AC MILAN FALL SHORT AT THE OLIMPICO
Serie A
AC Milan were narrowly defeated at the Olimpico on Sunday, with Pioli still seeking his first win as Rossoneri Coach. In a hard-fought affair in Rome, Milan were made to pay for errors at key points of the game - with the Giallorossi duly capitalising. An equaliser from Theo Hernández at the start of the second half initially cancelled out Dzeko’s first-half opener before Zaniolo struck the winner in the 58th minute. This is now Milan’s fifth loss of the league season, with the team failing to build on a previous victory in Genoa and a home draw v Lecce. It was a positive start to the match for the Rossoneri, as was the case last week at home against Lecce, only ruined by Dzeko’s unexpected opener. The team will seek to redeem themselves at home against SPAL on Thursday at 21:00 CET, as they look to boost both morale and their league position.
CHECK OUT THE GALLERY FROM SUNDAY'S GAME AT THE OLIMPICO
REPORT
The first chance of the match fell to Leão in the 12th minute, who made his way into the area and fired a left-footed strike just wide. Four minutes later Paquetá found the back of the net following a through ball from Kessie, although the flag was raised for offside. Hakan was the next player to try his luck, forcing Lopez into a good save from long range in the 28th minute. This was then followed by a chance for Suso, although his strike was too central. Donnarumma was called into action soon after, flying across his goal to keep out a fierce strike from Zaniolo. However, from the following corner came Dzeko’s 38th-minute opener, as the striker headed home from the back post. Roma then very nearly doubled their lead in the 42nd minute, only for Gigio to produce a fantastic stop to keep out Pastore. Following the interval, Roma went dangerously close on two occasions - first through a free-kick from Kolarov before Smalling sent a header just over. A right-sided cross from substitute Calabria then led to the equaliser, as Theo controlled the ball well before slotting a right-footed strike into the bottom corner. Three minutes later, Roma regained the lead through Zaniolo, who sent Donnarumma the wrong way from the edge of the area. Another chance fell to Zaniolo in the 81st minute, however, Donnarumma helped keep Milan in the game. As the final whistle drew closer, Çalhanoğlu nearly hit the target in the 88th minute, while he also missed a free-kick attempt in the 92nd minute. The final chance of the match fell to Theo Hernández, although Kolarov did enough.
MATCH DETAILS
ROMA 2-1 AC MILAN
ROMA (4-2-3-1): Lopez; Spinazzola (77' Cetin), Fazio, Smalling, Kolarov; Mancini, Veretout; Zaniolo, Pastore, Perotti (53' Antonucci); Dzeko. Subs.: Mirante, Fuzato; Santon, Juan Jesus; Calafiori, Darboe, Florenzi, Riccardi. Coach: Fonseca
AC MILAN (4-3-3): Donnarumma G.; Conti (52' Calabria), Musacchio, Romagnoli, Hernández; Paquetá (63' Piątek), Biglia (72' Bennacer), Kessie; Suso, Leão, Çalhanoğlu. Subs.: Donnarumma A., Reina; Duarte, Gabbia; Krunić; Borini, Castillejo, Rebić. Coach: Pioli
Referee: Orsato from Schio
Goals: 38' Džeko (R), 55' Hernández (M), 58' Zaniolo (R).
Booked: 41' Mancini (R), 49' Musacchio (M), 64' Biglia (M), 74' Çalhanoğlu (M), 78' Antonucci (R), 83' Cetin (R), 91' Kolarov (R), 95' Romagnoli (M).
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