AC Milan’s worst nightmare came true on Wednesday night as they lost 2-1 against Dinamo Zagreb to surrender their top eight place in the Champions League.
Dinamo went ahead in the first half after a slip from Matteo Gabbia allowed Martin Baturina to stroll through on goal and score, and then Yunus Musah got two yellow cards in relatively quick succession to make the task harder.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
Christian Pulisic got an equaliser early in the second half with an impressive strike, yet parity was short lived as Marko Pjaca restored the lead for the home side, one that they would see out in the end.
The result means that Milan dropped from sixth in the table before a ball was kicked to 13th, and now a potentially tricky play-off tie is on the cards in February.
Faced with a crisis in the right-back position, Sergio Conceicao made one change from the team that beat Parma in dramatic fashion on Sunday. Fikayo Tomori was named on the right side of defence, with the rest of the side remaining unchanged.
The home side actually started the game better as their compact block off the ball allowed them to spring forward quickly. Baturina fired the first warning sign as he was allowed to cut in onto his right foot and shoot from the edge of the box, but Mike Maignan watched it drift safely wide. Moments later, Stojkovic nearly surged through on goal but overran it a touch.
It was only Dinamo who looked like scoring in the opening 20 minutes, and they did take the lead after an error from Matteo Gabbia. Receiving the pass from Strahinja Pavlovic he seemed to trip over the ball, allowed Baturina to stroll through and finish under Maignan one-on-one.
The first half-hour seemed to fly by, and Milan’s frustrations were evident. Firstly Christian Pulisic went into the book for protesting against a foul, then Yunus Musah tried to drag a player back up who had been kicked by Alvaro Morata and he too got a yellow card. All of this was while the away side hadn’t managed a shot on target.
Milan began to at least get some shots off, albeit from outside the box. Youssouf Fofana had a couple of opportunities presented to him around 20 yards out yet lashed both way over the bar.
Things went from bad to even worse for Milan with six minutes left in the first half as Musah was giving his marching orders for a second yellow card. The American held on to Stojkovic for a bit too long as he tried to get into the box, leaving the referee no choice.
What followed afterwards showed how the occasion was getting to Milan. Musah essentially refused to leave the field and it needed Maignan to push him off, who was also yellow carded for protesting.
Zagreb should have gone in two goals up at the break when Baturina dinked a ball through to Kulenovic in behind who put it wide.
Conceicao cannot have been happy with what he saw at the break and he made two changes. Filippo Terracciano and Samuel Chukwueze came on, with Gabbia and Morata the two men withdrawn.
As Dinamo raced through on a two-on-zero break and the finish was applied after the square ball it looked like Milan’s race was run. However, the goal was called back due to a handball in the build-up.
Milan drew themselves level in the 53rd minute with what was their first proper shot on goal, and it came from Christian Pulisic. It was Tomori who got the assist through a rather unconventional method as he seemed to miscue a shot that was trapped by the American winger, who pivoted and beat the goalkeeper with a powerful low shot at the near post.
However, the home side retook the lead on the hour mark, and it came through the former Juventus man Pjaca. A cross came in from the right and Milan were slow to react to it, with the forward unleashing a powerful low shot back across goal that nestled inside the far post.
Less than two minutes later, the Rossoneri thought they had the chance to level again from the spot as Leao was brought down by the goalkeeper. The referee went to consult the VAR monitor and adjudged the Portuguese to have caught the defender with his trailing arm first, and overturned the spot kick.
Panic stations set in inside the final 20 minutes with Milan sat in 13th place in the table, having started in sixth. Leao continued to be the main source of the danger, and drew a good save from Nevistic.
In the 82nd minute, Conceicao made another two changes with Noah Okafor and Tammy Abraham coming on for Leao and Reijnders.
Basically, if you buy Dinamo Zagreb players and bring them at San Siro, and release all Ac Milan players, you will have better result in Serie A with them.
And the best part for the current management is that by doing that they should – in theory at least – make a helluva profit doing so. 🙂
CHUK WAS TERRIBLE ON THAT SECOND GOAL , NO DEFENSE AND WON’T EVEN GET INTO TOMORI…..
Anyone else always feel our players are less talented, less skilful, less fit, less strong and have a worse touch than anyone we play against?
Yes. They can’t play 4 2 3 1.
To play that kind of game, you must have best players like Liverpool.
What Milan have are a few black players, who are not so smart, but run.
Really? So its the d#mb black players fault right? Man go f**k yourself you r**ist c*nt. You have the audacity to say something like this as if the fc is meant only for wh*te people. Sh*meless. I’m not even one of the immigrants you r*cist f*ascists seem to hate so much. I’m Proudly black, reside in Afrika and I think italy is a glorified 3rd world country I’d never think of traveling to except to se my beloved Milan play at the San Siro. I love the hell out of Ac Milan. Have for two decades plus and always will despite knowing I support the Fc together with big*ted pr*cks like you. I h*te you because of your hateful comment. Stomach that and eat a fat d*ck man!
