Milan continued their good run in Ligue 1 by hammering Rennes 3-0 on their Europa League debut after finishing third in their Champions League group. With a double header from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and a great goal from Rafael Leao who played at a high level, Stefano Pioli’s team placed a foot and a half in the round of 16 of the second continental competition.
Third in Serie A, one point behind Juventus after a nine-game unbeaten run, of which seven were wins, Milan have shown that they take the Europa League seriously despite failing to miss out on the Champions League by finishing third in the group of death behind Borussia Dortmund and PSG.
Pioli, with his cracks
Pioli lined up his numbers and his team left the San Siro motivated and ready to restore the tie by repeatedly insisting on their attacks.
Rafael Leao quickly let Rennes know he wanted to put in a good performance. Alessandro Florenzi He gave him a long ball from the right and the Portuguese, after an extraordinary control of his chest which at the same time allowed him to outpace Guela Doué, his shot fell, slightly deflected by Warmd Omari, to the crossbar .
Loftus-Cheek double
Leo created a danger every time he entered the game and Milan ended their possession high after half an hour through Loftus-Cheek. Florenzi again put in a great center and The Englishman scored with a perfect header against the post.
Milan played comfortably against a Rennes team that tied them with their pressure and barely allowed them to get close in this first half after opening the scoring.
Passing through the locker room did not dampen Milan’s will, who in the 47th minute extended their lead to a set piece. Theo Hernández takes a corner, Simon Kjaer finishes behind him, goalkeeper Steve Mandanda refuses and Loftus-Cheek, standing, pushes the ball into the net.
Leao-Theo connection and great goal
Milan liked each other and looked for more. The 3-0 came soon after, of course, by Theo-Leao connection in a brilliant combination in the first touch. The Portuguese launched a wonderful back-heel pass to the Frenchman and he turned it back to him to score a precise cross shot (53′).
With the rope too high, Julien Stephan introduces Amine Gouiri, who for a few moments created more danger than his teammates with two shots in a row.
Rennes is disappointing
But Milan was closer to 4-0 with a double shot by Christian Pulisic and Noah Okafor, Leao was replaced by Steve Mandanda and defender Azor Matusiwa who lost the goal.
Milan did not want to dig deeper into the wound of a disappointing Rennes that did not transfer to Europe its good moment (five consecutive wins) in Ligue 1 that took it to seventh place.
Giroud-Mandanda reunion
Olivier Giroud He played 90 minutes but did not score and was pitied Mandanda, where he scored the first goal of his professional career in 2007 with Grenoble in a Ligue 2 match where the goalkeeper plays for Le Havre.
match lineup
16
42
19
14
24
46
Eleven
80
9
8
10
30
17
3
8
23
5
14
6
7
9
33
Giuseppe Meazza Stadium
Steve Mandanda30
74′
Guela Doué17
66′
Adrien Truffert3
75′
Baptiste Santamaria8
61′
Omari was warmed up23
Arthur Theate5
80′
Benjamin Bourigeaud14
Azor Matusiwa6
75′
Martin Terrier7
31′
46′
74′
Arnaud Calimuendo9
66′
52′
61′
Désiré Doue33
75′
Replacements
Gauthier Gallon1
Geoffrey Lembet40
61′
Christopher Woohfifteen
Jeanuël Belocian16
Alidu Seidu36
66′
74′
Aboubakar Nagida43
75′
86′
93′
80′
Ludovic BlasEleven
75′
74′
Djaoui Cissé38
Amine Gouiri10
66′
Ibrahim Salah3. 4
75′
61′
Mathis Lambourde39
Bertug Yildirim99
coach
Stefano Pioli
Julien Stephan
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.
