DRAW BETWEEN LEEDS UNITED AND AC MILAN IN DUBLIN
Friendly
AC Milan's fourth pre-season friendly ended 1-1: in Dublin, Massimiliano Allegri's men were held by Leeds, freshly promoted back to the Premier League. Santiago Gimenez, making his first appearance of the season, opened the scoring in the first half for AC Milan, but Stach equalised midway through the second half. It was a fair result between two sides who gave their all on the pitch, using the match as a key rehearsal ahead of their first competitive matches of the 2025/26 season next weekend. Leeds' Premier League campaign is about to begin, while AC Milan are set to face Bari in the Coppa Italia at San Siro next Sunday.
It was a lively game with no shortage of chances for both teams, who each hit the woodwork once, and a valuable opportunity for both coaches to assess how their sides are shaping up. For AC Milan, aside from the aforementioned Gimenez, Ardon Jashari notably made his first start: the Swiss midfielder impressed with his composure and distribution despite limited training time with the squad. The Rossoneri used a number of different players ahead of their return to action in 24 hours. The group will now head to England, where they will face the Club World Cup champions, Chelsea, coached by Enzo Maresca.
CHECK OUT THE PHOTO GALLERY FROM LEEDS UNITED v AC MILAN
MATCH REPORT
The game got off to a lively start at the Aviva Stadium. Leeds kept more of the ball early on, but AC Milan had two big opportunities in the opening 15 minutes: Giménez slipped just as he was about to shoot (9'), while Okafor created a good opportunity for himself but got his finish wrong. In between, Stach struck the crossbar in the tenth minute. After the first 20 minutes, the English side's possession and pressing dropped off, allowing the Rossoneri to push forward more. The opener arrived in the 31st minute: Sala helped on Estupiñan's low cross for Gimenez, who converted inside the six-yard box. Santi came close with a 39th-minute header, while Terracciano kept out a deflected attempt from Piroe at the end of the half.
The second half kicked off with a single change for both sides - Coubiș replaced Musah for AC Milan - and a counter-attack launched by Estupiñan, although it didn't result in a shot on target. Following another promising move in the 55th minute, Magni couldn't quite control an Okafor cross. Leeds came close through a left-footed strike from Piroe (64') before equalising through a curling effort from Stach in the 67th minute. The English outfit kept pushing, with Gnonto firing over after 73 minutes. Having made several changes, and with plenty of youngsters on the pitch, AC Milan looked to get back on the attack. In the 85th minute, Saelemaekers picked out Sia, who struck the bar. The 19-year-old threatened again in stoppage time, but the scoreline remained the same: it finished 1-1 in Dublin.
MATCH DETAILS
LEEDS UNITED 1-1 AC MILAN
LEEDS UNITED (4-3-3): Perri (46' Darlow); Schmidt (66' Byram), Rodon, Struijk (75' Bijol), Gudmundsson (75' Harrison); Tanaka (66' Longstaff), Ampadu (66' Gruev), Stach (89' Gray); Gnonto (75' Ramazani), Piroe (66' Nmecha), James (66' Aaronson). Subs: Cairns; Chadwick. Coach: Farke.
AC MILAN (4-3-3): P. Terracciano (68' Torriani); Magni (83' F. Terracciano), Gabbia, Pavlović (83' Thiaw), Estupiñan; Musah (46' Coubiș), Sala (83' Ricci), Jashari (61' Eletu); Chukwueze (83' Saelemaekers), Gimenez (61' Sia), Okafor. Subs: Maignan, Pittarella; Bartesaghi, Duțu, Tomori; Modrić. Coach: Allegri.
Referee: Paul McLaughlin (IRL).
Goals: 31' Gimenez (M), 67' Stach (L).
Booked: 59' Stach (L).
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