Lazio takes revenge after the league defeat and advances to the Coppa Italia quarterfinals: Zaccagni’s header ten minutes from the end decides the match against Milan.
Lazio - AC Milan, how did the first half go?
Head coach Massimiliano Allegri changes half the team compared to the match five days ago in the league: Koni De Winter, Pervis Estupinan, Samuele Ricci, Ardon Jashari, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek rest Matteo Gabbia, Davide Bartesaghi, Youssouf Fofana, Luka Modric, and ex Chelsea man Christopher Nkunku, while the recovered Christian Pulisic starts on the bench. Coach Maurizio Sarri does not rotate, fielding his usual starters. The only changes from Saturday are Mandas for Provedel and Taty Castellanos for Boulaye Dia upfront.
The game starts at a good pace and after a minute and a half the first yellow card arrives: Pervis Estupinan misplays, Mattéo Guendouzi recovers the ball and is fouled by Pavlovic at the edge of the area. Yellow for the Serbian and free kick for SS Lazio, taken over the bar by Basic. At the tenth minute, another major error, this time by De Winter, gives the ball to Guendouzi, who feeds Castellanos into the box, blocked by the same former Genoa defender.
By the way, for fans who are confident that AC Milan under the guidance of tactician Allegri can quickly pick up the pace again and continue their strong Serie A form now that the Coppa Italia distraction is gone, soccer betting markets already have the Rossoneri as favorites in their upcoming league fixtures.
Speaking of the Lazio cup fixture, however, Milan struggled to create play, focusing on closing spaces against a Lazio team keeping possession. Midway through the half, Zaccagni sets up Basic, who charges toward goal and shoots a diagonal just wide of Maignan’s left. Milan is unusually inaccurate with the ball. In the 33rd minute, Saelemaekers feeds Castellanos at the edge of the box. He shoots from a good position, but the effort is straight and Maignan collects easily.
Milan’s first chance comes in the 37th minute: Estupinan crosses, Loftus-Cheek misheads, the ball reaches Saelemaekers who crosses back to the Englishman, but he is blocked by Lazio’s defense. At 45 minutes, another clear chance for Lazio: from a corner, the ball reaches Isaksen, who shoots but Maignan blocks with his body. After one minute of added time, the teams go into halftime goalless.
Lazio - AC Milan, second half:
No changes at halftime, both teams return with the same players. Less than two minutes in, Pellegrini attempts a goal from midfield after stealing from Saelemaekers, but the ball goes over. In the sixth minute, AC Milan responds: Estupinan crosses from the left, Loftus-Cheek rises above his marker but heads just over.
At the hour mark, Milan plays a short corner: Ricci lays off to Saelemaekers, who tries a curling shot from the edge, saved in two steps by Mandas. Four minutes later, Allegri makes the first substitution, bringing Nkunku on for Alexis Saelemaekers, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek moving wide to right midfield.
Twenty minutes from the end, a big chance for Milan: Nkunku threads a pass to Rabiot, who crosses for Loftus-Cheek, blocked by two defenders and failing to score from close range. Two minutes later, an even clearer chance: Jashari’s perfect pass reaches Estupinan, who runs onside and crosses for Rafael Leao, who shoots over from a great position.
Ten minutes from the end, the match breaks open: a very questionable corner awarded to Lazio, Mattia Zaccagni loses his marker and heads at the near post, Maignan cannot reach it. Immediately after, Allegri brings on Modric and Pulisic for Jashari and Loftus-Cheek, then Bartesaghi for Estupinan. Five minutes from the end, Maignan keeps Milan’s hopes alive with a reflex save from Tijjani Noslin.
The referee adds five minutes of stoppage time, in the first of which Pulisic shoots left-footed on the rebound, but Mandas dives and deflects the ball out. Milan’s final attacks fail and the Rossoneri are eliminated from the Coppa Italia competition, unfortunately for the red and black faithful.
After the match, Massimiliano Allegri, the Rossoneri coach, spoke to SportMediaset about Rafael Leao’s performance against Lazio. He said the following words: "Tonight he had a good chance, he moved well inside and outside the box: when he isn’t there, other players need to occupy that space. He played a good match and made himself available for the team. We shouldn’t get depressed because we have a season ahead, and the goal is to play in the Champions League next year."
The coach also spoke to those at Milan TV as well and had this to say about Ardon Jashari’s performance: "He played a good game, I had no doubts. De Winter also played well, and Estupinan too. There is disappointment over the elimination, but there was also a good performance. Now we focus on Torino because we need to continue our journey in the league.”
Conclusion:
Now, however, Milan are out of the Coppa Italia competition. There are negative points to work out on and there are a few positive ones to take away and build on. The focus shifts to the Serie A tonight to face Marco Baroni's Torino who are looking to improve their recent league run. In addition to that, Allegri's Milan will also have to think about the Supercoppa and try to win some silverware. The main goal, though, remains the same: qualifying to the next season's UEFA Champions League, as reiterated by the club, coach, and players since the start of the current season.