Well said
Moderators, how is this comment still here? Our team can embarrass themselves on the pitch and we can do nothing. But our fans embarrass us all with these comments, so please act and delete that post and block that email from posting again.
To be clear, I am talking about the racist comment from Milanelo. Vickqb7, I am sorry for that idiot’s stupid comments.
@ Milanseattle, I agree with you 100%. Fans like Milanelo are our biggest problem as a fanbase. I’ts one thing to be covertly r*cist with comments about lack of ‘Italian’ players in the squad but to allege that our black players are somehow “…not so smart, but run.” Disgusting. Hope the mods see this thread and act accordingly.
On a different note, from your name, I presume you especially share my tribulations being both a Milanista and a Seahawks fanatic like me. Anyway, forza Milan and go hawks in 2026 for both I guess. Lol!
Hmm racist racism.
Seems to be propping up lately around here.
And please do us all a favor by shutting your trap. You know not what you speak off. It’s sad that I have to be a fan with such racists piece of work as yourself.
And I love AC Milan to death and back again. 🤦♂️🤦♂️ What are the moderators doing, are they potentially racist too??
Yep, feels like that way every time I watch a game this season!
Felt that for 2 years now. Plus you forgot how inaccurate and slow our passes are compared to even the worst of the worst teams we play against.
Horror show of a first half and some stupid moments. Team played very well with ten men in the second half, ultimately unlucky not to get a penalty.
Pulisic played very well, Chukwueze frustrating but worked hard and tried things, can’t fault a midfield that was trying to hold back a counter attacking tide….. But familiar lack of consistency.
Tomori at right back… Never looked like working. Hernandez and Morata look dead on their feet. Honestly tempting to just tell them to take the rest of the year off and come back rested for pre season (because no-one is buying Theo on this form), neither is adding much when they’re on the pitch at all.
But come on, this is the most predictable result of the year somehow.
And now they are going to be knackered for the weekend.
Oh, and Fonseca’s previous club Lille finished above us in the table. So maybe he was doing something right there.
Disgraceful, despicable, abominable and atrocious. I have no other words for this disaster that my eyes just beheld.
DISGRACEFUL
This is my take on it
Scandalous. Embarrassing. Humiliating. Unworthy.
Very unreliable set of players
We keep paying the errors of Moncada, Furlani, and Ibrahimovic. Some players needs to be sold first one in the list is Theo.
Theo? What? Was he on the pitch today? =/
No. We need to stand with our best players through this. Illoyalty never pays off
Self inflicted wounds. Awful mistakes. Truly awful Milan performance. To Zagreb of all teams. Bottom of the barrel team.
This team is so mentally weak. So poorly assembled. I feel bad for Sergio. His work is cut out form him and he’s had zero help from the market so far.
So many players not good enough for this team. So many poor decisions by RedBird. Jesus …
“So many players not good enough for this team. ”
This. How many new players were brought in last summer and only Fofana has been somewhat useful sometimes. Everyone else? Absolute waste of money!!! The management HAS TO PAY!!!
Disaster masterclass, this is the result to partying until midnight instead of working hard.
hernandes, musah, calabria, tomori, abraham, okafor, morata have to go, they don’t wanna play for the team
Again Pavlovic is showing some class. Only player that gets a good grade today. Leao looked like he wanted to win at least.. But we lack a striker and fluidity in the team. Play together and run the right ways and I think this team could become something…. In 2027
Lots of Milan player didn’t create some room if someone hold the ball. For example: if theo hold the ball, he always backpass to GK, none either reijnders / fofana to ask the ball. We need midfielders like bennacer / pirlo. They always ask and ask the ball. Conceicao should watch city / Barca how they play the game.
Do you mean for the goal that was luckily cancelled for handball or what? What exactly was class? He is better at passing than he is at defending.
So Embarrasing .. why this ACM team shows no pride to wear ACM jersey
“a few black players, who are not so smart, but run.”
wow – did you teleport from Alabama, c. 1960?
He typed that from his tractor going to load his truck with beetroot.
Please bring back Fonceca. At least some players shining during his time like Reijnders and Pulisic. There are no match plan, players just run wirh no instructions.
unfortunately we will lose against Inter this weekend if no miracle happens.
Management has to go, immediately. This is a travesty.
NEED 6 – 7 NEW PLAYERS…….. SHIP OTHERS OUT !! GIVE THE COACH SOMETHING TO WORK WITH !!!
Again and again. Chukwu and tomori disaster…
Guys, the problems are just everywhere. Of all games, we try out Tomori at RB here. Conceicao has to stop subbing off Morata for Tammy, they are the same toothless attack – I don’t even dislike them, and Morata works hard, but he can’t make the runs or hold up play. And Reijnders and Fofana are just exhausted because we can’t afford to give them rests with people like RLC because we can’t trust anyone besides Pulisic to score so every game is at risk. We have holes everywhere, but without a #9 inch the next 10 days, we can’t finish top 5, and now while we Feynoord give up Gimenez to us when we might play them. Just a disaster.
Even Dinamo has 2-3 players that Milan should get. Unfortunately I predict Inter will be ahead, already negotiating for 2 of them.