AC Milan returned to winning ways in the league on Sunday afternoon, beating Monza 3-0 at San Siro to gain ground on Juventus.
The game was ultimately won in the first half through goals from Tijjani Reijnders and Jan-Carlo Simic; the former scoring after a brilliant dribble and the latter getting his first Milan goal from a Rafael Leao tee-up.
Noah Okafor came off the bench to fire in a third after a lovely team move but was forced off not long after through a muscle problem, and the Rossoneri were able to celebrate a clean sheet as well.
The result means that Milan have moved five points behind Juventus who are in second place while waiting for Inter’s result later as they travel to Lazio.
Stefano Pioli made a couple of changes to the starting line-up, with Simon Kjaer recovering from injury to take a spot at centre-back and Tommaso Pobega coming into the midfield with Yunus Musah injured.
Milan had the first moment of danger in the game as Di Gregorio was forced to rush off his line to a position outside the box to stop Ruben Loftus-Cheek who would have been through on goal otherwise.
In the fourth minute, Milan did take the lead. Reijnders dribbled between five Monza players, with the last one beaten by a lovely slalom before the Dutchman poked the ball between the legs of Di Gregorio, who might feel a bit of regret to have not saved it.
Milan nearly doubled their advantage when Leao went on a trademark run down the left side, pulling the ball back for Theo Hernandez whose low shot across goal was stopped by Di Gregorio’s outstretched hands.
It was an end-to-end start to the game, as Pedro Pereira cut back for Lorenzo Colombo who saw a shot blocked, then at the other end Milan countered with Leao in a central area but his shot was sent into the stands.
Colombo had another chance to score against his parent club when he was fed inside the box with a pass, turning and then firing into the side netting at the near post.
The Rossoneri continued to create in transition, and Loftus-Cheek carried the ball for virtually the entire half of the field before seeing his strike deflected over for a corner. The move started from a fantastic Reijnders tackle too.
Milan were forced into a change midway through the first half as Pobega went down with what looked like a muscle injury, and Jan-Carlo Simic came on to replace him.
Not long before the half-hour mark, Alessandro Florenzi was close to making it 2-0 as he unleashed a piledriver of a shot that was heading for the top corner but was well saved by Di Gregorio.
Monza got on top in the game after Milan’s switch to a 3-4-3, and Danilo D’Ambrosio caused Simon Kjaer to clear desperately inside his own box, before Dany Mota had a shot charged down from about 15 yards out.
It was very close to being a two-goal lead five minutes before the interval when Florenzi’s low driven shot drew a fantastic save from Di Gregorio, who also somehow managed to palm the ball to safety.
Four minutes before the break, Milan did make it 2-0 and it was an unforgettable moment for Simic. Leao beat his man on the right side of the box and laid a perfect pass across the six-yard box where the teenage centre-back was on hand to fire into the roof of the net.
Christian Pulisic was inches away from making it a three-goal advantage going into half-time when he cut inside onto his left foot and curled a shot that hit the underside of the bar and ricocheted away.
Milan had in truth looked leggy at times in the first half and the second half started that way. They did have a half-chance though when Leao again went on a run across the box and flashed a cross just in front of the onrushing Tomori.
Mike Maignan made his first big save of the game around the hour mark when Colpani was found accidentally with a scuffed shot about 12 yards out before spinning and firing his own attempt that the Frenchman was equal to.
Not long after Giroud sent a first time effort onto the roof of the net, Pioli opted to make changes as Noah Okafor came on for Leao, Ismael Bennacer for Loftus-Cheek and Davide Bartesaghi for Kjaer.
Inside the final 20 minutes, Milan put the game to bed with a beautiful team move. Okafor had been unlucky not to score moments earlier with a curling shot that was saved, and he wasn’t to be denied a second time as Reijnders beat Akpa Akpro and fed Giroud who flicked it into the path of the Swiss forward who swept in with his right boot.
However, Okafor wouldn’t have long to enjoy his goal as he pulled up with what looked like a hamstring injury, forcing him off with Samuel Chukwueze coming on in his place.
The Rossoneri had a chance for a fourth goal on the break after a Monza set piece, with a three-on-one situation ending when Theo was tackled brilliantly inside the box by Akpa Akpro.
3 goals + 2 injuries
I’m no longer counting matches that we won, or matches that we get clean sheets. Zero injuries, that’s the goal now for the rest of the season. Smh
That should be the third statistic now after goals scored and goals conceded,…… injuries sustained
2 injuries is the only thing i remember from this game.
man !!!
omg how dare Milan win, ruins everyone’s day here.
