AC Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri believes his side can now move on from their surprise home defeat to Parma after consolidating second place in Serie A with a 2-0 win at Cremonese.

Milan's 24-match Serie A unbeaten run ended last week at the hands of Parma following a 1-0 defeat at the San Siro, and their winless run looked set to extend to three matches until Strahinja Pavlovic broke the deadlock in the 89th minute.

The victory was secured in injury time through Rafael Leao's finish, with the late triumph moving Milan back to within 10 points of rivals, and leaders, Inter.

Milan are one of two teams yet to lose on the road in the current big five European leagues so far (alongside Bayern Munich). It is just the second time the Rossoneri have remained unbeaten across their first 14 away games of a Serie A season in the three-points-per-win era (also 2003-04, first 16).

And Allegri is delighted his side could return to winning ways after a rare defeat in their previous match.

"We'd just come off a home loss to Parma," said Allegri in his post-match press conference.

"Leaving here with a bad result would have been tough.

"We were a bit nervous in the first 30 minutes because the Parma loss after six months without defeat lingered with us, but today's win allows us to move on."

Milan recorded an expected goals (xG) of 3.6, their best of the league campaign so far, while they also picked up their 12th clean sheet of the season.

They ultimately finished with 20 shots, six of which were on target, and Allegri hailed the attacking options at his disposal during a busy period of the season.

He said: "The lads did well, both those who started and those who came on.

"Both Leao and Pulisic are growing, [and] Nkunku and Fullkrug did well after coming on."

Leao's goal made him just the second Serie A player, after Lautaro Martinez, to be involved in more than 10 goals over the last six Serie A seasons.

Next up for Milan is the Derby della Madonnina against Inter, as they look to keep their slim Serie A title hopes alive by further cutting the gap at the top.

"Now we have a week to prepare for the derby, which is going to be a fantastic match," added the 58-year-old.