Ruben Loftus-Cheek scored twice and Rafael Leao scored a wonderful goal to give Milan a 3-0 victory over Rennes in the Europa League play-off. Milan’s victory gives them a significant first-leg edge in the competition.
At the six-minute mark, Rafael Leao came close to opening the score with a chest control and strike that he delivered down the left side of the field. However, Warmed Omari was able to divert the ball onto the crossbar.
Yunus Musah was unable to capitalize on a Loftus-Cheek run and pull-back from the by-line, and Benjamin Bourigeaud struck a shot that was not too far wide from the edge of the box after a free kick that was taken in a hurry.
Loftus-Cheek scored the game-winning goal for Milan after Alessandro Florenzi had whipped in a cross from the right side of the field. Loftus-Cheek was relatively unmarked when he headed the ball from 12 yards out. The goal was his fourth in a total of five games that were competitive.
In addition, Olivier Giroud and Leao were unable to capitalize on favorable situations, while Desire Doue put Mike Maignan to the test on the counterattack.
Then, at the beginning of the second half, Milan increased their lead when Steve Mandanda made an incredible save on Simon Kjaer’s header from the corner kick taken by Theo Hernandez. However, he was unable to stop Loftus-Cheek’s diving follow-up shot from close range.
Leao haven’t scored since the 10th of January, but he finally broke that streak in a stunning manner. Theo Hernandez was propelled down the left side of the field by his back-heel flick, and he continued to sprint into the middle of the field in order to redirect the pass back with the inside of his right boot right inside Rennes goal.
A few moments later, Christian Pulisic finished off a give-and-go with Leao to force Mandanda to make a save at the near post. This action brought the score to an almost 4-0 advantage.
Three months after suffering a hamstring strain, Malick Thiaw made his return to action. Immediately after his return, he produced a crucial defensive header to prevent Martin Terrier from running clear. Amine Gouiri subsequently hammered a shot that was just wide of the target.
As Milan began to back off the gas, Mike Maignan was forced to make a double save, first on Gouiri and then on Baptiste Santamaria. This was to save Milan from losing the game.
Mandanda blocked the single effort from Pulisic, Azor Matusiwa cleared the ball off the goal line after it was followed by a shot from Noah Okafor, and Theo Hernandez fired a shot from the edge of the box that went over the crossbar. Milan also looked dangerous.
Ismael Bennacer’s free kick, which was taken after Reijnders was hauled down just outside the box, came dangerously close to hitting the crossbar.
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