AC Milan were beaten by Arsenal in the first match of their two games in the Dubai Super Cup, with Odegaard and Nelson scoring for the Premier League leaders in a 2-1 victory.
MilanNews have provided their summary of the game at the Al-Maktoum Stadium, starting with what was a bright start by Milan who appeared sharper and more in control thanks to Yacine Adli (very proactive and active between the lines), Aster Vranckx (always present under pressure) and Fikayo Tomori (attentive and also physically in good shape).
However, things turned after the opening 20 minutes starting with Odegaard’s free-kick which got over the wall and with Tatarusanu rooted to his spot, it meant the Romanian was absolutely unprepared to make a save, though a dive might not have even reached it.
Origi sent a header wide from an Adli cross that he should have at least hit the target with, but in the 42nd minute Nelson doubled his lead after another questionable move by Tatarusanu, who – without any kind of pressure – gave the ball to the Gunners with a bad pass that saw Vieira feed Nelson.
The report mentions how Arsenal did appear a bit ‘fresher’ given their season starts a week earlier than Milan’s does, and a symbol of Milan’s confusion was Rebic’s performance, who ‘missed practically all of the attempted plays’.
Tonali deserved a mention for putting a cross perfectly on Tomori’s head, who scored after being left all alone in the penalty area, and then Lazetic scored in the bonus-point shootout with a Panenka that demonstrates his confidence.
There were obvious limitations due to the condition of certain players, absentees and a goalkeeper who becomes ‘more and more of a problem with each passing day’. The hope is that an improvement is seen on Friday against Liverpool.
