Tag: AC Milan

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INTER MILAN SHOCK JUVENTUS WITH WIN TO JOIN LEADERS AC MILAN.

Inter Milan shocked champions Juventus 2-0 to move level on points with Serie A leaders AC Milan on Sunday, boosting their hopes of a first league title since 2010.

Arturo Vidal got his head to a Nicolo Barella cross in the 12th minute for his first league goal for Inter Milan against his former club.

Barella added the second seven minutes after the break as Inter claimed a first victory over Juventus since September 2016, ending a series of seven matches without a win.

“It was a bad defeat, we didn’t expect it, we couldn’t have put in a worse performance than this,” said Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo after his second league defeat this season.

Our attitude was wrong, right from the start.

“We were too passive, fearful, we only thought about the defensive phase.”

Inter are equal on 40 points with local rivals Milan, who travel to Cagliari on Monday, with Juventus seven points behind the top two in fifth.

“To win against a team like Juve you have to touch perfection,” said Inter coach Antonio Conte after his first win in four meetings against the club he led to the first three of their current run of nine consecutive league titles.

“I’m happy for the lads because these are games that give you self-esteem and make you understand that we’re on the right path.

“I’ve seen a credible Inter, and it is the greatest satisfaction after a year and a half of work”.

Cristiano Ronaldo looked to have broken through for the away side after 11 minutes but Federico Chiesa was ruled offside in the build up.

And Chilean Vidal made no mistake for last season’s Serie A runners-up two minutes later off Barella’s perfect cross.

“We’ve shown that we’re up to fighting for the Scudetto,” warned Vidal, who won four league titles in as many years with Juventus.

Romelu Lukaku then forced a save from Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny on 24 minutes, with Lautaro Martinez spurning the chance to score on the rebound.

Omnipresent midfielder Barella created another chance for Lukaku which Szczesny cleared, and the Polish keeper also denied Barella before punching the ball off Lukaku’s head at full stretch.

A superb Alessandro Bastoni through ball to Barella paid off in the 52nd minute, with the pacy Italy midfielder shaking off Gianluca Frabotta and Giorgio Chiellini to blast home the second.

Pirlo made a triple change just before the hour with Weston McKennie, Federico Bernardeschi and Dejan Kulusevski coming off the bench.

But Inter ‘keeper Samir Handanovic was rarely threatened, clearing a McKennie header on 61 minutes, and a Chiesa effort three minutes from time.

“It’s a slip-up, but our ambition remains the same, there is still a long way to go,” warned Pirlo, whose side next meet Napoli in Wednesday’s Italian Super Cup.

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AC MILAN WIN PENALTY SHOOTOUT AGAINST TORINO TO REACH ITALIAN CUP QUARTER FINAL.

AC Milan goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu celebrated a rare appearance with a penalty save to secure his side a 5-4 shootout victory following a 0-0 draw with Torino in the Italian Cup on Tuesday.

Milan will meet with either local rivals Inter Milan or Fiorentina in the quarter-finals.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was given his first start since a thigh injury ruled him out for six weeks in November, but he was replaced at halftime.

After a tame first half in which neither side created much in the way of goalscoring chances, Milan came out with more purpose in the second and might have been 2-0 up inside the opening 15 minutes.

Rafael Leao forced a good save from Vanja Milinkovic-Savic in the Torino goal. Later, Diogo Dalot could have scored when a rebound fell kindly to him, but his effort skewed onto the post.

Milan substitute goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was red-carded on the bench for dissent on a frustrating night as Brahim Diaz blasted over with the best chance of the second half, before Tatarusanu won the game with his shootout heroics.

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IBRAHIMOVIC RETURNS AS AC MILAN BOUNCE BACK TO BEAT TORINO.

AC Milan went four points clear at the top of Serie A with a comfortable 2-0 home win over Torino on Saturday as Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic made his comeback from injury.

The league leaders’ 27-match unbeaten run was ended by Juventus on Wednesday, but they showed little sign of dwelling on the result as a Rafael Leao strike and Franck Kessie penalty gave the hosts a commanding lead by halftime.

Ricardo Rodriguez summoned the visitors’ best effort when he crashed a free kick off the bar, but they struggled to threaten in open play.

A further boost for Milan was the return of top scorer Ibrahimovic, who came on as a substitute for the final five minutes to make his first appearance since suffering an injury against Napoli on Nov. 22.

“Now he needs to get back into good condition and we must work out how to manage that,” Milan coach Stefano Pioli told DAZN.

“He’s always available and collaborative, we’ll find the best solution. Zlatan is so strong in everything he does. We hope to have him back at his top condition as soon as possible.”

