AC Milan won the Lombardy derby in Monza by a narrow 1-0 margin. Tijjani Reijnders, who has just returned, scored the golden goal with a tap-in to secure Rossoneri’s victory.
With two defeats from their last three Serie A games, AC Milan have recently fallen short of their own expectations. In the Lombardy derby against their smaller neighbors from Monza, they therefore needed a sense of achievement.
But the Rossoneri, who, compared to the 2-0 defeat to league leaders Napoli, had Theo and Reijnders returning to the starting lineup after their red cards for Emerson, Loftus-Cheek and Musah, along with Pulisic, who was ill, made a shaky start to the game.
Maldini plays strongly against his old love
After just eight minutes, the ball was in the visitors’ net after a drop-kick from Dany Mota, but the goal was disallowed due to foul play by Bondo on Theo at the start of the attack. Monza, however, did not let themselves be deterred and played boldly. First, Kyriakopoulos’ follow-up shot whizzed just past the post (13′), before Maldini, grandson of Milan legends Cesare and Paolo, missed a 100% chance to make it 1-0 against his old club (16′).
It took 20 minutes for Okafor to register Milan in offense, then a real flurry of chances began on both sides: Maldini (26′) and Pedro Pereira (29′) forced Maignan to make brilliant saves, with Maldini also hitting the post (31′). On the other side, Morata headed wide while completely unmarked (28′), Fofana narrowly missed with a deflected shot (37′). It was ultimately left to Reijnders to put an end to the general profusion of chances and give the favorites from Milan a 1-0 lead at half-time.
Benchwarmer Leao brings new momentum
While Monza had at least proved an equal opponent in the first half, Milan took control after the break. The Rossoneri calmed the game down, possession, tempo and intensity decreased, and there was not as much going on in front of goal.
Rafael Leao, who had initially languished on the bench for the third time in a row in the league, was the first to bring new momentum to Milan’s offense. One minute after his substitution, the Portuguese player shot wide from a prime position (64′). Shortly afterwards, Theo failed to beat Turati (67′), and Pavlovic headed the following corner over (68′).
It was only in the final phase that Monza came back into the game, with a volley from Vignato flying just wide of the goal (80′). With the Rossoneri unable to put the game to bed in the person of Morata (85′) and Rafael Leao (86′), the game remained exciting until the end. Maldini had the last shot shortly before the end, but he aimed over the goal against his former club (90.+3).
Milan stay in the hunt – and travel to the Bernabeu
Thanks to the victory in the Lombardy derby, AC Milan stayed in contention for a European place, although they are already well behind league leaders Naples. Monza, on the other hand, are still just above the relegation zone with only one victory in eleven league games, but only because of their better goal difference.
The Rossoneri face a real challenge on Tuesday (9 p.m.) in the Champions League at the Bernabeu against reigning champions Real Madrid, before traveling to Cagliari for the league match next Saturday (6 p.m.). Monza, on the other hand, has the week off and will host Lazio Rome again on Sunday (6 p.m.).