AC Milan returned to the top of Serie A with a comfortable victory over basement side Salernitana.
The Rossoneri brushed aside the visitors thanks to first-half goals from Franck Kessie and Alexis Saelemaekers – a win that takes them two points clear at the summit, at least until Saturday evening when Napoli have the chance to reclaim top spot when they host Atalanta.
It took the hosts only five minutes to break the deadlock. Kessie was left unmarked to meet Rafael Leao’s cross and he stroked a first-time shot past Vid Belec.
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Pietro Pellegri was handed his first start of the season as Zlatan Ibrahimovic was rested ahead of the club’s crunch Champions League match with Liverpool on Tuesday. But he was forced off after just 15 minutes after picking up an injury.
Saelemaekers made it 2-0 with an 18th-minute effort, cutting inside and firing a beautiful shot into the far bottom corner, raising the shirt of Simon Kjaer in celebration after his team mate was ruled out of action for six months.
It would have been 3-0 before the interval only for Belec who made a quite brilliant save to deny Rade Krunic.
With the game all but wrapped up at half-time and with Tuesday night clearly in mind, Stefano Pioli brought off Leao and Tiemoue Bakayoko for Junior Messias and Ismael Bennacer for the second half.
While Milan continued to control possession after the restart, they lowered the tempo and created next to nothing in terms of chances, the substitutions clearly disrupting the flow of the match.
Brahim Diaz missed the chance to cap a fine performance with a goal as he somehow side-footed wide from point-blank range. But in truth the game was already long won as Milan immediately turn their attention to Tuesday night.
Alexis Saelemaekers of AC Milan celebrate after scoring the 2-0 goal during the Serie A match between AC Milan and US Salernitana at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on December 04, 2021 in Milan, Italy
Image credit: Getty Images
TALKING POINT – Milan are back on track
After concerning back-to-back defeats in Serie A, there was a suspicion the wheels were about to come off for title-chasing AC Milan, just like last season. However, they bounced back in style with a 3-0 win at Genoa last Wednesday night and have backed that up with a comfortable victory over Salernitana.
Confidence is clearly on the rise again which can only bode well for the club ahead of a number of tough fixtures. After Liverpool, Pioli takes his side to Udinese on Saturday and on December 19 they host Napoli in a huge six-pointer at the top of Serie A.
However, the knock suffered by Pellegri will come as a blow. The forward – on loan from Monaco – has been starved of action this season and now potentially faces a spell on the sidelines with what appears to be a groin injury. He may only be 20 but his career has already been disrupted by a number of injuries. With Olivier Giroud and Ante Rebic unavailable, it may also leave Milan short in numbers in attack.
MAN OF THE MATCH – Brahim Diaz (AC Milan)
He was a livewire throughout, constantly picking up the ball in dangerous areas and playing defence-splitting passes. A goal would have capped off a fine afternoon but he somehow failed to hit the target from only yards out with just the goalkeeper to beat.
PLAYER RATINGS
Milan: Maignan 6, Florenzi 8, Tomori 6, Romagnoli 6, Theo Hernandez 7, Kessie 8, Bakayoko 7, Saelemaekers 8, Brahim Diaz 8*, Leao 8, Pellegri N/A.. subs: Messias 6, Bennacer 6, Ballo-Toure 6, Tonali N/A
Salernitana: Belec 7, Bogdan 5, Gyomber 5, Veseli 5, Zortea 5, L. Coulibaly 5, Di Tacchio 4, Schiavone 5, Ranieri 5, Ribery 5, Simy 5.. subs: Kastanos 5, Bonazzoli 5, Djuric 5, Jaroszynski N/A
KEY MOMENTS
5′ – GOAL! AC Milan 1-0 Salernitana (Franck Kessie): Leao drives down the left, gets to the by-line and picks out Kessie who applies the finish with a first-time side-footed shot! A dream start for the hosts!
18′ – GOAL! AC Milan 2-0 Salernitana (Alexis Saelemaekers): Oh, that is delightful! Brahim Diaz receives the ball in a central area and switches it to Saelemaekers on the right side of the penalty area. He checks inside, creating space for the shot and fires it inside the far post. He then runs over to the touchline and raises Simon Kjaer’s shirt!
42′ – Great chance! Kessie feeds Krunic, who drops the shoulder and has a clear sight on goal. He leathers it but Belec makes a brilliant save! Relentless Milan pressure at the moment!
82′ – How does he fail to score?! Saelemaekers sets up Diaz on a plate but, with just the goalkeeper to beat and from point-blank range, he side-foots it wide!
KEY STAT
- Milan have had 14 different goalscorers in Serie A this season; in the big five European Leagues only Chelsea (16) have more.
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