Real Madrid 1-3 AC Milan: Thiaw, Morata and Reijnders score to pull off Bernabeu win

AC Milan pulled off a remarkable result in the Champions League as they ran out 3-1 winners against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Milan took an early lead in the game and it came via the familiar method of a near-post corner that Malick Thiaw powered in, but Vinicius Junior won and converted a penalty to level things not long after.

The Rossoneri then stunned the Bernabeu crowd with two unanswered goals. The second goal came from Alvaro Morata as he pounced on a rebound just before the break, then after it Tijjani Reijnders fired in from close range.

Both sides missed chances to either put the game to bed in Milan’s case or reopen the contest in Real’s case, but the end result was 3-1 and a huge three points in the ‘league phase’ of the UCL.

Paulo Fonseca chose to make four changes to the starting line-up from the team that beat Monza on Saturday, with the most notable being the inclusion of Yunus Musah. There was doubt about whether he would be a right winger or a wing-back, but the coach gave his explanation pre-match.

The first half-chance of the game went to the home side less than three minutes in as a nice move down Real’s right side ended with Kylian Mbappe whipping a low shot that curled wide of the far post.

It was an end-to-end opening to the game, as perfectly demonstrated when Theo Hernandez went on a run from inside his own half into the opposition box but saw his shot saved from a narrow angle, while at the other end a teasing low cross only just missed Mbappe and it would have been an easy conversion.

In the 13th minute, Milan took the lead and stunned the Bernabeu crowd. A ball in behind Vazquez found Leao and he won a corner, which was whipped in towards the near post – a routine we have seen plenty already this season – and Malick Thiaw provided a thumping header into the roof of the net.

Less than a minute after the goal, Real Madrid almost equalised straight away. Mbappe first launched a shot from near the edge of the box that Mike Maignan saved well, then Musah’s poor out ball saw Modric feed Vinicius who shot at Maignan from a narrow angle.

The home side did get a golden chance to level from the spot, after Emerson Royal made a rash challenge near the byline on Vinicius Junior. In truth the winger bought the contact by dragging his leg but it was still a clumsy tackle, and the Brazilian confidently fired the penalty down the middle of the goal.

Lunin was called into action for the first time aside from the goal just after the half-hour mark as a corner was cleared and Tijjani Reijnders sent a thundering low shot towards the bottom corner that he clawed away for a corner.

With just over five minutes to go until half-time, Milan retook the lead after an excellent spell in the game. Pulisic made a darting run towards the right edge of the box and provided cut-back for Leao who spun and fired a low shot which was well saved by Lunin but straight into the path of Morata. He tucked it home from close range, shushing the fans of his former club.

Real Madrid had Lunin to thank for keeping the deficit to one goal as he made a miraculous one-handed diving save from a Leao header that was heading for the postage stamp. Moments later Reijnders found Theo in behind with an outside of the boot ball, which the full-back dragged wide from a narrow angle.

A fantastic turn from Pulisic in the Milan half started a two-on-one counter in Milan’s favour and he fed Leao, but it was a bit behind him and the Portuguese saw his shot cut out by the recovering defender. A couple of minutes later Musah put Leao in isolation, yet he never really committed to the dribble and was crowded out inside the box.

The Rossoneri’s near-post in-swinging corners continued to cause issues for Real, and Morata’s flick went through a crowd before clattering the near post. After that, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham came on for Morata and Pulisic.

In the 72nd minute, Milan did get themselves a two-goal advantage and it was another wonderfully worked goal. Leao went galloping down the left and into the box past Vazquez and squared it on a plate to Reijnders, who managed to take a touch and lash a low shot underneath Lunin from close range.

It looked like being a grandstand finish with just less than 10 minutes left when a cross was palmed by Maignan to Rudiger who hammered a volley into an empty net. However, a VAR check commenced and ruled it out for offside interference at the far post, much to the disbelief of the home players and fans.

The chances continued to flow, and Abraham really should have put the game to bed after a fantastic driving run and square ball from Theo that the Englishman hammered straight at Lunin from close range. At the other end, a pinpoint cross from the left found an unmarked Brahim Diaz but headers are not his strength and he sent it straight at Maignan.