10 FACTS AHEAD OF BENEVENTO V AC MILAN

AC Milan’s first fixture of 2021 is on the horizon, with the team looking to stay at the top of the pile and continue their unbeaten start in the league. Just over three years on from their last visit there, the Rossoneri are set to take to the pitch in Benevento, where they’ll be hoping to start the new year in the same way that they ended the last one. Ahead of this evening’s 18:00 CET kick-off against Filippo Inzaghi’s side at the Stadio Ciro Vigorito, here are some facts and figures that you need to know.

STATE OF PLAY
1- AC Milan haven’t tasted defeat in their last 14 away matches in Serie A (W10, D4): this is the Rossoneri’s longest unbeaten run on the road since April 2004. In 2020, the Diavolo only lost one away fixture in the Italian top flight: previously, they’d only done better in 1992 and 1964 (no losses).
2- AC Milan haven’t lost on the last nine occasions when they’ve started a new year away from home in Serie A (W8, D1), their last defeat coming in 1997 (3-0 against Lazio).

GENERAL STATS
3- AC Milan haven’t been beaten in 301 days in Serie A (their last loss came at home to Genoa on 8 March 2020). For the seventh time in their history, the Rossoneri have gone over 300 days without tasting defeat in the Italian top flight.
4- AC Milan have scored the most goals in the opening half an hour of matches this Serie A campaign (twelve), with Benevento currently faring the joint worst in this regard (three, level with Udinese).

PLAYER FOCUS
5- AC Milan striker Ante Rebić has scored three goals against newly promoted sides in Serie A, with his last coming against Lecce in June 2020.
6- Hakan Çalhanoğlu’s next appearance will be his 150th for AC Milan in all competitions. The Turk has contributed to six goals in his last six Serie A fixtures against newly promoted teams, scoring twice and providing four assists.
7- Hakan Çalhanoğlu has registered at least one assist in each of his last four Serie A appearances. He could become the fifth player to do this for five consecutive matches in the three-points-per-win era: Cassano, Munari, Pjanić and Insigne (twice) are the only ones that have achieved this feat.
8- Against Lazio, Daniel Maldini played his fifth Serie A fixture: should he play against Benevento, it’d be the Maldini dynasty’s 1000th match for AC Milan in the Italian top flight (647 games for Paolo, 347 for Cesare and six for Daniel).
9- Calabria is the player who has made the most tackles so far this Serie A season: 58, at least 18 more than anyone else.

COACHES
10- AC Milan are the team that Filippo Inzaghi made most of his Serie A appearances for (202), while he also started his top-flight coaching career with the Rossoneri in August 2014. The current Benevento boss has faced the Diavolo on one occasion as a coach in Italy’s top division: in December 2018, his Bologna side played out a goalless draw against the Rossoneri.

Our new PUMA Kits for the 2020/21 season are now available: visit our AC Milan Online Store!