Numbers suggest domination: All the key stats from Monza-Milan

It was far from a classic encounter at the U-Power Stadium between Monza and AC Milan, but it ended with three points for the away side and a clean sheet.

The only goal of the game came just before the break through Tijjani Reijnders after a counter-attacking move. A cross into the box was met by Alvaro Morata but his header was blocked, then the Dutchman was on hand to provide a diving headed finish of his own from close range.

Paulo Fonseca defended his side’s performance after the game which sparked heated scenes in the post-match press conference as per reports. Below are the key numbers from the game.

Stats suggest domination

As mentioned, Fonseca believes that his side played a dominant game particularly when going forward and creating chances. While on the balance of play it felt like Monza were better in the first half and the second was more even, the stats say otherwise.

The Rossoneri had 56% possession and generated 2.52 Expected Goals from 18 total shots – 7 of which were on target – and 6 big chances.

By comparison, Monza’s xG number was 1.12 as they only had 2 big chances and 12 total shots, just 2 of which were on target. Milan also had more corners (5 to 3).

The midfield wins it

Youssouf Fofana picked up his 100th victory in the ‘top five’ European leagues, with five of them coming with Milan in Serie A.

In terms of his numbers, the Frenchman played all 90 minutes, won 2 ground duels, amassed 3 interceptions and 2 tackles, providing an excellent shield in front of the defence.

Meanwhile, after his brace against Club Brugge in the Champions League, Reijnders has scored in two consecutive games in all competitions for the first time with Milan.

Positive trends

Milan have won five of their last seven Serie A games (2L), the same number of wins as the Rossoneri had picked up from their previous 14 league games (6D, 3L).

Following the Monza win and the derby victory, Milan have won two consecutive games against sides from the same region in Serie A for the first time since February 2023.

The Diavolo have kept a clean sheet in four of their last seven Serie A games (five goals conceded, an average of 0.7 per game) after having conceded at least once in the previous seven matches (16 conceded, an average of 2.3 per game).

Finally, Milan have broken their streak of five consecutive away games in Serie A without keeping a clean sheet, during which they conceded an average of exactly two goals per game.