The result leaves Milan on 40 points, four ahead of rivals Internazionale, who travel to third-placed AS Roma on Sunday.

Torino, whose four-match unbeaten run came to an end, remain in 19th place on 12 points, two adrift of the safety zone.

The visitors sat deep and looked to frustrate the hosts in the first half, but Milan broke through after 25 minutes through a calm Leao finish, before Kessie calmly converted his spot kick after Brahim Diaz had been tripped by Andrea Belotti.

Torino were awarded a penalty early in the second half for a foul by Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali, but referee Fabio Maresca overturned the decision following an on-field VAR review.

Tonali hurt himself in the process and was carried off on a stretcher to worsen an injury crisis that had already ruled out five players, but Ibrahimovic made his long-awaited comeback to leave Pioli feeling upbeat.

“I wasn’t surprised, I expected this response,” he said.

“The team is young but strong. We played the first half at a very high level, then in the second half it was normal to suffer a little. I’m very satisfied.

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AC MILAN SUFFER FIRST DEFEAT AS CHIESA FIRES JUVENTUS TO THRILLING WIN.

Juventus inflicted a first Serie A defeat of the season on league leaders AC Milan as a Federico Chiesa double led the Italian champions to an exhilarating 3-1 win at San Siro on Wednesday.

Chiesa fired home a superb opener before makeshift midfielder Davide Calabria equalised for Milan at the end of an eventful, end-to-end first half.

But the visitors pulled away after the break as Chiesa curled in his second and substitute Weston McKennie swept in from close range to consign Milan to their first league defeat since March 8th, 2020, a run of 27 games lasting 304 days.

Stefano Pioli’s side remain top of the table on 37 points, one ahead of second-placed Inter Milan, who lost to Sampdoria earlier on Wednesday.

Juventus rise to fourth place on 30 points, but have a game in hand over the three teams above them.

Milan coach Pioli was forced to play right back Calabria in midfield after Rade Krunic and Ante Rebic were ruled out on matchday following positive Covid-19 tests, adding to an absentee list including Sandro Tonali, Ismael Bennacer, Alexis Saelemaekers and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Juventus had issues of their own, with Juan Cuadrado and Alex Sandro in isolation and Alvaro Morata injured, but the selection problems did not impact the quality of an action-packed opening period.

Chiesa blasted a powerful half-volley off the post before finding the breakthrough in the 18th minute, when a clever backheeled pass from Paulo Dybala sent the Italy international through on goal to finish.

Rafael Leao curled a shot narrowly wide and Chiesa had another effort saved before Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny’s diving save stopped an Aaron Ramsey clearance from flying into his own net.

Milan hit back four minutes before the break when Leao picked out Calabria in the box and he fired into the top corner.

The tempo dropped slightly in the second half and Juventus took control on 62 minutes when Chiesa curled a left-footed shot into the bottom corner. The winger was forced off after hurting himself in the process, but the strength of the Juve bench showed when two replacements combined for their third.

Dejan Kulusevski weaved into the box from the wing and laid off a pass to McKennie, who was left with a simple finish from six yards.

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SERIE A: AGELESS IBRAHIMOVIC’S BRACE HELP AC MILAN BEAT NAPOLI: INTER MILAN COME FROM BEHIND TO DEFEAT TORINO.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic remains unstoppable and AC Milan remain unbeaten atop Serie A.

The 39-year-old Ibrahimovic scored twice to raise his total to 10 goals in six games played as Milan won 3-1 at Napoli on Sunday.

“He seems even stronger now than he was 10-12 years ago,” said Napoli coach Gennaro Gattuso, who teamed with Ibrahimovic when Milan last won the Italian league in 2011.

However, there was concern for Ibrahimovic when he exited toward the end clutching his hamstring. The Swedish superstar already missed two games this season after contracting the coronavirus.

” It looks like a muscular problem but we’ll have to wait a few days to understand the extent of it,” said Milan assistant coach Daniele Bonera, who was standing in for head coach Stefano Pioli, who has the coronavirus .

The Rossoneri again moved two points ahead of Sassuolo, which won 2-0 at Hellas Verona earlier to also remain undefeated through eight rounds.

Having also beaten Inter Milan in the city derby and drawn with Roma, Milan’s unexpected title credentials are growing week by week.

Milan finished no better than fifth the past seven seasons.

“It shows that we’re on the right track,” Bonera said. “But it’s really premature after eight rounds to talk about what might happen in May. There’s a long way to go.”

Ibrahimovic soared above Kalidou Koulibaly to head in from long range following a cross from Theo Hernandez midway through the first half.

After Giovanni Di Lorenzo hit the crossbar for Napoli, Ibrahimovic used his thigh to steer in another goal by the far post following a cross from Ante Rebic near the hour mark.

