Udinese 0-2 AC Milan: Pulisic and Hutchinson score to seal bounce-back win
AC Milan bounced back from their midweek defeat in the right way, beating Udinese 2-0 away from home on Sunday night.
Christian Pulisic got the first of the night early on as he collected and finished a ball over the top from Luka Modric that was reminiscent of the goal against Lecce before the last international break.
Omari Hutchinson pounced on the rebound to get his first Milan goal and the second of the night in the second half, sealing an important three points in the process after a difficult week.
It means that the Rossoneri jump back into the top four, occupying fourth place, one point ahead of Como. The next game is Bologna at San Siro on Wednesday, before Saturday’s big derby.
First half: Starting with a bang
Ruben Amorim chose to make five changes to the starting line-up from the one that lost to Bournemouth on Thursday night. Sankhoun Diawara and Omari Hutchinson made their first Serie A starts, while Davide Bartesaghi, Christian Pulisic and Goncalo Ramos also got the nod.
Milan had the ball in the back of the net in just the sixth minute of the game, as Christian Pulisic’s brilliant record against Udinese continued. Luka Modric clipped a lovely ball over the top and the American time his run to perfection, beating the attempted offside trap, bringing the ball down with a beautiful first touch and finishing with composure past the advancing Okoye.
Udinese tried to get themselves quickly back into the game when Kamara tried a long-range shot from about 30 yards out that forced Mike Maignan into his first save, palming it around for a corner.
At the other end Pulisic was again involved as he played a nice through ball to the advancing Bartesaghi, who surged into the box and tried a left-footed shot that ended up rising just beyond the upright of the near post.
Milan’s pressure continued and they repeatedly managed to break through Udinese’s lines but without really generating any scoring opportunities of not. Hutchinson was wasteful on a couple of occasions, while Fikayo Tomori’s somewhat surprising far-post run was almost found perfectly by Pulisic’s cut-back but ricocheted just wide.
Maignan was again called into action to stop a stinging shot from Ekklenkamp from just beyond the edge of the box after a sloppy giveaway by Milan. The Frenchman didn’t gather it cleanly on either of the first two attempts, but then eventually he did gather it.
There was a controversial moment 10 minutes before the break when Ramos went down holding his face. The teenage defender Palma appeared to swing an arm into his face after the pair bumped each other, yet the referee was not told to consult the monitor. Marcenaro then booked Ramos for dissent after he went down inside the box following another tussle.
Milan really should have doubled their advantage five minutes before the break, with Tomori again overlapping down the right side and providing a brilliant square ball that had Bartesaghi and Pulisic queuing up to put it in, yet they got in each other’s way and somehow the service was not converted.
The final chance of the first half also went to the Rossoneri. Pulisic had several options to his right but chose an early cross into the box for Bartesaghi, who brought it down well but saw his effort just about blocked behind from a few yards out.
Second half: Seeing the job through
Milan started the second half seeing more of the ball and looking for that second goal, which nearly came just before the hour mark on a couple of occasions. Both times Bartesaghi was released down the left and both times he laid it off to Pulisic’s path, though Okoye saved the first attempt and the second was well blocked.
Twenty minutes into the second half, Milan did get the second goal that their pressure probably deserved, and it was a moment to remember for Hutchinson. Some lovely play around the edge of the Udinese box saw Jashari evade a challenge and unleash a low shot that Okoye could only parry straight into the path of the English winger, who made no mistake from a few yards out.
In the 73rd minute Amorim made his first couple of changes of the night. Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Yunus Musah were the ones who came on, with Hutchinson and Tomori the ones to make way.
Ramos had already scored a goal at the Stadio Friuli, for Paris Saint-Germain in the European Super Cup, and he was inches away from getting another. Pulisic led a transition and had a shot blocked which fell to the Portuguese, whose first-time attempt was parried onto the bar and cleared nearly off the goal line.
The former Benfica man was again not far away from scoring in a third start in a row with a right-footed shot after yet another counter-attack that was whipped just wide of the post. At the other end, a free-kick caused Milan issues and Davis had a volley saved from deep inside the box.
Another change was made with just over five minutes left on the clock with Alphadjo Cisse replacing his Italy U21 team-mate Bartesaghi. Cisse almost made an immediate impact with a trademark darting run in off the left flank, curling a shot just wide of the far top corner.
Loftus-Cheek was forced off after taking a knock having been played in behind. Christian Comotto and Francesco Camarda came on, with Ramos also making way. Some late chances on the break were squandered, but Milan saw the job through.
