After three 1-0 wins in a row, Milan had to settle for a 0-0 draw at the end of the 31st Serie A matchday. Against FC Bologna, who were difficult to play against, there were few chances, but at least the sole lead in the table.
Three 1-0 wins in a row had earned the Rossoneri the nickname of “skinny Milan” – and this time too, at the end of the 31st Serie A matchday, the championship contenders found it extremely difficult in their clash with outsiders Bologna.
The Lombards were largely in control of the game and had their fair share of goals, but they lacked accuracy. The closest to 1-0 were Theo Hernandez with two close-range shots (13th and 33rd), Rafael Leao with a shot over the crossbar (16th) and Giroud, who almost at the interval despaired with a header from close range against keeper Skorupski (45th +1).
Apart from that, the visitors from the Emilia-Romagna region did not allow anything big to happen, repeatedly stroking the ball forward through former Bremen player Arnautovic (21st and 22nd) and coming closest to taking the lead themselves through Barrow in minute 26. AC-keeper Maignan, however, was very strong to scrape the powerful long-distance shot over the crossbar. And so it remained 0-0 between the two teams at the break, which was perfectly acceptable.
Even “Ibra” can’t turn the game around
The entire second 45 minutes were in Milan’s hands, as the Rossoblu, coached by Sinisa Mihajlovic, who is once again suffering from leukaemia, focused almost exclusively on defending. This was a recipe for success, as the visitors did indeed slow down many of Milan’s attacking attempts – and were able to rely on their keeper for finishes.
Skorupski saw a dangerous Calabria shot go just wide (61st) and AC wild card Rebic also missed (68th), but was on hand to keep out Bennacer (69th), Florenzi (84th) and Rebic (90th +5th). And so it remained with the nil number, with which the home Rossoneri could not be at all satisfied. Not even the oldie Ibrahimovic, who was brought on in the final phase, who suffered a laceration in the duel with Medel, just like his opponent. Ibra” also missed a chance on this evening (90.+2).
With the point, Milan jumped back to first place with a one-point lead over Napoli (66 points), but the Scudetto race gained even more spice with this result – especially since the reigning champions Inter are also back in the mix.
