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Milan were held to a 1-1 home draw by Livorno, but above all the team is in shock after Ronaldo was stretchered off with a serious knee injury.
This fixture was rescheduled from December 16 due to the Rossoneri's Club World Cup commitments and was the last Serie A game to be moved from that period, but after four wins on the trot they knew another victory would see them leapfrog Fiorentina into fourth place.
Kaka, Alexandre Pato, Ronaldo and Pippo Inzaghi were injured, so Alberto Paloschi got his first start just three days after scoring in the opening 20 seconds of his Serie A debut. Yoann Gourcuff supported the 18-year-old and Alberto Gilardino. Livorno came off a 1-1 draw with Genoa and were just three points clear of the drop zone.
After five minutes Andrea Pirlo's snapshot was palmed round the near post by Marco Amelia, then back-to-back Gourcuff and Massimo Ambrosini efforts were charged down inside the box.
Ambrosini's haphazard cross turned into a shot that Amelia flapped out from under the bar. Pirlo dispossessed a player in midfield and threaded through for Paloschi, who lost his footing at the key moment and allowed Amelia to save.
Livorno had their first attempt on 18 minutes, as Francesco Tavano spun round to drill over the bar, but it was all Milan as Gourcuff smashed a powerful left-foot drive past the woodwork.
A free kick was floated to the back post and Tavano was left unmarked thanks to Massimo Oddo's error, but Ambrosini did just enough to put him off as he fired high from eight yards.
The best chance of the game so far saw Ambrosini's diving header fingertipped round the base of the post by a spectacular Amelia save. The Italian international goalkeeper was tested again by a Pirlo snapshot.
Livorno's chances of getting points here were hit when Tavano limped off clutching the back of his thigh just before half-time. Straight after the restart, Gennaro Gattuso risked a penalty with a sliding tackle on Antonio Flippini, but it was clean.
However, it was Livorno who took a shock lead on 50 minutes. Nico Pulzetti gathered a weak Kakha Kaladze clearance, took it to his stronger left foot and unleashed a rocket into the far top corner from just inside the box. It was a fine way to celebrate his 24th birthday.
Gilardino requested a penalty, but the ball ricocheted off Fabio Galante's leg and on to his arm, so was not a spot-kick offence. Carlo Ancelotti completely revamped the strikeforce with a double substitution, introducing the not 100 per cent fit Ronaldo and Inzaghi.
Within a couple of minutes the referee pointed to the spot for a penalty as Jose Luis Vidigal struck Oddo's cross. Most of the attention was on Ronaldo, who fell in that move and was stretchered off clutching his left knee. The Brazilian was crying in agony and his teammates seemed very shaken, fearing the worst.
Pirlo kept his cool to convert the spot-kick and draw Milan level, while Serginho came off the bench. Initial reports suggest Ronaldo has sustained a serious tendon injury in his left knee and the fall was not entirely dissimilar to the horrific injury he suffered on April 12, 2000.
Ambrosini moved further up the field to fill in and there were long-range efforts from Inzaghi and Diamanti.
On 76 minutes an Inzaghi diving header was somehow pushed off the line by a crucial Amelia reaction save.
In the final minute Livorno risked a winner with Pulzetti again. He was totally unmarked at the back post and came sliding on to a cross, but couldn't make decent contact and the ball was trapped under his body.
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