Lazio 3-0 AC Milan: Correa and Immobile haunt the Rossoneri again as Pioli’s men suffer dire loss

By Oliver Fisher -

AC Milan fell to their second damaging defeat in less than a week as they were beaten 3-0 away from home by top four rivals Lazio.

It took the capital club just 77 seconds to break the deadlock as Joaquin Correa netted once again against the Rossoneri after rounding Gianluigi Donnarumma with the home side’s first attack of the game.

Lazio then had a goal ruled out just before the break but did double their lead just after and it was Correa again who got his second of the night, beating Fikayo Tomori in isolation and firing past Gianluigi Donnarumma at the near post.

The Biancocelesti made it 3-0 late on as Ciro Immobile got the goal his performance deserved, and another devastating loss means that Milan are now tied with Napoli and Juventus on 66 points with Atalanta taking sole possession of second place.

Pioli made three changes from the starting line-up that lost against Sassuolo on Wednesday as Mario Mandzukic started up front instead of Rafael Leao, Theo Hernandez recovered to take Diogo Dalot’s spot and Ismael Bennacer returned to partnering Franck Kessie in the double pivot.

Milan certainly started brightly from kick-off and Pepe Reina was forced into a save after 21 seconds. A neat one-two between Mandzukic and Calhanoglu ended with the latter shooting weakly from just inside the box.

However, it would be Lazio who took an early lead exactly a minute later. A lovely through ball from Ciro Immobile found Correa who showed composure to round a grounded Donnarumma and slot into the back of the then-empty net to make it 1-0.

Lazio could and arguably should have doubled their lead within five minutes and it was Immobile this time who was in a dangerous area with space to shoot inside the box; though Donnarumma produced a fantastic low save after a free-kick had fallen to the former Sevilla man.

Correa had a chance to double his tally as Theo Hernandez headed a cross right to him on the penalty spot under little pressure, yet the playmaker hit his volley into the ground and it bounced onto the roof of the net with Donnarumma scrambling.

Mandzukic should have got his first goal in a Milan shirt in the 20th minute when a corner from Calhanoglu was glanced to him at the far post but the Croatian couldn’t adjust his body in time to direct it goalwards and ended up being punished for handball.

Theo Hernandez continued looking like his wobbly recent self when he – despite having had chance to clear the ball – decided to dribble it towards his own corner flag before being dispossessed. Luis Alberto’s shot thankfully whistled over and wide of the near post.

Milan began to put more pressure on in search of an equaliser, and Rebic became the latest to try his luck but miss the target just before the half-hour mark having used Theo’s decoy run to cut onto his right foot.

It really should have been 1-1 moments later when Saelemaekers flicked a perfect ball over the top to find Calhanoglu in acres of space in behind, though the Turkey international shot straight at Pepe Reina from deep inside the box despite having evaded the challenge that came in.

It seemed as though Kessie was actually punished for being honest and getting straight back to his feet when he was brought down inside the box by Luis Alberto, as a very good penalty shout did not even get VAR consultation. Seconds later, a nice give-and-go between Saelemaekers and Calhanoglu saw the letter set up the former but his curling shot was saved by a stretching Reina.

The chances continued to flow for Milan, as Theo Hernandez whipped a sharp first-time effort with his instep from Rebic’s feed that looked dangerous but fizzed over Reina’s bar.

Despite all the pressure, the home side were the ones who thought they had doubled their lead and it came from a counter-attack that threatened to unfold several times. Lazzari was the man put through on goal and he slotted under Donnarumma but after a lengthy VAR consultation it was determined that he was narrowly offside.

The final chance of a frantic first half fell to Mandzukic as a long ball over the top ended up being directed into his path by Saelemaekers’ smart flick, though Reina was equal to the volley.

Milan continued their first half trend of trying one-two link-up play on and around the edge of the box, but Saelemaekers arguably should have shot instead of trying to flick the ball in behind to Kessie, whose first touch let him down.

The Rossoneri would be punished in the seventh minute of the second half as Lazio doubled their lead, again through Correa. The hosts sprang another counter-attack that allowed the Argentine to beat Tomori in isolation and fire past Donnarumma at the near post. The goal was confirmed after another lengthy VAR check for a potential foul on Calhanoglu in the build-up.

Correa continued to cause Tomori havoc down the right channel and Donnarumma was forced into a full stretch fingertip save to deny him a hat-trick.

A double change came for Milan with 27 minutes left on the clock as Mandzukic and Saelemaekers made way for Rafael Leao and Brahim Diaz, with Pioli looking to inject some pace and trickery.

Leao got involved not long after coming on as he flicked a ball through to Calabria in space over on the right flank but the full-back saw his low shot deflected wide for a corner.

Another double substitution followed with just over 20 minutes left as Diogo Dalot and Sandro Tonali came on for Calabria and Bennacer. Kjaer made way for Alessio Romagnoli not long after.

It was inches away from being 3-0 and game over when Milinkovic-Savic slid Immobile through on goal but the Italian striker hit the post after chipping the onrushing Donnarumma from about 25 yards.

Lazio did get their third goal with minutes left on the clock as Immobile was awarded a yard of space inside the box, firing past Donnarumma and inside the far post.

Kessie hit the woodwork with a header from a corner in the dying seconds in what would be the final chance of the game and a rather fitting summary of Milan’s night in the capital.

