Torino 3-1 AC Milan: Rossoneri limp to defeat in final away game

AC Milan’s final away game of the 2023-24 season brought them no joy as they were beaten 3-1 at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino by Torino on Saturday night.

The damage was mainly done in the first half when Torino scored with two headers, the first coming from centre-forward Duvan Zapata who glanced in a Ricardo Rodriguez cross, the second arriving when Ivan Ilic powered home from Raoul Bellanova’s delivery.

Rodriguez thumped in a shot from distance in the early exchanges of the second half to give the Granata a 3-0 lead which Ismael Bennacer’s penalty ate into, yet it did not spark a comeback as the hosts held on.

The result ultimately means very little for the Rossoneri who were sure of finishing in second place regardless, though it certainly raises further questions about the defensive resilience (or lack thereof) within the side,

Stefano Pioli named quite an interesting starting line-up for the game with the likes of Davide Calabria, Mike Maignan, Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud all left out, while Pierre Kalulu, Yunus Musah, Noah Okafor, Filippo Terracciano and Luka Jovic are all started.

Milan had a lot of the ball in the opening exchanges as Torino looked to sit in and counter, an approach which yielded the first chance of the game. Tijjani Reijnders committed a foul as the hosts broke and the free-kick was blocked back out to the taker Ivan Ilic who slashed his follow-up effort wide.

The game quickly settled into a pattern whereby Ivan Juric’s side were happy to let Milan have the ball and spring forward quickly when they won it back. In the 18th minute they fashioned the first real scoring chance of the game when a cut-back from the right found the trailing run of Tameze, yet he sent a first time shot well over the bar having leaned back as he hit it.

Okafor was at the heart of the moments of danger that Milan created. Firstly he burst away down the left and hit a cross-shot that Milinkovic-Savic had to parry away, then a few minutes later he found space to shoot on his right foot and tried to bend an effort inside the far top corner yet it went just over.

In the 26th minute, Torino took the lead and it came through Zapata. A lovely cross in from the ex-Milan man Ricardo Rodriguez from the left side was met by the head of the Colombian striker, who glanced it with just enough power for it to nestle inside the far corner past a diving Sportiello.

Just after the half-hour mark Milan fashioned a half chance to try and get themselves level when Fikayo Tomori of all people was allowed time to cross from the wing. Pulisic arrived to meet it, yet his header was not on target.

Just over five minutes before the break, the hosts doubled their advantage and it again came through an uncontested header. Bellanova had the space of Turin to whip in a ball from the right side and Ivan Ilic arrived to power a header past Sportiello from around the penalty spot.

Less than a minute into the second half Torino had their third goal of the game and it was an absolute screamer from Rodriguez. Having assisted the first goal, the Swiss defender took on a shot of his own from a few yards outside the box and the slicing attempt crashed in off the post with Sportiello rooted.

However, at the other end Milan were rather gifted the chance to get on the scoreboard when Pulisic was dragged to the ground by what resembled a headlock as he darted inside the box. The referee awarded a penalty, which Bennacer confidently tucked away to make it 3-1.

Just before the hour mark Jovic tried the spectacular to make it a one-goal game when he went for a spectacular overhead kick from a Bennacer cross, yet it never really threatened the goal. Moments later, Rafael Leao came on for Okafor, and a few minutes after that Alessandro Florenzi replaced Terracciano.

In the 77th minute Pioli made a couple more changes, with Tommaso Pobega and Olivier Giroud coming on for Bennacer and Musah, seemingly marking the change to playing two up front.

Giroud had a decent opportunity to increase the nerves for the home fans when he rose highest to meet a corner from Florenzi in the 83rd minute, though he couldn’t keep it down and it sailed over the bar.

In the closing stages Leao drew a good save from Milinkovic-Savic in the Torino goal, having picked up the ball down the left wing and drifted inside, dropping a couple of defenders inside the box before failing to really find the corner with his shot.