MILAN CRUISE THROUGH TO THE QUARTERS
Coppa Italia
A victory that showed maturity along with another much sought-after quality for Milan this season: consistency. Following on from Saturday’s success in Cagliari, Milan made no mistake against SPAL, cruising through the round of 16 and into the quarter-finals. 3-0 the final result thanks to first-half goals from Krzysztof Piątek and Samu Castillejo, Theo Hernández also getting his name on the scoresheet in the second half. A great performance from the Rossoneri as they showed a nice flow to their game throughout, creating chances from the very first minute. Plenty of positives for Coach Pioli, from the fluidity of the side’s movement, Bennacer’s masterful performance in the middle (providing the assist for Piątek’s goal), the constant threat from Castillejo, all the way to a Piątek back in goalscoring form. All important signs, added to by a third successive clean sheet by the Rossoneri defence. Milan qualify for the quarter-finals with this win, now set to face Torino in the next round on Tuesday 28 January at 20:45 CET.
CHECK OUT THE BEST IMAGES FROM OUR HOME WIN OVER SPAL
MATCH REPORT
Stefano Pioli opted for a 4-4-2 starting line-up for this round of 16 clash with SPAL, giving Simon Kjær his debut in a Rossoneri shirt after signing just days before. Antonio Donnarumma started between the sticks, while our attack saw a front two of Piątek and Rebić. Milan started brilliantly, immediately coming close as Bennacer fired one from distance, Castillejo also almost scoring off Bennacer’s through ball, his effort foiled by the outrushing Berisha. However, it didn’t take long for the opening goal to arrive, as Bennacer played a delightful pass into Piątek who slotted the ball into the bottom corner with a precise finish after 21 minutes of play. This goal really opened things up for the Rossoneri, the home side slipping into the driving seat and soon finding a second. Piątek drove into the area in the 45th minute before selflessly setting the ball to Castillejo, our number 7 curling it into the top corner flawlessly. The 2-0 lead led to even more space and the Rossoneri chances were flowing in the second half. Piątek, Rebić and Bonaventura all came close to adding a third, Berisha doing brilliantly to keep the scoreline down. In the end it was one of our full-backs who broke through, Hernández galloping into the opposition half in the 66th minute and thumping one into the bottom corner with a sublime goal to make it 3-0. This placed the cherry atop a fantastic Rossoneri performance, the final whistle blowing at San Siro and AC Milan sailing through to the quarter-finals.
MATCH SUMMARY
AC MILAN 3-0 SPAL
AC MILAN (4-4-2): A. Donnarumma; Conti, Kjær (82' Gabbia), Romagnoli, Hernández; Castillejo (64' Suso), Krunić, Bennacer, Bonaventura (75' Paquetá); Piątek, Rebić. Subs.: Begović, Soncin, Brescianini, Kessie, Leão, Maldini, Ibrahimović. Coach: Pioli.
SPAL (3-5-2): Berisha; Tomovic (65' Salamon), Vicari, Igor; Strefezza, Murgia, Dabo (86' Zanchetta), Jankovic (72' Valoti), Tunjov; Paloschi, Floccari. Subs.: Thiam, Letica, Cionek, Reca, Di Francesco, Cannistra, Cuellar, Mastrilli. Coach: Semplici.
Referee: Davide Ghersini from Genoaa.
Goals: 21' Piątek (M), 45' Castillejo (M), 66' Hernández (M).
Booked: 33' Conti (M), 41' Castillejo (M), 61' Murgia (S), 72' Igor (S), 84' Salamon (S).
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