Rotation hasn’t always made for good Milan outcomes and despite some need for it – with more European and domestic matches coming after the international break – Pioli opted to sit Giroud for Okafor...
Rotation hasn’t always made for good Milan outcomes and despite some need for it – with more European and domestic matches coming after the international break – Pioli opted to sit Giroud for Okafor and keep the rest of the team intact. Kalulu did get a post injury start however. Maignan’s midweek injury scare was not and he started as well.
Milan’s oft dominant left side caused the most trouble early on and Verona could have been behind early on. An Okafor volley was saved well by Lorenzo Montipo’s fingertips as Milan threatened more with Verona rarely able to venture forward.
Pulisic’s hard shot surprised the Verona keeper but hit the crossbar as the quarter point of the match still had Milan with the bulk of the ball with 70% possession stats. As the 30 minute mark was approaching Verona managed to threaten the Milan goal and see more of the ball. Tomori got a yellow for stopping the on rushing Tijjani Noslin. The Dutch winger, who arrived to the Serie A this past January, showcasing his speed.
Milan missed chances with Okafor and Reijnders shooting wide and high with theirs but Verona made more forays into the Milan zone and Maignan became busier as half time approached. The breakthrough arrived courtesy of Theo as he did all from a Leao pass and beat two defenders and the keeper. In the aftermath he received a yellow to miss the next match, for reasons mostly known to the referee.
Gabbia replaced Kalulu at half time. The latter may have hurt his knee in a collision earlier in the first half. Dani Silva replaced Suat Serdar for the hosts. Pawel Dawidowicz’s mistake allowed Okafor to run on the goal, his shot was punched out to the feet of Pulisic who made it to 2-0.
Signs of Milan letting off a bit started to creep in and Verona proceeded to make a triple sub. Stefan Mitrovic replaced Darko Lazovic, Karol Swiderski replaced Michael Folorunsho and Giangiacomo Magnani replaced Pawel Dawidowicz. The aforementioned Noslin opened the scoring with a hard shot for Verona not from the wings but the top of the box into the left corner.
Giroud and Musah came on for Pulisic and Loftus-Cheek right after that goal. At the 70th minutefed in by Giroud it was Leao who missed wide left one on one with the Verona keeper. Chukwueze replaced Okafor for the final 16 minutes of regular time. Soon afterRuben Vinagre replaced Juan David Cabal for Verona.
Milan made it 3-1 when a Bennacer corner was headed on and volleyed into the far corner by Chukwueze. The latter scored his first Serie A goal of the season. The final sub has Kjaer coming on for Tomori. Noslin made another attempt from far but it was wide, the 24 years old could be one to watch. As the 90th minute approached Chukwueze had a half chance but shot low and just wide and Swiderski had a hard shot stopped by Maignan. The latter seemed uncomfortable after that stop.
The game ended 3-1. Juventus had dropped points earlier in the day. Milan now had a three point cushion in the fight for second place.
