What a game this was. Milan won by a narrow 1 goal lead socred by Pulisic. But the late game drama in the stoppage time was something else to witness. We even got to see Olivier Giroud as a goalkeeper and make a stunning save.
FULL TIME. MILAN WIN 1-0.
90 + 15′ GIROUD COMES TO THE RESCUE! Puscas runs forward in an attempt to get on the end of a leading pass, but the striker-turned-goalie rushes off his line and swings a fist at the ball in order to knock it away, allowing Milan to maintain their advantage.
90 + 12′ CROSSBAR! The low free kick that Gudmundsson rolls takes a deflection before it reaches Giroud, and it hits the crossbar instead of him! The ball is eventually deflected behind by Thiaw, and Milan is forced to defend yet another set piece!
90 + 10′ Giroud is given the gloves and the rest of Maignan’s goalkeeper gear as he carefully removes them one by one. The striker who led France to victory in the 2014 World Cup is about to put on his gear and attempt to play out the final few minutes in goal!
90 + 8′ The referee was brought over to the monitor to look at the earlier altercation that occurred between Maignan and Ekuban, which indicates that there could be some late-game drama here. The goalie appeared to be making a move for the ball with his header, but upon further inspection, it appears as though he made contact with the face of the striker with his knee, which might be considered a serious instance of foul play. After the check Maignan is given red card.
90 + 6′ A collision between Maignan and Ekuban occurred just outside the Milan penalty area, and the referee immediately called a halt to the game as both players fell to the ground grabbing their ankles. It does not appear like the two players will be able to continue playing since they will need medical treatment.
87′ GOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!!! PULISICCCCC!!!!!! THE FANTASTIC STRIKE OF PULISIC COULD BE THE GAME-CHANGER HERE! 1-0! Musah created the scoring opportunity for his team by finding space on the right flank and then crossing the ball in the direction of the penalty spot. Pulisic receives the delivery with an outstanding first touch, which enables him to turn Bani, before half-volleying the ball past Martinez from close range!
83′ Bani responds to Leao’s rolling pass across the face of the goal with a clearing touch, putting the ball just outside his 18-yard area. Calabria rushes onto the ball, takes a touch to prepare himself, and then hits a half-volley that flies high past the crossbar without dipping.
79′ Jovic sends his acrobatic volley crashing off the back of Bani, and the captain’s block prevents Martinez from having to get out of his goal to make a save. Calabria sends in a teaser of a cross for Jovic, and he takes full advantage of it by sending a volley that crashes off the back of Bani.
77′ Ekuban receives a cross into the six-yard box after Gudmundsson beats Calabria to the corner and turns away from him. Because of the daring displayed by Maignan, who came out of his position to narrow the angle, the substitute forward was forced to head his opportunity over the crossbar.
76′ AMAZING SAVE FROM MAIGNAN! THE SCORE IS STILL 0-0! The field opens up in front of Dragusin, who then takes a step forward towards the penalty area of Milan and attempts a shot on goal, which is denied by Reijnders. It appears as though the deflection will carry it away from the goalkeeper and into the bottom corner, but an incredible touch from the goalkeeper’s top hand redirects it behind for a corner!
75′ Haps has fallen to the ground holding his face after colliding into the back of Pulisic. De Winter knocks the ball out of play for Haps as he is on the ground. Following a brief consultation with the team’s medical personnel, the Genoa winger should be fit to continue playing, and Milan will give possession of the ball back to the home team after the throw-in.
73′ Martinez is put under pressure by Jovic’s high push, and his lackluster clearing leads to the ball landing straight at the foot of Reijnders. The first touch of the midfielder, who was going for a breakaway into open space, was much too heavy, which gave the goalkeeper the opportunity to come off his line and retrieve the ball.
65′ GREAT SAVE! Florenzi sends a cross to the far post, where Leao is waiting for it. Leao leaps high above De Winter and makes a header that is directed toward the goal, but the alert Martinez palms it away and it goes over the crossbar.
62′ Adli is the most recent Milan player to commit a foul in order to stop an opposing team from mounting a counterattack. He did this by launching himself into a sliding tackle on Haps. The Rossoneri midfielder has been shown a yellow card, making it the fourth caution of the match.
58′ Reijnders makes an attempt to redirect Adli’s deep cross from the right to the far post, but his shot does not have enough speed and Bani is able to knock it away. Adli’s cross came from the right and was headed to the far post.
56′ Adli runs the ball far into Genoa’s half and looks to spread the play to the right for Pulisic, but Haps intercepts the sloppy pass easily and throws it out for a throw-in back in Milan’s half with his nudged touch.
