HELLAS VERONA v AC MILAN: TIME MACHINE
History
Matchday 10 of the championship is on the horizon and the Rossoneri return to the Bentegodi in Verona, one of the key grounds in their final push for the Scudetto last season. At the home of the Scaligeri, AC Milan have won the last three meetings, scoring six goals and conceding just one. Recent tradition favours Pioli's side, but every match has its own story to write. Today, together, we look back at the encounter of 19 October 2014.
THE SCENE
Matchday 7 of the 2014/15 Serie A fixture is upon us and Filippo Inzaghi's AC Milan face Mandorlini's Verona. The Rossoneri sit in fifth place with 11 points from six games and are fresh from their 2-0 win over fellow Veronese side Chievo at San Siro, with goals from Muntari and Honda. Two key players who are also confirmed in the starting line-up at the Bentegodi, a 4-3-3 with Abbiati in goal; Abate, Rami, Alex and De Sciglio in defence; Muntari, Essien and Poli in the midfield to support the three-pronged attack formed by Honda, Torres and El Shaarawy.
DOUBLE ADVANTAGE
After an uneventful start, in which the only chance came from Torres with a deft right-footed shot, the deadlock was broken after 20 minutes. The culprit was the Brazilian Marques, who sent a seemingly innocuous cross from Abate into his own goal. The Rossoneri, energized by their lead, continued to push and immediately found a second thanks to the El Shaarawy-Honda link-up: il Faraone produced a sweeping assist for Keisuke, whose left-footed shot beat Rafael and made it 0-2 inside 27 minutes. In the closing minutes 0f the half, Abbiati made two fine saves first denying Toni and then Janković to preserve the double margin of their lead at half-time.
HONDA AS WELL
10 minutes into the second half, Honda made it three: like El Shaarawy, Rami cut the ball across the pitch to find the unmarked Japanese striker, who controlled it and fired it into the net; a fingertip save from Rafael was not enough to keep it out. The result was in the bag and the team played more conservatively, taking few risks in defence. The hosts came close in the 87th minute with Nico López's left-footed effort from the edge of the box, but were reduced to ten men when the experienced Rafa Márquez was sent off. AC Milan won the match and moved up to 4th place in the table on 14 points, behind Juventus, Roma and Sampdoria.
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