AC Milan produced a stunning comeback to put their Torino taboo to bed, coming from two goals behind to win and retake top spot in the Serie A table.
It was a nightmare start as Milan fell behind to a Nikola Vlasic penalty following a Fikayo Tomori handball, then Duvan Zapata scored his eighth goal against the Rossoneri to double the advantage inside the opening half an hour.
Adrien Rabiot’s beautiful 25-yard strike gave hope, and then it was the Christian Pulisic show. The forward – who shook off flu to even take part in the game – scoring a quickfire brace off the bench to complete the comeback.
The win is only Milan’s second in 13 games at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, and the manner that it came will certainly inspire confidence, as will returning to the summit in Serie A after Inter and Napoli won.
Massimiliano Allegri – who had to watch from the stands due to suspension – made four changes to the starting line-up compared to the team that lost to Lazio. Matteo Gabbia, Luka Modric, Davide Bartesaghi and Christopher Nkunku all came back into the side.
In the ninth minute, the first bit of danger that Torino generated resulted in a penalty. A cross looped towards the far post, and as Tomori tried to contest the header, the ball landed on his outstretched arm. It was a fair decision despite some doubts about a possible shove, and Mike Maignan couldn’t repeat his penalty heroics, only managing to tip Vlasic’s spot kick in.
Milan’s attempts to get themselves back into the game were certainly not instantly successful. In fact, Asllani became the latest to test Maignan with a shot from range that thankfully bounced into the Frenchman’s arms.
Things went from bad to worse for Milan in the 18th minute as the Granata doubled their advantage. Nkunku went down as a pass came into him and a counter-attack was sprung, reaching its conclusion when Duvan Zapata fired past Maignan with a low angled drive from the right side of the box.
With Milan reeling from the two goals conceded, it was going to take a bit of magic to get them back into the game, and it came from Rabiot. Having not scored yet since his summer move, the midfield lined up an audacious shot from 25 yards out and fizzed it right into the top corner past a diving Israel.
👌 Postage stamp perfection from #Rabiot 🎯 pic.twitter.com/lJEH7iyB90
— SempreMilan (@SempreMilanCom) December 8, 2025
That certainly inspired a bit of confidence for the Rossoneri after such a disastrous start. Rafael Leao became the latest to fire on goal from outside the box approaching the half-hour mark, though he dragged his attempt wide of the far left post.
Moments after that, it became apparent that Leao had sustained a problem while letting go of that shot. He walked over to the dugout holding his groin and was brought off, with Samuele Ricci replacing him and Ruben Loftus-Cheek going up front.
Milan remained on top heading towards the break. Nkunku’s lack of confidence was perfectly evident when Loftus-Cheek slipped him through but he checked back instead of shooting, while the opposite was true for Rabiot who just missed out on an even better goal with a side-footed volley that nestled marginally wide.
Ten minutes into the second half, Milan were close to levelling twice in very quick succession. Firstly Bartesaghi headed a Rabiot cross towards the bottom corner that Israel saved, then the goalkeeper picked himself up to keep out Ricci’s follow-up from close range.
Just after the hour mark, Milan gave a bit too much time to Pedersen as he drifted infield from the right flank and curled one towards the far post, though Maignan watched it sail past without much worry. At the other end, Ricci so nearly found Nkunku with what would have been a perfect early cross.
With 25 minutes left on the clock, the Rossoneri had shouts for a penalty turned down when Nkunku took a tumble inside the box, but nothing was given. Then it was time for Christian Pulisic to enter, taking Bartesaghi’s place.
It took Pulisic less than a minute to make an impact, as he scored the equalising goal to make it 2-2. Saelemaekers had switched flanks as part of the previous change, and he provided the cross deep into the box for the American to chest down and finish wish falling over.
As if that weren’t enough, Pulisic then struck again to put Milan ahead in the 77th minute. Ricci had threatened with some early crosses, and this time his whipped delivery from the right side took a bounce and was chested down perfectly by the USA international, who found the bottom corner with a composed finish to spark jubilant scenes.
