Milan 3-2 Verona: Second half substitutes orchestrate incredible comeback at the San Siro

By Nikita Fesyukov -

AC Milan defeated Verona in what was an incredible comeback in the second half which was orchestrated by Stefano Pioli’s second-half substitutes.

Milan started off the match in a somewhat confused manner and they were punished very soon, with Caprari giving Verona the lead in the 7th minute.

The Rossoneri responded immediately, with Rebic sending a cross to Maldini, whose header went slightly over the bar.

However, the team was not capable to get into the game fully, with the visitors playing a very composed match at the San Siro.

And it went from bad to worse for Milan, after Antonin Barak scored the second goal for Verona from the spot after Romagnoli fouled Nikola Kalinic in the box.

And even after the goal, Milan continued with a somewhat anonymous performance, with only some sparks coming especially from Ante Rebic.

And the only player who seemed up for it in the first half, the previously-mentioned Ante Rebic, had to leave the pitch in the 36th minute with an injury, with Rafael Leao replacing the Croatian.

Not much changed after the Portuguese came on and the Rossoneri were unable to unlock Verona’s very disciplined side and thus went to the break 0-2 down.

At the beginning of the second half, coach Pioli tried to change some things, fielding Samu Castillejo in the place of Saelemaekers and Rade Krunic instead of Daniel Maldini, whose contribution was very limited in the first half.

In the 49th minute of the match, the referee decided not to give Milan a penalty kick, despite a Verona player quite evidently touching the ball with his hand in the box.

As the game went on Milan started pressing more and more and eventually, the reward arrived, with Olivier Giroud scoring in the 59th minute off an incredible cross from substitute Rafael Leao.

After the goal, the momentum of the match shifted completely and the Rossoneri looked like a completely changed team.

In the 64th minute, Olivier Giroud almost scored his second goal of the match after a fine play from Ismael Bennacer who sent a cross into the box, but the Frenchman’s header went over the bar.

Leao was very close to equalizing in the 69th minute after his fantastic strike went just slightly over the bar and touched the upper part of the net from the outside.

In the 73rd minute of the match, Milan were awarded a penalty after a Verona player fouled Samu Castillejo in the box. Franck Kessie took the responsibility and equalized the match from the spot with a fine penalty.

And in the 78th minute, the comeback was completed with Gunter scoring an own goal off a cross from super-sub Samu Castillejo, who had an overall great impact on the match.

In the 82nd minute of the match, Sandro Tonali came on for Olivier Giroud, who had a fine performance and started Milan’s comeback with the team’s first goal.

Throughout the rest of the match, Milan did very well to hold on to the victory and thus collected their seventh victory of the season and went top of the Serie A table.

Tags AC Milan verona

5 Comments

    1. 🤣🤣🤣 Samu wants to stay. I’ve always loved him for his determination in every match. Hope he does even better to earn a stay. Forza Milan!❤️🖤

      1. True. I always liked him when he was a sub for Suso. He is so motivated to play for the team. But Samu weights 65 kg only along with tall height which is a problem in a tough league like Serie A. I wish him all the best in La Liga. Hope he can reboot his career and score a lot of goals there.

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