Milan suffered another setback at San Siro as the spoils were shared with Salernitana.
In Milan’s most recent three-game winning streak, Junior Messias scored twice, but the Brazilian was suspended for this match after receiving his fifth booking of the year against Fiorentina. Brahim Diaz and Rafael Leao partnered up front with Olivier Giroud for the Rossoneri’s starting front three in this game.
With former Milan striker Krzysztof Piatek on the sidelines, Salernitana’s 3-0 victory over Monza featured goals from Antonio Candreva and Grigoris Kastanos. The two partnered Boulaye Dia in attack.
Giroud blocked Mazzocchi’s left-footed shot after the Salernitana captain made an inside cut from the right while eluding Leao and Diaz to get into the box.
Pirola fouled Diaz on the edge of the Salernitana penalty area, and Bennacer’s free kick sailed just over the crossbar after nicking off the visitors’ wall.
The Salernitana free-kick was crossed into the box after Saelemaekers was called for a foul on Bradaric in the air, but Daniliuc’s headed attempt was easily stopped by Maignan.
Hernandez appeared to have a shooting window in the box, but Gyomber’s well-timed challenge scythed the ball away. Leao received a cross from Kalulu back into the area, and he moved past his defender to shoot wide and across the goal.
Giroud was the recipient of a cross-field pass into the box from Saelemaekers. The forward kept the ball in play before attempting a cross. Daniliuc’s deflection caused the cross to deflect behind for a corner. Giroud was in the box when Bennacer’s corner was received; he attempted a bold overhead kick and narrowly missed the crossbar.
Salernitana almost gained the lead thanks to some appalling Milan defence. Bennacer slid in to take down Bohinen, but his pass to Maignan was too brief, allowing the opponents to steal the ball. With Maignan stranded, Bohinen set up Kastanos to shoot, but he dragged his shot wide of the far post.
Although Diaz was set up by Giroud to shoot from the edge of the box, the Spaniard first considered his options before finding Leao. He glided the ball towards the top corner while cutting onto his right foot, but a slight deflection caused it to go around the wrong side of the goal post.
Thiaw received Leao’s deflected ball after it had bounced back to him, but Dia quickly made a break for it for the visitors. The Milan goalkeeper timed his tackle perfectly before grabbing the loose ball in the box as the player attempted to get around an oncoming Maignan at the edge of his box.
A late first-half goal from Milan as Giroud flicked Bennacer’s centering corner, and Ochoa was unmoved as the ball slid into the bottom corner. 1-0 to the Milan just before half time. Giroud received Bennacer’s corner delivery directly onto his head, and the seasoned France striker made it count by nodding the ball into the goal.
Leao connected with Hernandez after he charged into clear and created space for Milan on the counter, but the striker took a heavy touch as he cut inside, and Bohinen recovered possession for the opposition.
Salernitana quickly advanced after moving the ball to the left, and Dia’s first-time shot found the near post after Bradaric’s low cross. In the first half, Maignan denied Dia, but the Milan goalkeeper had no chance this time, and the score is now 1-1 at the San Siro with nothing to lose.
Hernandez bowed his head and sprinted into the Salernitana space. Coulibaly’s pressure caused him to fall to the ground in the penalty area, but the referee ruled that the shoulder-to-shoulder contact was legit and signalled for play to continue.
Hernandez’s left-wing cross was deflected by Mazzocchi and fell to Bennacer, who fired a half-volley just wide from the edge of the box.
De Ketelaere set up Bennacer to his right. Bradaric shoved the midfielder in the box, causing the injury, and the referee pointed to the spot right away. But after reviewing the challenge on Bennacer on the pitchside monitor, the referee decided it wasn’t quite deserving of a penalty and changed his mind.
When Piatek entered the box, Mazzocchi tried to catch up to him, but the former Milan striker fell to the ground with Tomori nearby. Tomori shook his head in disagreement with the referee over the substitute’s appeal for a penalty.
Origi received a pass from Saelemaekers that was flicked by Ibrahimovic to the far post. As he headed for the far corner, he was almost standing on the goal line when Ochoa suddenly dove across to claw the ball off the line.
The Salernitana wingback did a fantastic job of beating Florenzi to a high ball before charging forward, which allowed radaric and Dia to combine once more. Thiaw blocks Dia’s initial attempt to score.
Hernandez attempted to find the back post with another ball in from the left after Kalulu’s cross from the right went over the top. Ochoa grabbed the ball and palmed it into Florenzi’s path, but Gyombert was able to clear it off the line.
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