Hellas Verona 0-1 AC Milan: Rossoneri take big step towards top four with Rabiot’s goal

AC Milan took an important step towards locking up a Champions League place as they beat struggling Hellas Verona 1-0 on Sunday afternoon.

It was not a vintage performance nor was it a brilliant advert for Serie A either, but the one moment of quality came from Milan as Adrien Rabiot fired in from Rafael Leao’s through ball at the end of the first half.

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The Rossoneri did have a goal chalked off in the second half for a debatable offside, and they rode their luck at times, but saw it out to move eight points clear of fifth place after Como and Roma failed to win. Napoli losing also means Milan are second again on goal difference.

First half: Stubborn resistance 

Massimiliano Allegri made three changes to the starting line-up from the team that lost to Udinese. Fikayo Tomori and Matteo Gabbia came back into the three-man defence, while Youssouf Fofana got his spot back in midfield as the coach opted to revert to a 3-5-2 after the failed 4-3-3 experiment.

Milan almost fashioned an opening with just over one minute on the clock. A long ball over the top from Gabbia was knocked down by Adrien Rabiot, and Christian Pulisic almost nearly a perfect through ball to Rafael Leao, but Montipo did well to come off his line and just about stop the Portuguese getting there first.

The game then descended into a bit of a scrappy midfield battle in which both teams traded slack touches and attacks that filtered out. Edmundsson was the next to fire on goal, lacing one comfortably over the bar from 25 yards out.

Edmundsson was involved again a couple of minutes later, this time for barging Rabiot right on the corner of the 18-yard box after the Frenchman had just got to a through ball first. The free-kick was a dangerous one but Montipo just flapped it clear.

Milan’s opening half an hour was probably best summarised by Davide Bartesaghi’s free-kick in the 25th minute. The wing-back decided to take aim from 30 yards rather than cross, and he hammered his shot well over.

The Rossoneri continued to search for the right combination to unlock their stubborn hosts. It looked briefly like a neat exchange between Leao and Rabiot had done so, though the midfielder’s first-time shot from the left side of the box was rather easily gathered.

In the 41st minute, Milan did take the lead through the Leao-Rabiot link-up that had been threatening on previous occasions. It was a rather simple move in the end, with the Frenchman feeding the Portuguese wide and then receiving the ball back to meet his run through on goal, with a lovely finish under the goalkeeper to finish it.

Maignan was called into action for the first time right at the end of the first half. Verona found space with Belghali on the left side and the Algerian curled a shot that was heading inside the far post, yet a fantastic diving stop denied him.

Second half: Falling over the line

The start to the second half was bereft of any real action, barring Belghali having another attempt from just outside the box, this time fizzing it wide of the post with Maignan seemingly having it covered.

Just after the hour mark there was a worrying moment for Milan as Fofana pulled up having chased a ball down the left wing. He complained of discomfort, and was replaced by Samuele Ricci.

It was part of a triple substitution, with Athekame and Leao also coming off, making way for Alexis Saelemaekers and Santiago Gimenez.

While the Diavolo had a one-goal lead, the game was still very much alive. Valentini provided a reminder of that when he let fly from distance and the ball thankfully curled wide of the far stick with Maignan at full stretch.

With 17 minutes left on the clock, Milan thought they had got the killer second goal when Gabbia headed in a cross at the far post. The offside flap went up and replays showed it was a close call, though the decision was upheld after a check, apparently because Gimenez had interfered from the free-kick.

With just over 10 minutes left, Allegri made a fourth change. Pulisic’s wait for a goal would continue after another quiet afternoon, with Christopher Nkunku coming on to partner Gimenez.

Verona came very close to levelling things in the 84th minute when a low cross from Lirola on the right side seemed to have perfectly met the run of either Orban or Edmundsson, yet they seemed to get in each others’ way and the ball was bundled behind for a corner.

Milan again went back to seeking their moment to land a decisive blow on the break, and – after Ricci saw a low attempt blocked – Saelemaekers had a curling effort cleared off the line by a Verona defender in the final minute of normal time.