Stuck against Lazio, the displays of agitator Rafael Leao, author of two assists to Christian Pulisic and Noah Okafor, was enough for Milan this Saturday to beat the Roman team 2-0 and temporarily seize the leadership of Serie A.
Without shine and lack of luster, in a gray match, Milan survived thanks to the blows of the Portuguese player, the best in a clash in which Lazio hardly suggested anything to maintain its negative trend that kept it already closer to the descent positions than the Europeans.
Milan, after leaving the scars caused by the defeat in the derby against Inter (5-1) with two consecutive victories, is looking for a third against Lazio, which is currently on a different screen than it usually plays at the beginning of predecessors. course. In just seven days, the Roman team has accumulated eight points of distance from the leader before the duel.
Lazio’s horrendous start (three defeats, one draw and two wins), dwarfed by the three points they added the previous day against Torino, did not bode well for the men led by Maurizio Sarri, who also participated in the field without Ciro Immobile, who is suffering from a flexor strain and is reserved on the bench in case of dire need.
Lazio held off the first half against the contender to seize the lead at the end of the day. Milan ran through a spider web that was difficult to break through and gave away only a few holes in the first 45 minutes.
It was caused by Yunus Musah, who replaced the injured Ruben Loftus-Cheek after half an hour. The American midfielder broke the Roman defense on the right wing and his cross was finished by Olivier Giroud, who found the figure of Ivan Provedel. Then, on the stroke of half-time, it was Tijani Reijniders who had no luck as he crashed into a Lazio goal post.
They were almost the only clear-cut chance in a clash that continued on the same line in the second half. Milan repeatedly collapsed against the system set up by Sarri, unable to generate much danger around Mike Maignan’s area.
However, Leao arrives just in time to the rescue. A great game between Yacine Adli, Reijnders and the Portuguese player on the left wing, ended with a cross from the Portuguese that was finished by Christian Pulisic to end Milan’s uncertainty. The American player hit the target and brought his team closer to three points.
Lackluster, but in overalls, Milan kept pace until they sealed the sentence in the 88th minute. Again, another Leao play, this time finished by Okafor, put Milan ahead pending Inter’s result against Salernitana. A few flashes from the Portuguese player, who appeared as the unblocker of the clash, were enough to bring Lazio to their knees, unable to scare their crisis of results.
Data sheet:
2.- Milan: Maingan; Calabria (Florenzi, min. 69), Kjaer, Tomori, Theo Hernández; Loftus-Cheek (Musah, min. 33), Adli (Pobega, min. 69), Reijnders; Pulisic, Giroud (Okafor, min. 69) and Leao.
0.- Lazio: Provedel; Marusic, Casale, Romagnoli, Hysaj; Guendouzi (Vecino, min. 67), Rovella (Kamada, min. 67), Luis Alberto; Felipe Anderson (Pedro, min. 75), Taty Castellanos (Immobile, min. 75) and Zaccagni (Isaksen, min. 82).
Goals: 1-0, min. 63: Pulisic; 2-0, min. 88: Okafor.
Referee: Davide Massa. He showed yellow cards to Marusic (min. 51) and Romagnoli (min. 64) on behalf of Lazio and Leao (min. 65), Theo Hernández (min. 83) and Maignan (min. 86) on behalf of Milan.
Incidents: The match corresponding to the seventh day of Serie A was played at the San Siro Stadium in front of almost 50,000 spectators.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