Tags AC Milan Lazio Milan

22 Comments

  1. Rossoneri är en desperat lag som är liknande senaste år…..fatig verksamhet som aldrig någonsin komma upp på toppen i fotbolls världen😡
    God natt och lycka till i Europa League hahah

  2. What an underachievement … This leaves everything to be desired …. Congratulations Lazio! A team that showed will and speed …. Milan without Zlatan as leader is no better than this …..

  3. Naive ball flow & mr Pioli, your 4-2-3-1 now is outdated. Almost all team already analyze & have your anti tactics. Your can let go your #10, he’s not too special

    1. 4-2-3-1 outdated? Where was this energy when were second?! LMAO these fans come out of the woodwork when things start going awry.
      Btw I wonder why Real,Bayern and Inter play this formation then. Clearly they don’t won

      1. real plays 4-3-3 and Inter plays 3-5-2. I get that Bayern plays this but all of their players are young and their manager is the best manager itw rn. Pioli’s tactics is what is shit. completely shit. One trick coach.

  4. Another disappointing match. It is high time to analyze what is going wrong. The attack is non-existent and lacks the final touch to the goal!! Most players are off form and performing. The coach and the technical staff have to do their homework right. Only the best eleven have to be field on the pitch to play the remaining games. Else the team will fail in obtaining a place in the champions league!

  5. Pathetic..the team does not fight. The team is slow and lazy. We deserve nothing from the game…we do not deserve the champions league.Mediocre manager..Juve and Atalanta next….it will get worse

    1. Pioli has not been not been able to organise a win over Big team to defend his argument to lead ACM to greatness

      Juve & Atalanta next what more can ACM want it’s over Pioli and so maybe CL qualification!!!!!!

  6. Pioli is not d problem here guys. In fact pioli is our saviour this season if not we will not be were we are now. Those players are not good enough for Milan. Pioli have been managing them and now they ave worn out. They are all half season players

    1. Thank you!

      I’ve been saying that we would be lucky for fourth place even when we were having a good time in second place. We’re not built for the Scudetto,.never was. Inter and Juve are
      . Followed by Napoli and Atalanta. We’re in the Lazio, Roma category but further behind as we have not had a consistent coach as in Lazio or even depth as I. Those tow squads. Realistically were in the 4-7 places.
      This whole second place got fans thinking ahead of themselves

    2. Pioli’s tactics are good as per you??? Literally shit tactics. One trick coach. Players are still okay. He doesn’t realise that all teams are diff. He puts the same tactic for each fucking team. DUmb coach. above average players

  7. Wow, the dream of comeback is sinking fast, this is horribly disaster since there’s Juve and Atalanta match. For the worst, it could be Milan will out from Europa zone as well. Maybe this is the worst Winter Champion result in Serie A

  8. Lets analyse this Pioli
    What 9 things have we learnt this time from another disastrous defeat….. 3-0 to Lazio without even an answer of a goal in the capital?
    at the end of an important chapter at ACM and your still learning??????????????????????????????????????????????????
    Inter sack you we had the chance of a german manager with a system and maybe glory!

    1. Lol you are smoking crack if you think Ragnick would bring glory. What exactly has he won again? Which teams are clamouring for his signature again? He would be good in Serie A because….???…I’ll wait, I have time.

      1. Ragnick is one of the best coaches of all time. Wtf you on mate? By your logic even Bielsa is shit because he hasn’t really won anything. His style of nurturing talent is why RB Liepzig has become a european powerhouse. Mentor of Jurgen Klopp one of the best coached of all time. Julian Naggelsmann the most desired coach itw rn. His coaching style is quite a model based on Sacchi’s coaching model who was “good” in Serie A.

  9. Short of word.

    No fighting spirit. They are all playing like the team leading in the match.
    What a disgrace from 1st position to 5th in space of a month.

  10. We need an overhaul in attack and more creativity, exciting tactics and fear in other teams eyes from our attack, attack like Atalanta and defend like Juve, the day we are able to achieve this is the day we win trophies.

  11. It was bound to happen.
    Reason No-1 : Our attacking half cannot score goal unless Ibra’s presence is thr. And, yes Ibra would never play entire season. Basically, milan needs players who can shoulder the responsibility. Leao and Mandzukic are not the solution for this problem. Specially Leao is not made for 4-2-3-1 formation.

    Reason No-2 : Milan weak Right side. We hardly score goal from right wing anymore.

    Reason-3 : End of the dream scoring run of Hakan. A mind which is pre-occupied with the contract renewal, would hardly make an impact in matches.

    Reason-4 : Pioli. His rigid formation has been analyzed well by all the teams. Now, they know how to play against us but we hardly change our style of play.

    I’m afraid to say this but it seems that we have lost our way too soon. We did outstanding in 2020 but ran out of steam in 2021. Very difficult matches are ahead & it would take momentous effort to qualify for CL.

  12. Bad time to start Mandzukic. He clearly doesn’t understand the system/movements and Milan were basically playing with 10 most of the match.
    I’ve been saying for a while now when I see Theo start I dread it. Teams have figured out to attack his flank on the counter. Plus he was horrible defensively even in possession.
    Tomori has a weakness and it’s his left. He doesn’t move as fast enough to cover that side. We saw that vs Sassuolo too. With Romagnoli being left footed, its prob best to have Romagnoli-Tomori as the pairing
    I’m glad we got knocked off of our 2nd place perch. We’ve been too complacent like 2nd was our birthright. I just hope there’s enough games to save the season.

  13. I have no words to say about the game. It’s not the first time pioli couldn’t manage the team. The managements seems sleeping beauty no response at all. Why they just keep mediocre coach such as pioli till now ? In the past year he was good ,but now nothing

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