50′ Gudmundsson attempts to beat the goalkeeper with a set piece taken at an acute angle, but the ball is unable to make its way through the crowd of bodies and Musah wins a free kick inside his own six-yard box.
47′ The referee decides to show the Milan midfielder a yellow card because Musah catches Vasquez with a trailing leg that he leaves out intentionally.
43′ After an errant pass, Thorsby commits to trying to keep the ball in play near the byline, and he and Tomori start pushing and shoving each other until they collide with Maignan near the goal frame. The play is allowed to continue through a goal-kick, and the Genoa midfielder is quick to apologize once the referee permits play to continue.
41′ Milan is forced to regroup on the far side after a Florenzi corner is met by a flailing hand from Martinez, who is able to push the ball out of his penalty area.
39′ After cutting in from the left, Adli shoots a flat cross towards the back post, but it is blocked by the outstretched leg of De Winter, giving Martinez the opportunity to grab the ball without any pressure being applied to him.
37′ Adli launches himself into a sliding challenge against Frendrup, and in the process, he also catches Reijnders. The referee takes a few seconds to gather his thoughts before blowing his whistle and awarding Genoa a free-kick. Genoa then makes most of this opportunity to clear their lines.
36′ Milan decide to go with a training-ground routine from the set piece, and Adli sends the free kick down the edge of the 18-yard box for Florenzi to head in. The right-back takes the initiative and fires a first-time shot, but Martinez is unable to save it because it goes over the crossbar.
34′ Malinovskiy brings Musah down in a good position just beyond the penalty area on the right side of the field. The Rossoneri have been awarded a free kick, and Hernandez and Adli are currently positioned over the dead ball.
32′ Malinovskiy was in possession of the ball in the middle of the field when he became aware of Reijnders’s impending arrival. He immediately turned his attention to the ball and hit a cross with his left foot into the penalty area. The ball flew over Gudmundsson’s head and into Maignan’s waiting arms.
28′ Adli uses a series of twists and turns in the middle of the field to get away from Frendrup and Thorsby before creating space for Chukwueze on the far side of the field. Although it’s an encouraging play for the away team, the winger’s cross is once again blocked by Dragusin, who leaps higher than Okafor to win possession of the ball in the air.
22′ Florenzi is the second Milan defender to be shown a yellow card in rapid succession after his tug on Haps’ shirt caused a Genoa counter-attack to come to an abrupt halt. This caused Genoa to receive a yellow card.
21′ The referee sees Hernandez’s malicious shoulder charge on Thorsby and issues a yellow card to the Milan full-back. The referee calls the play for what it is: a deliberate attempt to injure another player.
19′ Following the switch in play initiated by Adli, Chukwueze is the one to receive the ball and promptly place it at Reijnders’ feet within the 18-yard box. The midfielder takes a shot on goal after using a deft touch to position himself up, but Frendrup and Dragusin are able to combine their efforts to block the strike.
17′ GREAT SAVE! When Reijnders took a first-time shot from close range, Martinez was able to save it thanks to a sprawling save from Musah inside the penalty area.
15′ Dragusin makes an unorthodox clearance of a Chukwueze cross with his chest, giving Florenzi the opportunity to take possession of the ball 25 yards from the goal. The international player from Italy takes a touch to situate himself before delivering a powerful half-volley that stings the palms of Martinez, who does an excellent job of dealing with the attack.
13′ Once more, Chukwueze sends a beautiful cross into the penalty area, but this time it’s for Hernandez, who makes a spectacular catch in the air and puts it on a plate for Florenzi. De Winter is given chance to clear the ball in the end.
9′ After the referee did not give Genoa a penalty, Gilardino became extremely irate while standing on the sidelines. Vasquez appears to have turned Florenzi inside the 18-yard box before being pulled down by a trailing leg, but the contact is considered to be accidental, and Milan are allowed to clear it away. Vasquez appears to have turned Florenzi inside the 18-yard box.
7′ Gudmundsson stole the ball from Thiaw in the middle of the field, then ran past the center back and invited a tackle from the defender, which resulted in the striker falling to the ground close to the technical area. The home team will take the free kick, but the referee is not going to make any other calls because he is keeping his cards in his pocket.
3′ GREAT CHANCE! Chukwueze makes his way into the goal by dribbling the ball toward the penalty area down the right wing. Then, he cuts inside and sends a chipped cross to Okafor at the far post. The striker leaps with his leg extended, but he is unable to put the ball past Martinez, who makes the stop after the ball initially bobbles in front of him.
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