Milan remain the measure of all things in Serie A. Their narrow win at Cagliari Calcio this Saturday was their third 1-0 work-rate victory in a row – including a dream goal and a scramble with Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
At the beginning of the season, Milan had still more magic and scored more goals. But as everyone knows: even a 1-0 win leads to the desired result. And this Saturday, the Rossoneri scored their third in a row.
How did it come about? In a tough way. After an initially pressure-packed AC start, in which Giroud scored freely in front of keeper Cragno (7th minute), Kessié with a shot against the post (12th) and Brahim Diaz (13th) failed to score, much of the action just rippled along.
This was also due to the fact that the hard-working Sardinians could not come up with anything creative in their home stadium to put the two target players Pavoletti and Joao Pedro in the limelight. Only Grassi had a dangerous shot from distance (37.)
Bennacer thunders, the crossbar saves
Two things made the difference in the end.
First of all, Milan started with a lot of pressure after the restart, and Theo, who was very active this evening, tested goalkeeper Cragno with a long-range shot (51st). A little later, the highlight of the game: Giroud dribbled a shot into the centre of the penalty area for the lurking Bennacer. The 24-year-old did not take long to fire the ball into the goal on the left (59th).
In the final phase, however, the Lombards rested too much in Sardinia and did not finish counterattacks for a possible 2:0, which almost took its revenge. Especially in the 90th minute in an incredible scene: After a sharp cross from the right side, wild card Keita Baldé missed by a hair’s breadth before Pavoletti jumped on the ball and hit the crossbar with a close-range header. Marin then got in on the act, but the ball wouldn’t go in. Also because Bennacer and keeper Maignan were on the spot.
Also with the necessary portion of luck Milan finally scored their 20th three-pointer, thus underpinning first place ahead of Napoli (2-1 against Udinese) and the once again failing champions Inter (only 1-1 against Florence).
Bullying and racism?
Unpleasant side note: Immediately after the final whistle, anger still flared up among the players, a huge row took place for minutes on the pitch. Among them was the late substitute Ibrahimovic, who got into a fight with some Cagliari players and was held or pushed away by his own colleagues. Possible trigger: Milan professional Tomori, who has become more and more of an institution since his move from Chelsea in the summer of 2021, was apparently mobbed by the crowd. The next few days will show whether this was a case of racist slurs.