Dries Mertens pulled one back for Napoli less than 10 minutes later from close range after getting away from Alessio Romagnoli.

But Napoli’s comeback quickly lost steam when Tiémoué Bakayoko was sent off after picking up his second yellow card for a foul on Hernandez.

Jens Petter Hauge added another goal for Milan five minutes into stoppage time, from a tight angle.

INTER COMEBACK

Two late goals helped Inter Milan fight back from 2-0 down to beat Torino 4-2 thanks to an inspired Romelu Lukaku.

Both sides had players ruled out with the coronavirus . Torino was also missing coach Marco Giampaolo because of the virus and forward Andrea Belotti pulled out injured during the warmup.

His replacement, Simone Zaza, fired Torino in front on the stroke of halftime and Cristian Ansaldi doubled the visitors’ lead in the 62nd from the penalty spot after Ashley Young fouled Wilfried Stephane Singo.

Inter pulled one back just two minutes later as Lukaku’s shot came off the crossbar with Alexis Sánchez managing to fire in the rebound.

Lukaku then hit the post before turning in Sánchez’s cross.

And Inter’s comeback was complete six minutes from time when Lukaku converted a penalty after Achraf Hakimi was tripped in the area by Nicolas Nkoulou.

Inter sealed the match in the final minute when Lukaku ran down the left and rolled across for Lautaro Martínez to tap in.

SUPER SASSUOLO

It is only Sassuolo’s eighth season in the Italian top flight and the team has never finished higher than sixth. But a Champions League spot is now in sight for the Emilia-Romagna club.

Verona dominated the match, hitting the woodwork four times. But Sassuolo broke the deadlock three minutes from the interval and against the run of play.

Jérémie Boga latched onto Domenico Berardi’s crossfield pass and curled it into the far top corner.

Berardi got onto the scoresheet himself in the 76th minute as Verona players failed to close him down before he unleashed a shot that took a slight deflection to dip under the crossbar.

Sassuolo remained one point ahead of third-place Roma, which beat Parma 3-0.

OTHER MATCHES

Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored twice in an impressive first half for Roma after Borja Mayoral’s opener.

Mkhitaryan has now scored five goals in his last two Serie A matches.

Cesare Prandelli’s first match back in charge of Fiorentina ended in a 1-0 defeat at home to Benevento.

Also, Bologna won 2-1 at Sampdoria and Udinese beat Genoa 1-0.

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ZLATAN STARS AGAIN AS AC MILAN EDGE UDINESE TO GO FOUR POINTS CLEAR ON TOP OF SERIE A TABLE.

AC Milan extended their unbeaten streak as Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored an acrobatic late winner to seal a 2-1 win over Udinese.

The 39-year-old has scored seven goals in four league games having missed the other two after contracting Covid-19.

“Mine was a good goal but the victory of the team counts more,” said Ibrahimovic.

“It was a difficult match, we showed that in difficult moments the team works well together.

“We are among the youngest teams in Europe, I take the blame for raising the average age, but they all make me feel younger.”

The Swedish star set up Franck Kessie for the opener after 18 minutes before Rodrigo de Paul pulled Udinese level three minutes after the break from the penalty spot, beating Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma on his return from coronavirus.

But Ibrahimovic snatched the three points seven minutes from time, acrobatically outwitting Udinese defenders Rodrigo Becao and Sebastien De Maio, to smash an overhead kick past goalkeeper Juan Musso.

AC Milan extended their unbeaten run to 24 consecutive matches since competition return in June after the coronavirus lockdown.

Udinese are in the relegation zone after their fifth defeat this season.

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IBRAHIMOVIC DECLARES SELF FIT AFTER TESTING NEGATIVE TO COVID-19.

AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is back available for selection after recovering from coronavirus, reports say.

As the report mentions, Zlatan was ruled out for Milan after being the latest high-profile player to contract COVID-19. Though he reported no symptoms of the virus, the positive test left him unable to feature for the Serie A giants.

The international break was likely welcomed by the big Swede. It offered him an opportunity to recover from the illness and get back into training with Milan as soon as possible ahead of their upcoming fixture schedule.

Some reports from Italy claim Ibrahimovic’s test came back positive once again in Milan’s latest round of testing, Ibra himself took to his Twitter account to announce he was now COVID free.

We would include the tweet in the article, but Zlatan’s decided to use some colourful language to express his delight at his release from quarantine.

Whether his latest test did come back positive and Zlatan alone has declared himself a free man, as he would likely think he has the authority to do so, is unclear, but Milan fans won’t be asking questions. Ibrahimovic is back and, on a more serious note, is healthy and COVID-free.