AC Milan fail again to win two in a row in Serie A

Verona: AC Milan was held to a goalless draw at relegation-threatened Chievo Verona in Serie A on Saturday as it once again failed to win consecutive matches.

Filippo Inzaghi's team doesn't have two successive victories since October, and remained ninth ahead of the rest of the weekend fixtures.

Chievo earned a valuable point in its battle to survive the drop and moved provisionally five points clear of the bottom three.

The best chance of the match fell to Milan's Keisuke Honda, who hit the crossbar at the start of the second half.

Milan goalkeeper Diego Lopez, who returned from suspension, was also forced into two good saves as Chievo looked for its first win against the Rossoneri since 2005.

The match started 15 minutes late in a show of solidarity to crisis-hit Parma. The Italian Players Association announced on Thursday that all Serie A squads will go on the field 15 minutes late this weekend.

Milan's injury problems in defense worsened this week after Adil Rami was diagnosed with a right calf problem, joining the likes of Cristian Zapata, Ignazio Abate, Mattia De Sciglio, Pablo Armero and Cristian Zaccardo on the Rossoneri's unavailable list.

However, Philippe Mexes returned from his four-match ban for grabbing Lazio captain Stefano Mauri by the neck.

The first half was a turgid affair, with the best chance falling to Sergio Pellissier, who skipped past Salvatore Bocchetti and forced Lopez to rush out and parry at his feet. The ball then ricocheted off Luca Antonelli, who recovered to clear off the line.

Honda replaced Riccardo Montolivo at half-time and almost immediately broke the deadlock but his fierce effort crashed off the crossbar.

The match briefly threatened to spark into life as Lopez made a fingertip save to deny Ezequiel Schelotto, then a crucial Federico Mattiello intervention - in his first Serie A start - prevented Giampaolo Pazzini from tapping in following a Jeremy Menez counterattack.

Shortly afterwards, former Milan forward Alberto Paloschi almost scored against his old club moments after coming off the bench but Lopez pushed his effort over the bar.