It was an exciting and difficult game tonight at the San Siro as the Rossoneri had to go to extra time in order to unlock the fixture and grab a win in the Coppa Italia against Genoa. Score: 3-1 for Il Diavolo.
AC Milan played with a few changes compared to the starting lineup that featured in the most recent league clash against Venezia. These were the choices of coach Stefano Pioli:
4-2-3-1: Maignan; Kalulu, Gabbia, Tomori, Hernández; Tonali, Krunić; Messias, Maldini, Rebić; Giroud
As for coach Andriy Shevchenko, who received a warm welcome from the supporters in the stadium, he chose this lineup:
4-3-2-1: Šemper; Hefti, Vanheusden, Østigård, Vásquez; Portanova, Badelj, Melegoni; Ekuban, Yeboah; Caicedo
The game started relatively well for AC Milan as they almost scored with a couple of dangerous attempts from Daniel Maldini and Rade Krunic's flick which hit the woordwork. However, in the 16th minute, it was Genoa who got on the scoring sheet thanks to Ostigard's header. The Genoa player was poorly marked and was able to score.
The Rossoneri then struggled a lot to create chances as Shevchenko's men became more compact and defended well. The injury of Fikayo Tomori and having him replaced by Florenzi did not help either. The first half ended with the 0-1 score in favour of the visitors.
The second half started with Milan trying to attack more and Genoa looking to hit Milan with counter-attacks. The entry of Leao, however, has revived the dynamism of the attack. Theo Hernandez kept attacking and sprinting forward. One of the French full-back's moves forwards finally paid off with a great assist to Olivier Giroud who scored a beautiful header to equalise in the 74th minute.
After then, Milan attacked more with Alexis Saelemaekers and Brahim Diaz also creating some opportunities. But the one who brought so much danger was the Portuguese winger who was supported by Theo Hernandez behind him.
The match ended with 1-1 score and the match had to continue on for the extra time periods.
In the 102nd minute, Rafael Leao continued to work harder as always and proved why he's one of the top players currently in Pioli's squad and in the Italian league as he delivered a beautiful goal. The ball seemed to be meant as a cross, but it ended up as a chip that the goalkeeper was not expecting, it went through to the net and AC Milan finally got one foot forward in the game in front of the well-organised Genoa squad.
After the Rossoneri's second goal, Genoa got out more of their half of the pitch and attempted shots on the goalkeeper. The red and black faithful, however, were able to hold on well to their lead. Then, the victory was secured finally when Alexis Saelemaekers maanged to score the third goal in the 112th minute after an assist by Theo Hernandez.
The triumph is definitely a difficult one, the AC Milan team played with so much effort and for 120 minutes, obviously. The team never gave up. But Pioli must now think of the next challenge in Serie A against Spezia and hopefully he can recover Fikayo Tomori soon while the team recovers some energy.
Below you'll find our graphic for the team ratings, let us know your thoughts below in the comments.
