AC Milan defeat relegation-threatened Cagliari to all but secure second in Serie A
Cagliari came with a clear game plan: sit back and try to hit Milan on the counter. This resulted in Stefano Pioli’s men completely dominating possession, with over 75% in the first half, but what the hosts did with the ball, resulted in very little in terms of goalscoring opportunities.
The home side struggled to break their opponents down and it was a flat performance all around, both on the pitch and in the stands, with the Milan faithful sitting quietly around the San Siro.
A speculative Alessandro Florenzi shot from distance tested Cagliari’s goalkeeper before a breakthrough finally arrived in the 35th minute.
Christian Pulisic’s clipped ball into the danger area was not cleared, allowing Ismael Bennacer to latch onto the loose ball to drive it home, sending the hosts into the break with a lead.
Despite leading at the interval, Pioli clearly wanted more from his team and made a triple switch. One of those introduced was Rafael Leao, who almost made an instant impact when he latched onto Pulisic’s cross into the box but the Portuguese saw his effort crash off the crossbar from a few yards out.
There was a clear change in momentum from Milan and Leao was the catalyst. This proved to be the case around the hour mark as the substitute showed great footwork to carry the ball up the pitch before playing in Pulisic, who doubled Milan’s lead with a well-taken finish when through on goal.
The second Rossoneri goal seemed to wake their opponents up, and Claudio Ranieri’s men cut the deficit less than five minutes later as Gabriele Zappa caught the opposition defence out with an early cross into the box, but Nahitan Nandez was well aware and raced ahead of the defenders to poke home.
Pioli’s side wrapped up victory in the 74th minute thanks to a thumping effort from Tijjani Reijnders, who unleashed a pinpoint finish from distance.
Leao, the player who changed the game with his introduction after the break, added a fourth goal after being played through by Bennacer, rounding the goalkeeper to fire into an empty net.
Pulisic then doubled his tally on the night, netting a fifth for Milan late on to add gloss to the scoreline, with the Rossoneri on the verge of a second-place finish.
Cagliari, however, have much to play for in their final two league encounters, as the Sardinian outfit sit just three points above the relegation places, with two bottom-three sides - Udinese and Sassuolo - yet to play this weekend.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Rafael Leao (AC Milan)