Milan suffered at Verona but did not separate from Naples

It wasn’t exactly the best night for Milan but it took a long-suffering 1-2 victory over Verona that kept them three points behind leaders Napoli and allowed them to place themselves in the Champions League as the third party by taking advantage of the 0 -0 between Lazio and Udinese, who are now fourth and fifth.

Milan started the game very well and in the 9th minute the scoreboard went ahead with a great run down the left by Rafael Leao, where Olivier Giroud’s looking cross bounced past Miguel Veloso, also Portuguese, who couldn’t avoid his own goal.

On the next play, Giroud made it 0-2 after receiving a good ball against Brahim Díaz, the Frenchman pounced before Lorenzo Montipò came out and his attempt narrowly missed.

Verona neutralized Milan’s good start

But a possible 0-2 went to 1-1. Koray Günter got in on the left after a spur pass from Fabio Depaoli and his cross shot was deflected into the net by central defender Matteo Gabbia in his attempt to block it. It was not the second own goal of the game as the goal was awarded to Günter as his shot went into the goal.

Rafael Leao continued to wreak havoc on his wing by providing a few more internships, but Verona, third from last and in the relegation zone, reacted and played champions Milan head-to-head until the – neutralize him.

The effect of the new coach

The psychological impact of Salvatore Bochetti’s debut on the bench, following the dismissal of Gabriele Cioffi, clearly improved Verona compared to their last performances (they had only lost four in a row) and the game entered a phase that there are no chances.

Stefano Pioli knew he had to introduce changes to revive his team and at half-time he left Brahim Díaz and Giroud in the dugout to make room for Ante Rebic and Divock Origi.

Verona, closer to the goal

Rebic just started the goal in the second half. Theo Hernández, whose run down the left was the most striking in Milan’s attack when Leao evaporated, found the Croatian alone, whose point-blank shot was covered by Montipò.

It was a mirage as Verona showed more momentum, pushed up and came closer to scoring than a thoughtless and repetitive Milan.

The hosts had a clear double chance in the 55th minute when Roberto Piccoli, who had just arrived on the field, rattled the crossbar with a powerful header and, on the rebound, Günter almost scored from outside the box. area.

But Tonali made up her mind

Milan were at the mercy of their opponents for several minutes until, a quarter of an hour from the end, Rebic again put a confident Montipò through with an excellent header.

This spark continued shortly after a counter-attack ended with Sandro Tonali coming from behind to finish off a sumptuous assist from Rebic’s right with his left foot (80′).

Milan, despite the fact that Pioli played with five defenders by bringing on central defender Malick Thiaw, suffered when Thiaw himself, inside, avoided the 2-2 draw. Verona did not deserve to lose but, on a gray night, the ‘rossoneri’ put out a fight and the three points that allowed them not to fall behind Napoli.