DEFEAT IN ZAGREB
Champions League
A disappointing night in Zagreb: AC Milan lost 2-1 on the eighth and final matchday of the League Phase of the Champions League, thus missing out on automatic qualification to the round of 16. The Rossoneri remain in the competition but will be involved in the knockout play-offs (which will take place over two legs on 11-12 and 18-19 February) after finishing in 13th place on 15 points in the table. They know they will either face Feyenoord or Juventus - depending on the outcome of the draw on Friday - and, being a seeded side, they will play the second leg at San Siro. It is undoubtedly a tough one to take, especially given the team's journey in the competition and the high expectations prior to the match at the Maksimir Stadium.
It was a match full of incidents, with disallowed goals and a penalty decision in favour of AC Milan (after a foul on Leão) being overturned by VAR. Conceição's men didn't start the game well and gifted Dinamo the opener (Baturina the scorer) before being reduced to ten men - Musah was sent off - before half-time. The Rossoneri performed better after the restart but still struggled. Pulisic's goal wasn't enough: in the end, it turned out to be a momentary equaliser, with Pjaca firing home the winner for the hosts on the hour mark. We need to work hard and respond, correct our mistakes and immediately turn our attentions to the league: at 18:00 CET on Sunday 2 February, AC Milan v Inter awaits.
CHECK OUT THE GALLERY FROM AC DINAMO ZAGREB v AC MILAN
MATCH REPORT
The match started in lively fashion. Dinamo had efforts through Baturina (4') and Stojković (5'), while Morata (15') and Reijnders (18') saw their shots blocked at the other end. We fell behind in the 19th minute: Gabbia tripped up on a back pass, allowing Baturina to steal the ball and fire past Maignan for the opener. It took a while for AC Milan to respond, with Fofana twice shooting over the bar after being picked out by Morata (33' and 36'). A match-changing moment occurred in the 39th minute: Musah was sent off (two yellow cards) after bringing down Stojković on the edge of the area. There was a big scare just before half-time as Baturina found Kulenović, who drilled narrowly wide from close range. We headed into the break on the backfoot.
The second half kicked off and the Croatians soon had the ball in the net, but it was ruled out for a handball by Baturina in the build-up (50'). Three minutes later, Tomori picked out Pulisic, who let fly with a right-footed strike that beat Nevistić at his near post. In the 56th minute, Kulenović had a goal chalked off due to an offside in the build-up. Pjaca fired wide two minutes later, but the same player then produced a fine left-footed finish to restore Dinamo's lead (60'). With 64 minutes on the clock, the referee awarded AC Milan a penalty following a foul by Nevistić on Leão, but the decision was overturned after a VAR review for an elbow by the Portuguese man on Mmaee. We didn't give up: a Pulisic header was too central (66') and a low Leão strike was saved by the goalkeeper (72'), while a Chukwueze effort lacked precision (73'). Terracciano then tested Nevistić in the 77th minute, before Pavlović failed to find the target with a header from a corner (77'). The Rossoneri kept on pushing in the final stages: a header from Abraham lacked power (84'), while Okafor and Chukwueze also failed to score with late efforts. Full-time.
MATCH DETAILS
DINAMO ZAGREB 2-1 AC MILAN
DINAMO ZAGREB (3-5-2): Nevistić; Torrente, Théophile-Catherine, Mmaee; Pierre-Gabriel (90'+3 Jakirović), Baturina (90'+3 Mbuku), Ademi (70' Rog), Mišić, Pjaca (70' Ristovski); Stojković (74' Córdoba), Kulenović. Subs: Filipović, Zagorac; Mikić; Pavić; Ćutuk, Hoxha, Špikić. Coach: Cannavaro.
AC MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia (46' Terracciano), Pavlović, Hernández; Fofana, Musah; Pulisic, Reijnders (82' Okafor), Leão (82' Abrfaham); Morata (46' Chukwueze). Subs: Sportiello, Torriani; Bartesaghi; Bennacer; Camarda. Coach: Conceição.
Referee: François Letexier (FRA).
Goals: 19' Baturina (DZ), 53' Pulisic (M), 60' Pjaca (DZ).
Booked: 26' Pulisic (M), 31' Mišić (DZ), 34' Pjaca (DZ), 41' Maignan (M), 57' Conceição (M) from the bench, 90'+4 Nevistić (DZ).
Sent off: 39' Musah (M) for a second bookable offence.
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