There are games that are firmly anchored in the memories of observers. And there is the duel between Milan and promoted Empoli from this 29th Serie A matchday. One goal, three points – that’s all there was to this Saturday’s match.
The neutral observer could be happy that the home match of championship candidates Milan offered a big highlight at all. For in itself, this match against Empoli was a tough one and poor in great action.
However, it was also a match in which the Rossoneri fully lived up to their role as favourites in terms of tactics and possession. A stable defence throughout allowed nothing at all for the goal guarded by Maignan.
But apart from Florenzi’s shot in minute 9, which was saved by goalkeeper Vicario, there was nothing going on offensively, and this duel was nothing more than a poor show. Only Giroud was able to impress with an attempted side-footed shot (29th) and a header (45th). FC Empoli, meanwhile, could show themselves in the second 45 minutes, in which Milan, by the way, remained completely pale: Bandinelli challenged goalkeeper Maignan (49th), before Zurkowski missed (51st).
Strahlemann Kalulu
Last but not least, there remains the one highlight of the evening, the goal to give the home Lombards a 1-0 working victory. And that was scored by centre-back Kalulu, who didn’t take long to score from distance after a blocked Giroud free-kick and hit an extremely precise shot into the bottom left corner (19th). The goal of the day – and at the same time the first goal of the season for the 21-year-old Kalulu himself in his 19th match.
With the three-goal win, the Stefano Pioli-coached Milan, where Ibrahimovic, who had been absent for the past few weeks with a calf injury, got some game practice in the final minutes, underpinned their first place in the Italian top flight ahead of champions and city rivals Inter.
