ROSSONERI SEE OFF LAZIO AT SAN SIRO
Serie A
AC Milan dazzled the home supporters with a third straight victory in Serie A. On matchday 7, the Rossoneri saw off Lazio at San Siro to move to 18 points in the table. It ended 2-0 at full time, following a tight, tactical first half and then a dominant second half from our boys. The first 45 minutes was largely devoid of action, while the second was played at a ferocious tempo. Christian Pulisic opened the scoring and Noah Okafor doubled our lead with his second goal in as many matches. Both finishes were assisted by an inspired Rafa Leão, who was unplayable this evening.
Stefano Pioli made five changes to this side started in Sardinia in midweek. Maignan and Calabria both returned from injury, while Kjær, Leão and Giroud were restored to the starting XI. Adli was handed a second consecutive start. The Rossoneri's back line, led by Fikayo Tomori, looked virtually unbeatable as they saw out another clean sheet. The Rossoneri's journey continues with two big matches before the break; first up is Dortmund away in the Champions League in midweek, then we travel to Marassi to take on Genoa. Keep it up, boys!
CHECK OUT THE GALLERY FROM AC MILAN v LAZIO
MATCH REPORT
AC Milan started off in control of the ball, with Lazio waiting with a low, deep defensive block. The Rossoneri looked to build, but the first chances of the game fell to the Biancoceleste: on 12 minutes, Felipe Anderson drove into the box but his left-footed hit went wide; four minutes later, Maignan easily dealt with Zaccagni’s effort from the corner of the 18-yard box. The home side nearly went ahead in the 33rd minute through Leão: the number 10’s well-hit strike at the near post was superbly palmed behind by Provedel for a corner. The Rossoneri continued to push forward: on 44', a low cross by Musah on the right found Giroud in front of goal, but Provedel was there again to save from the French forward; on the rebound, Reijnders hit the outside of the post with a backfoot attempt. The first half ended goalless.
The script of the second half didn’t change, with the Rossoneri dominating possession in the final third of their oppponent’s half and the visitors relying on counter-attacks. On the hour-mark, the breakthrough finally came: Reijnders played in Leão down the left, who picked out Pulisic alone in the box and with his left foot stroked the ball past Provedel with his left to make it 1-0. It was the Rossoneri who then pressed down on the accelerator pedal, with Musah (73') and then Tomori (74') both being denied by the Biancoceleste goalkeeper. In the 76th minute, Provedel kept out a carbon copy of Pulisic’s goal - this time from a Theo assist - while two minutes later Reijnders failed to hit the target after a great individual run towards goal. Two minutes before the end of normal time, the second goal came to seal victory: Leão again was unstoppable down the left, getting past two defenders and cutting back from the byline for Okafor, who made no mistake to smash home for 2-0. The final whistle blew soon after; it ended 2-0 for us.
MATCH DETAILS
AC MILAN 2-0 LAZIO
AC MILAN (4-3-3): Maignan; Calabria (69' Pobega), Kjær, Tomori, Hernández; Loftus-Cheek (28' Musah), Adli (69' Pobega), Reijnders; Pulisic (83' Chukwueze), Giroud (69' Okafor), Leão. Subs: Mirante, Sportiello; Bartesaghi, Pellegrino, Thiaw; Romero; Jović. Coach: Pioli.
LAZIO (4-3-3): Provedel; Marušić, Casale, Romagnoli, Hysaj; Guendouzi (67' Kamada), Rovella (67' Vecino), Luis Alberto; Zaccagni (82' Isaksen), Castellanos (75' Immobile), Anderson (75' Pedro). Subs: Sepe, Mandas; Gila, Lazzari, Patric, Pellegrini; Cataldi. Coach: Sarri.
Referee: Massa from Imperia.
Goals: 60' Pulisic (M), 88' Okafor (M).
Booked: 51' Marušić (L), 64' Romagnoli (L), 65' Leão (M), 83' Hernández (M), 86' Maignan (M).
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