AC Milan responded superbly to their Champions League disappointment in midweek by putting five goals past a sorry Sampdoria team at San Siro on Saturday night.
The Rossoneri took an early lead through Rafael Leao but Fabio Quagliarella soon made fans wonder if it would be another rough night.
It proved not to be as an Olivier Giroud hat-trick and a goal from Brahim Diaz meant that it was a calm and emphatic 5-1 win for Milan.
Milan started the game swiftly and inside eight minutes, Theo Hernandez felt that he should have had a penalty having been tripped in the box. There was a brief VAR check but play quickly resumed with minimal fuss.
Rafael Leao quickly made sure that Milan weren’t focused on that decision for too long. Brahim Diaz produced a fine piece of play to take the ball over one player and then lobbed another to release Leao in on goal.
The Portuguese forward stayed cool and slotted that ball past Nicola Ravaglia. There was no offside and Milan had the early goal that the players and the fans alike were craving.
Despite the way that goal lifted the mood in the San Siro stands, it was quickly dampened. Alessandro Zanoli did very well to burst into the box from the right and he pulled the ball to the edge where Fabio Quagliarella was waiting to sweep the ball into the bottom corner.
That goal meant that the 40-year-old striker has scored in 18 consecutive Serie A seasons, an incredible achievement.
Sampdoria’s joy was incredibly short-lived though as Milan swiftly turned the game back in their favour, and in dramatic fashion. The Rossoneri went down the other end and won a corner which led to Olivier Giroud easily heading Milan back into the lead. It was an incredibly soft goal to concede from a Sampdoria perspective.
Things then got even better for Stefano Pioli as Giroud found himself on the scoresheet again. Leao was brought down in the box after another impressive Milan move. Giroud stepped up and calmly dispatched the penalty to make it 3-1.
The second half at San Siro started very slowly and it was clear that both sides saw little need to push too hard. That changed suddenly as a wonderful move involving Charles De Ketelaere, Leao, and Sandro Tonali was then finished off by Diaz who deserved a goal for how well he played on Saturday.
Not content with just being 4-1 up, Giroud decided to add another hat-trick to his career tally as ended up bundling the ball into the back of the net after a cross from Leao. It was a scruffy goal, but the Frenchman will not care.
It became clear that the game was a great opportunity for the team as a whole but also some specific individuals to rebuild their confidence after a very difficult patch of form.
It was clear from De Ketelaere’s play when he came off the bench that he was desperate to play a key role in a goal. The effort levels were certainly there and the Milan crowd showed their appreciation when he went on an impressive run that ultimately ended with the ball being lost.
The massive victory, albeit against the team at the bottom of the Serie A table was exactly what Milan needed. It was a result and performance that will have helped to put the Champions League defeat out of the players minds, and it also will have boosted the confidence of the entire team as they were untouchable in short spells without seeming to exert too much energy.
The win means that Milan are now just a point behind Lazio in fourth place with the Biancocelesti set to play their game in hand on Sunday evening. Milan are guaranteed to end Matchday 36 in fifth place.
