Essien plays in AC Milan win over Cagliari

Ghana midfielder Michael Essien came off the bench to play the last three minutes of regulation time for AC Milan as they resisted a stubborn Cagliari side to win 3-1 at the San Siro.

The 32-year-old climbed off the Milan bench to replace Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong in the 87th minute to shore up the Milan midfield in their win.

Jeremy Menez scored the first goal for Milan but the visitors scored pecked the scoring through Diego Farias two minutes into the second-half.

But Milan produced a strong performance with French international Philip Mexes restoring the lead before Jeremy Menez scored his second goal of the night.

While Essien was coming off the bench to play for Milan in the win, his Ghanaian compatriot Sulley Muntari was an unused sub.

For Calgiari, 18-year-old talented Ghanaian defender Godfred Donsah returned from injury to play for them in the game.