First-half strikes from Mario Balotelli and M'Baye Niang were enough to see off Galaxy as Milan claimed third place at the tournament.

While Galaxy shaded possession in both halves, Milan countered swiftly and directly, attempting to isolate their opponents' defenders.

Despite a raft of substitutions by both sides in the second half, the game followed a similar pattern as Milan used long balls and their pace to attempt to expose Galaxy's high defensive line.

French attacker Niang, 18, sprung to life in the opening five minutes as he flashed a shot across Carlo Cudicini's goal before having a dangerous opportunity well-blocked by Todd Dunivant.

Balotelli alerted Galaxy to his talents with a curling free-kick uncomfortably punched away by Cudicini just prior to opening the scoring in the 17th minute.

Galaxy star Robbie Keane failed to adequately clear the ball and when it to Balotelli, he swivelled, took a touch and struck past Cudicini and into the bottom corner.

The immensely talented Balotelli endured a frustrating game against Chelsea on Sunday but it was impressive to see the forward's work rate and willingness to be a part of a team structure against the Americans.

Cudicini kept his side in the game midway through the half as he got a palm to Stephan El Shaarawy's stinging shot after Niang's wonderful through ball.

Not long before Milan's second goal, Galaxy had their best chance of the match when Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati parried Juninho's long-range strike and the defence just managed to clear before Landon Donovan pounced on the rebound.

Milan doubled their advantage on 39 minutes when the Galaxy defence gave Niang too much space and he made them pay with a stunning low strike that went in off the post, giving Cudicini no chance.

In an uneventful second half, Milan substitute Sulley Muntari's 45-yard strike which hit the crossbar was one of the only highlights as the team changes reduced the quality of both teams' forays forward.

The only negative for Milan was the injury and subsequent substitution of Balotelli with a suspected muscle injury just two weeks before the start of the Serie A season.