AC Milan 0-0 Genoa: Birthday celebrations ruined by lacklustre performance

AC Milan’s 125th anniversary celebrations were not marked with a win as they were held to a disappointing 0-0 draw against Genoa at San Siro.

If a reaction was expected after the loss to Atalanta and the post-match fury from Paulo Fonseca after the Red Star game, it was a reaction that didn’t come as Milan were slow and imprecise all night.

Genoa did their bit to make it a frustrating spectacle with a resolute defensive performance, but substitute Alvaro Morata squandered the two biggest chances of the game, hitting the bar with one.

The result means that the Rossoneri have not taken any strides towards the Champions League places and have actually dropped to eighth place in the table after Bologna’s win.

Paulo Fonseca decided to make five changes to the starting line-up from the team that beat Red Star with Emerson Royal and Alex Jimenez coming into the defence plus Samuel Chukwueze, Mattia Liberali and Tammy Abraham slotting into the attack.

The first chance of the game fell to Milan and Leali was called into action. Tijjani Reijnders strode forward unopposed with the ball and a neat interchange involving Tammy Abraham and Emerson Royal saw the latter have a low shot tipped behind.

Reijnders was again the man who was the spark for the second chance too, seizing a stray pass out of the back and feeding it to Abraham on the right side of the box. The Englishman had time and space to shoot, but dragged his effort wide of the far post.

Twenty minutes into the game Milan had a big penalty shout turned down as Liberali received the ball and cut onto his left foot but was brought down by Miretti, yet the referee Marco Guida told him to play on. Replays showed there was contact, though the official perhaps did not like the theatrical fall.

The Rossoneri then assumed control of the game as Reijnders came close with a free-kick from a narrow angle that was taken short and deflected just over, before a lovely flick from Rafael Leao allowed Jimenez to cross for Samuel Chukwueze whose first-time shot sailed over.

Not long before the break Genoa had a penalty shout of their own and it was roles reversed from the previous incident with Miretti going over under Liberali’s challenge. It looked a good shout, but the referee remained consistent in not awarding anything other than a stone wall spot kick.

The final moment of danger in the first half came when Jimenez tried his luck from distance with a right-footed shot from outside the area, with a deflection changing the direction though Leali managed to gratefully gather.

Fonseca made a change at the break with Alvaro Morata coming on for Abraham, a like-for-like change with the Spaniard coming on having passed a late fitness test.

Leali was instantly called into action in the second half when he made an excellent diving stop at full stretch to deny a header from Emerson Royal that looked to be angling perfectly towards the far corner.

The second half descended into a lull and so, shortly after he sailed a cross out for a goal kick, Liberali was taken off for Francesco Camarda.

Genoa’s game plan of sitting off Milan and trying to frustrate them was working as there was very little in the way of scoring opportunities in the second half generally. Leao dragging a shot wide of the near post and Jimenez firing off target from 25 yards were as good as things got up to minute 70.

Morata had a chance to make himself the hero off the bench when Reijnders led a break and slid a through ball to him on the right side of the box, yet the Spaniard – who cut inside well to send the defender sliding past – curled a shot high of the top left corner.

Straight after that missed chance, Noah Okafor came on for Chukwueze and he took up a position on the right rather than his usual left-sided role.

Morata then spurned an even bigger chance to open to scoring with 15 minutes left. Again it was Reijnders who provided the pass that seemed to unlock the Genoa defence, playing through to the striker who somehow rattled the crossbar from about 10 yards out with only the goalkeeper to beat.