😍 What would we do without this man?! ❤️🖤
— SempreMilan (@SempreMilanCom) December 8, 2025
In the final minute of normal time, Milan had a big chance to make sure of the points as a two-on-two break was sprung. Nkunku unselfishly squared to Pulisic for the hat-trick goal, but hadn’t timed his run through right and was rightly flagged offside after the ball was put in the net.
great game from Ricci, I actually think he’s looked better than Modric when both have been on the field. And Ricci is the one playing out of position.
Pulisic is very dangerous in the penalty box. so serve him with good passes, don’t waste his energy outside the penalty box
Disagree. He started the buildup to our 3rd goal. Almost took it off of Modric’s foot in the midfield, and said “lets go” 3 passes later he scores.
Spot on.
It’s hard to say. He’s clearly our most dangerous finisher in the box. He can finish equally well with both feet and he doesn’t over-hit the ball, just places it where the keeper can’t get it. Plus he has great composure and a great first touch in the box.
But… he’s also our best attacking midfielder and his dynamic runs open up the field for players like Nkunku and, yes, Leao.
So where to play him?
They say “there are many difficult things to do in football but the most difficult is always to score goals.”
So I agree. I think Puli should be played close to goal at all times whenever we want or need to score.
The true MVP once again showed who is the man this club can rely on. This man is everything to the team.
Every time he gets the ball he already knows what to do with it. So calm, so amazing. Simply the best. 🙂
Neither of Pulisic’s goals was chested down.
True. But they were both scored with his left foot. And he is not left-footed.
Am I the only one who starts to miss good old Origi? I mean… Even he wasn’t as useless as Nkunku is. And that’s a lot to say about anyone. 😀 😀 😀
lmao i said the same thing, origi would be so much better than this guy, when he is on the pitch its like playing with 10 men
And he is suffering from the flu. Such grinta and heart. Give that man the contract he deserves.
So do you now understand when i say that its best for us to sell leao and pair pulisic up with a proper n9? Man is half injured, comes in and scores 2 goals to decide the game. And he has been doing it consistantly for the last 3 seasons.
Leao? Scores a goal every 10 matches, he lost so many balls today i honestly lost count.
acytualy scored 6 in 11
Time and time again. NO PULI NO PARTY
Pulisic is whatever he calls himself. Captain America!
Nkunku should be given out for free. He was absolute rubbish.
Loftus Cheek knows what he is doing.
Rabiot’s goal was well rendered. Good game!
Gabbia held his own against Duvan.
Leao: When we needed him the most, he vanished. I hope the injury is not serious.
Saelemakers needs to work on his final delivery.
Bartesaghi’s crosses are elite but he’s getting a little carried away.
Tomori’s handball to cause the PK was silly and unnecessary.
How did Pavlovic allow Duvan shoot that ball from that angle?
It was a decent match but Nkunku needs to be playing in Spanish 3rd Division.
Good win tonight. Hopefully Leao’s injury isn’t too serious.
We have some old issues rearing their head, like a bit of a leaky defense. Hopefully it’s just temporary. But… this was quite a comeback. It’s a little concerning Pulisic is our only real attacking outlet right now.
But anyways, this was quite a win! And a recovery from that Coppa game.
I don’t want to seem overly critical, but lets just hope the defensive blip today was only that.
I thought Nkunku played a lot better once Pulisic came on. If Rafa is hurt maybe it would help Nkunku regain some confidence pairing with Puli for a few games. Puli is the best on this time at putting himself in advantageous positions and he’s the only one Nkunku hasn’t seemed confused playing with.
I noticed that too. Nkunku suddenly looked like a confident professional when Puli came on. Puli looked like a leader out there directing the attack and making his teammates better today. That is a new, and very welcome, development.
Thats a good observation Scott.
If Leao is injured it will have to work.
Nkunku still needs to work a lot harder to earn his stripes
Agreed, Nkunku actually looked like a Milan-level player for the first time all season during those last 30 minutes.
(Well, except for being stupidly offside on the breakaway that would have given Puli a hat trick.)