It turned out to be the only goal of the game, as the Brazilian side failed to mount a serious case for an equaliser, with Ganso winning a dangerous free-kick that was wasted by Maicon with a wild attempt.
