23/24 SEASON ENDS WITH A HOME DRAW AGAINST SALERNITANA
Serie A
It was a bittersweet ending that could never cancel out all these years of memories and amazing moments. First up, let's discuss the football: AC Milan v Salernitana ended 3-3. The Rossoneri twice failed to keep a two-goal lead before the Granata equalised late on through Simy. On the scoresheet for us: Rafa Leão, Olivier Giroud (who scored on his final appearance for the Club) and captain Davide Calabria. The latter saw us reach 99 total goals scored in all competitions in 2023/24. It was an evening of goodbyes as, other than our number 9, Simon Kjær (who came on for the final minutes), Antonio Mirante and Mattia Caldara are all departing.
A fond farewell was bid before, during and after the came to head coach Stefano Pioli, who took charge of his final game at AC Milan following five successful seasons. However, there were some noteworthy firsts. Youth product Lapo Nava came on for his professional debut, while our new Home Kit, which marks our 125th anniversary, also made its first appearance. We would be remiss not to mention our incredible supporters, who, with today's game, broke the 1.9 million mark for attendance - 1,909,210 to be precise. Now, we travel to Australia for a friendly against Roma before heading off for our holidays, where we'll recharge the batteries so that we can come back next season with even greater strength and ambition. Forza Milan!
CHECK OUT THE GALLERY FROM AC MILAN v SALERNITANA
MATCH REPORT
The start was fast, with two important stops from Fiorillo: the visiting goalkeeper first saved from Giroud's turn and shot inside two minutes and then from Leão's right-footed shot a minute later. We continued to be on the front foot: Pulisic cut in from the right and had an effort stopped on ten minutes, before a Tomori header on 15 minutes also failed to break the deadlock. The goal did come though midway through the first half, when Leão pounced on Fiorillo's poor control to tap into an empty net in the 22nd minute. The second goal soon after, and it was a goal celebrated in unison by the entire stadium: Florenzi's corner, Giroud's volley and the ball flying into the top corner. Two goals ahead, we continued to push forward, particularly dangerous at set-pieces, but chances for Tomori, Hernández and Gabbia didn’t add to the scoreline.
The second half started at a slower pace, with little action in the opening quarter of an hour. In the 62nd minute, Bennacer tried his luck, but the ball dropped wide. In the 64th minute, the visitors pulled a goal back through Simy’s header. The Nigerian striker came close to equalising shortly afterwards, with Mirante called into action stopping the ball from going over the line, with the help of the crossbar. Once this moment of pressure had passed, we resumed attacking duties: in the 72nd minute, a quick breakaway ended with Giroud's right-footed shot kept out by Fiorillo. The long-sought third goal eventually arrived shortly after, in the 77th minute: Pulisic’s cross finding Calabria’s head at the back stick, following a perfectly-timed run. The game seemed over, but Salernitana netted twice in the 86th and 89th minute, with Sambia and Simy again. In five minutes of injury time, we came close to making it 4-3 through a Caldara header, but it ended in a draw. After the final whistle, there was a ceremony to greet and embrace those bidding farewell.
MATCH DETAILS
AC MILAN 3-3 SALERNITANA
AC MILAN (4-2-3-1): Mirante (88' Nava); Calabria, Gabbia (59' Caldara), Tomori (88' Kjær), Hernández; Florenzi, Reijnders; Pulisic, Bennacer, Leão (58' Adli); Giroud (85' Jović). Subs: Sportiello; Kalulu, Terracciano, Thiaw; Loftus-Cheek, Musah, Pobega; Okafor. Coach: Pioli.
SALERNITANA (3-4-2-1): Fiorillo; Pierozzi, Pasaridīs, Gyömbér (75' Pellegrino); Sambia, Coulibaly, Maggiore (82' Sfait), Zanoli (82' Łęgowski); Candreva (61' Vignato), Kastanos (60' Simy); Tchaouna. Subs: Costil, Salvati; Ferrari, Guccione; Di Vico; Boncori, Fusco. Coach: Colantuono.
Referee: Di Marco.
Goals: 22' Leão (M); 27' Giroud (M); 64' and 89' Simy (S); 77' Calabria (M); 87' Sambia (S).
Booked: 51' Pierozzi (S).
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