On 1 September, on his second appearance but first full-debut, Pazzini netted a hat-trick in Milan's 3–1 victory over Bologna, with his style of play drawing comparisons with Milan legend Filippo Inzaghi, who had retired a couple of months earlier. On 3 November 2012, Pazzini ended his eight-game goal drought when he scored the final goal in stoppage time in Milan's impressive 5–1 win over Chievo. It was the first time Pazzini had found the back of the net since his hat-trick back in September. On 2 March 2013, Pazzini scored two important goals in a win over Lazio, which put Milan third in the Serie A table, overtaking Lazio. On 28 April, he came off the bench and scored another quick fire double to take his tally to 15 in Serie A and help Milan leapfrog Fiorentina into third in Milan's 4–2 win over Catania. Pazzini ended his first season at Milan with 15 Serie A goals in 30 appearances and a further one goal in two appearances in the 2012–13 Coppa Italia.