Genoa 1-2 AC Milan: Cisse and Pulisic score in hard-fought victory

By: Oliver Fisher

AC Milan secured a much-needed three points on Sunday afternoon as they beat an in-form Genoa side 2-1 at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

The groundwork for the victory was laid in the first half, when Alphadjo Cisse slotted in a cut-back from Adrien Rabiot to get his eighth of the campaign, before Christian Pulisic buried a square pass from Gonçalo Ramos after a stray pass inside the box.

Ellertsson made it a very nervy finish for the Rossoneri with a goal inside the final few minutes from a long-range strike, but Milan did ultimately manage to hang on for what was an important three points.

It means that a top four spot has been reclaimed for the time being while waiting to see how the game between Inter and Como plays out, and it eases some of the pressure heading into the international break.

Ruben Amorim chose to make five changes from Thursday’s defeat to Ferencvaros. Mike Maignan, Mario Gila, Luka Modric, Diego Moreira and Christian Pulisic all came into the side, though there were some question marks about whether it would be a four or three-man defence based on the names selected.

Genoa started on the front foot and they immediately created an opening inside the first minute. Koni De Winter allowed Osmajic to run off his shoulder and get a shot off from the left side of the box, but Maignan watched it roll narrowly wide of the far post.

One minute after Vitinha had back-heeled a near-post cross into Maignan’s hands, Milan created their first opening. Pulisic’s cross from the byline wasn’t well-aimed but the clearance fell straight to Ramos, who didn’t quite connect right with his effort and sent it a couple of yards wide of the far post.

Milan continued to knock on the door and Ramos almost found himself on the end of a golden opportunity when Gila was found on the overlap and provided a cut-back, though Marcandalli did brilliantly to cut out the danger.

Then, in the 13th minute, Milan did take the lead through Alphadjo Cisse. The goal was assisted by Adrien Rabiot who found the run of the Italian with a nice square ball, but Pulisic was the one who won possession back on the high press to create the opportunity, which was well finished by Cisse for his eighth goal of the campaign.

In the 19th minute, the Rossoneri doubled their lead. Another successful press forced Ostigard into a mistake as his square ball back towards the goalkeeper was cut off by Ramos. The Portuguese squared to Pulisic after evading a defender, and the American made no mistake as he fired inside the near post to make it 2-0.

Right on the half-hour mark, Genoa thought they had got themselves back into the game when Osmajic headed past Maignan having escaped his man to be found by Vitinha’s flick-on. However, the offside flag was raised and the decision was upheld, though it looked very close.

Despite being two goals up, Milan never gave the impression of being in control and Genoa had a couple of half-chances towards the end of the half, including an Ostigard header that Maignan managed to claim.

The start to the second half was certainly a fractious one, and the Milan players were surrounding the referee Davide Massa five minutes into it when Rabiot seized on a loose touch from Marcandalli to run in behind.

He was dragged back by the defender who appeared to be the last man, but a yellow card was deemed to be sufficient. Rabiot got a yellow too for his protests, and three members of the Milan coaching staff were shown a red.

Amorim opted to make a couple of changes on the hour mark, with Cisse making way for Omari Hutchinson and Diawara coming off for Filippo Terracciano.

As the game entered the final 20 minutes, Milan began to look comfortable with their lead but at times complacent too. Musah gave possession away in the left-back position and it gave Vitinha a dangerous position to get a shot off, though Maignan did well to parry it away.

The pressure continued to come from the Rossoblu, and El Shaarawy had a chance off the bench when a cross found him in the box. He brought it down well, but Terracciano got a knee to it to deflect it over. Pulisic made way for Ardon Jashari after.

Inside the final few minutes Pervis Estupinan became the last player to come, replacing Musah. The sub was made just before El Shaarawy lined up a free-kick from about 22 yards out, and it would yield Genoa’s route back into the game.

The initial shot was blocked as it went into a crowd but was not cleared, allowing Ellertsson all the time in the world to step up and strike one from distance that nestled inside the right post with Maignan rooted. Game on with two minutes of normal time left.