On Tuesday night in the Champions League, AC Milan beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 by coming back from a goal down to secure what were unquestionably three very important points for their team.
Milan Skriniar marked his return to Milan in the Champions League with a goal that was undoubtedly felt on the blue-and-black side of the city. The goal took just eight minutes to score.
Skriniar, who is most certainly the one player that AC Milan will not have wanted to let up a goal to, stooped low in the box to head home after a flick on from Marquinhos following a powerful opening salvo to the game by the visitors.
The former Inter star avoided the attention of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and found himself unmarked and with plenty of room in front of Mike Maignan’s goal to score the goal that got Luis Enrique’s team off to a flying start.
But the lead only lasted for a little under four minutes when the home team was tied again thanks to the athletic play of Rafael Leao, who bicycle kicked the ball past the huge Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma after grabbing onto a save made by his former teammate Donnarumma.
Since the end of September, AC Milan had not scored a goal at home, and they had not scored a single goal in the Champions League. However, it was well worth the wait as Leao followed up his pass to Olivier Giroud by doing a spectacular jump to lob the ball home over his own head.
After Ousmane Dembele had the chance to rattle the cross bar and warn the home team that the attacking might of PSG still held some bite, the referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the first half and bring an end to the exhilarating first half of play.
However, within the first five minutes of play following the resumption of play, the home team took the lead for the first time thanks to the experienced striker Giroud.
Theo Hernandez sent a pass across the face of the six-yard box, and France’s all-time leading goal scorer rose highest to power a header all the way into the top corner to punish the Ligue 1 giants for falling asleep.
Malick Thiaw and Fikayo Tomori were particularly impressive at the heart of Milan’s back four, as they played a central role in the defense, which allowed Milan to pose a challenge for PSG’s attack.
Noah Okafor almost made it three within seconds of joining the field, but Donnarumma produced a save of the greatest order to deny the Swiss international after Okafor cut in on his right and unleashed a shot toward the bottom corner of the goal.
Lee Kang-in had an opportunity to become the hero for the French side, as he wove his way between the challenges within the Milan box. However, his strike was just slightly off the mark, and a diving Maignan assisted it go beyond the post.
Christian Pulisic had to leave the field after pulling up in the middle of a sprint with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Former PSG star Alessandro Florenzi came in to replace Pulisic after the injury forced him off the field.
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