AC Milan rung the changes and made hard work of reaching the Italian Cup quarter-finals, beating Novara 2-1 after extra time at the San Siro on Wednesday night.

Teenager Stephan El Shaarawy opened the scoring midway through the first half but Ivan Radovanovic equalized two minutes from time.

In the extra period Brazilian pair Robinho and Alexandre Pato combined for the latter to score the winner and secure a clash with Lazio in the next round.

Coach Massimiliano Allegri rested star performers such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva and Mark van Bommel while Kevin-Prince Boateng has been ruled out for a month with a hamstring injury.

Agencies