Pioli sucks, cant even lose properly
I can’t even say anything to you as the admins might ban me if I do but hey I know a psychiatrist if you want a recommendation.
always makes my day when Milan wins and pisses you off LOLOLOLOLOL
always makes my day when your mental illness takes over LOLOLOLOLOL
notRIP SOON
Man how more unfortunate can we be with the injured players!
Our players look really tired. They’re usually out of steam by the 75th minute, and only running on fumes by the 80th. Another two injuries. RLC can’t get past the 65th minute in any game.
Good (not great) performance, really impressed by Simic’s positioning and composure. But looking at the fitness issues, something ain’t right.
Playing football for 90+ minutes at high level is tiring, especially when 3 days ago Milan just played an intense match at England against Newcastle.
Unfortunate injuries but that’s football.
True. But compare to the fitness levels of other teams in direct competition. Don’t know if you saw Newcastle yesterday, just compare. They even played a day earlier. And then watch Inter as well let’s see
Now Let’s see how our primavera did against inter primavera
You are here complaining RLC can’t get past 65th minute in any game.
If he gets injured you will still be the one to drag him.
Insatiable fans, clowns.
Well deserved win with great performance, a clean sheet and a record for Simic. But another one where we could end with 5 or 6 goals since Giroud and Theo wasted their chance.
Unfortunate for Pobega and Okafor who played well. Hopefully it’s not a major injury for them.
Btw salute to Monza GK, Gregorio. If it’s not for him, it could be game over for Monza in the first half.
Simic finally gets the start, and…
I have to say he’s been excellent. Monza appeared lost but still impressive for a kid, especially since he wasn’t supposed to enter the game that early. And the rest of the team was really happy for him. He’s going to become a starter at some point when most players will be on IR. 28 injuries so far and we’re not even at mid-season. Living close to San Siro, I’m getting ready to be called by the team haha
Technically he didn’t as he come in off the bench.
*came
I think we played a 541 on defense for much of the game.
Mike – 7 – Some nice stops in the second half. Distribution was awesome.
Theo – 6.5 – made several excellent runs with the ball. I _think_ his defense was good as it was tough to grok his assignment.
Tomori – 6.5 – solid defense as always and very active going forward. Clearly, with Flo – helped direct the defense and keep Simic in position
Kjaer – 6 – great to see you back old man. Made some stellar blocks but some of them were from being turned around. Looking forward to seeing some improvement over the next few games!
Flo – 7 – was everywhere on both the defense and offense. Orchestrated the right side of whatever was happening.
RLC – 5.5 – much better than last game, but still not having the impact on offense or defense he should. Passes were often cut out.
Reinjders – 8 – great individual goal. He played a more offensive role and was clearly more comfortable. That said he was very active defensively with some decent tackles and intercepted passes. Really sparked the whole Milan attack
Pobega – 6 – the wrecking ball he was supposed to be. Sorry to see him go off as he was playing well.
Puli – 7 – always available. Amazing touch all over the pitch. Covered back defensively.
Giroud – 6 – was much more involved today and got the assist. But many passes from him were weighted and directed wrong. Ran the press wonderfully causing many poor passes we cut out and transitioned.
Rafa -5.5 – yep he got the assist. But he was clearly not fit. He did attempt to track back and made a few nice tackles. But was standing around far too much. Was glad to see him come off in hopes better recovery.
Subs – really good from Pioli today. Wish to have seen Jovic but with hindsight, happy it worked out like it did.
Simic – 7 – great goal. Solid positioning and kept a cool head. Great debut. I attribute this to having Kjaer frequently passing the ball to him early and Tomori and Flo helping him remain in position.
Benny – 6 – still a bit slow. Got out muscles a few times. But, oh what passing. Good to see his fitness improving but still a ways to go.
Okafur – NA – want to give him a 7.5 because of th goal and his excellent movement for the short time he was on, but not enough time. Hope that was just a grab and not a pull on the hammy.
Barts – 5.5 – glad to see him get the minutes. Many positive signes including a nice run or two up the field. But his clearances gave up too many corners and he gave away a dangerous free kick. Needs to clean that up a bit.
Chuk – NA – not enough time, but what was there was largely positive.
Pioli – 6.5 – I’m not really sure of the tactics. 541 on defense, inverted wings to a 343 on offense? It certainly worked. Much better ball movement. Much less waiting for Monza to get all 10 behind the ball. Solid subs.
We looked prepared and we moved the ball well.
Honorary
Colombo – 6 – great energy and movement against the likes of Tomori and Kjaer. Needs to improve final product in both shoots and passing.