AC Milan 3-0 Lecce: Pulisic, Rabiot and Moreira score to celebrate San Siro’s 100th birthday in style
AC Milan ensured they will go into the international break with a bit more positivity as they comfortably beat Lecce 3-0 at San Siro.
The first goal of the game came in the first half through Christian Pulisic, who brought down an aerial through ball brilliantly and then finished with his next touch. Adrien Rabiot and Diego Moreira both scored in the second half to make it a relatively stress-free evening.
With Inter and Roma drawing, it means that the gap to top spot is cut to two points, although the Rossoneri remain outside the top four for now. Still, it releases a bit of the pressure that had been building on Ruben Amorim after the last three games.
First half: Setting the tone
Amorim chose to make six changes from the team that lost to Benfica in midweek. Mario Gila, Luka Modric, Adrien Rabiot, Pervis Estupinan, Christian Pulisic and Alexis Saelemaekers all came back into the side, with the American making his first start of the season.
The early stages of the game were frustrating for Milan as they struggled to break the visitors down. It took until the 10th minute for the first real attempt from either side as Ilic sliced a scissor-kick wide, then at the other end Pulisic was nearly put through on goal by Gonçalo Ramos, however Falcone came off his line quickly and cut out the danger.
Milan broke the deadlock in the 14th minute and it was a moment of real quality that yielded the opening goal. Pulisic made a dart in behind off the shoulder of the last defender that Strahinja Pavlovic found with a clipped pass over the top. It was brought down brilliantly by the forward, who then finished with his left foot past Falcone.
The goal seemed to calm the Rossoneri down a bit and they were then able to control the lion’s share of possession, though it didn’t necessarily lead to any more big scoring chances. Often moves broke down right at the final pass, due to failed one-twos or a lay-off that wasn’t quite right.
It looked briefly as though a long ball could be Lecce’s undoing again as one was clipped in behind for Samuel Chukwueze’s run. The Nigerian appeared to get there before Falcone but didn’t get the contact required to poke the ball past him or around him.
Milan continued to knock on the door for a second goal and Pulisic almost went from scorer to creator six minutes before the break. He stood up an excellent cross from the byline that Koni De Winter rose highest and met, yet he nodded it wide with Ramos imploring he was in a better position to take it on.
Just a couple of minutes after that, there was the surprisingly familiar sight of Pavlovic with his head down running through on goal. However, the Serbian decided to cut back inside rather than shoot on his preferred left foot, and the eventual pass/shot was tame.
Second half: Game put to bed
Saelemaekers had been involved plenty in the first half, and he illuminated the start to the second with a brilliant run to carry the ball nearly the length of the pitch. From Chukwueze’s eventual cross, Ramos tried an acrobatic attempt that he didn’t connect with.
Milan thought they had doubled their lead 10 minutes after the restart as a corner that was taken short was whipped in towards the head of Pavlovic who headed past Falcone. However, the offside flag went up as he had just gone too early with his run.
Just as Milan were perhaps beginning to wonder if the second goal was ever going to come, it did indeed arrive in the 61st minute. It was a lovely team move in truth, with the finish applied by Rabiot at the near post after a no-look return pass from Ramos.
Amorim opted to change things up a bit not long after the second goal, with Diego Moreira and Ruben Loftus-Cheek the players who came on, replacing Saelemaekers and Pulisic.
Amorim’s side were really beginning to enjoy themselves in San Siro’s 100th birthday game, and they got a third goal in the 74th minute through the substitute Moreira. Ramos did really well to battle for the ball with his back to goal and it allowed the wing-back to surge onto it, finishing under the onrushing Falcone to make it 3-0 and surely put the contest to bed.
With 15 minutes left, Amorim made a couple more changes: Luka Modric came off amidst applause from the fans while Pervis Estupinan left to jeers, replaced by Yunus Musah and Davide Bartesaghi respectively.
As the clocked ticked into the final five minutes, Maignan made a good save to preserve the clean sheet from a Fatah shot that was heading inside the far post, after Loftus-Cheek had been dispossessed. Not long after, Francesco Camarda replaced Chukwueze.
