“Alexis Saelemaekers broke the deadlock inside two minutes, giving AC Milan the perfect start at San Siro and forcing Cagliari to chase the game early.”
Pivotal“Gennaro Borrelli restored parity for Cagliari with a well-taken finish, levelling at 1-1 and signalling that the visitors were not going to roll over despite the early setback.”
Pivotal“Juan Rodríguez struck within a minute of the second half restart to make it 2-1, a sucker-punch that left Milan shell-shocked and triggered a furious reaction from the home dugout and players alike.”
Pivotal“Mike Maignan was booked for arguing with the referee barely a minute after conceding, reflecting the fury inside the Milan camp and adding further anxiety to an already tense situation.”
AC Milan
Cagliari
Outstanding performance
AC Milan•GoalkeeperAC Milan were handed the perfect start when Alexis Saelemaekers struck inside two minutes, but Cagliari refused to be rattled and drew level through Gennaro Borrelli in the 20th minute to set up a tense contest. The visitors dominated in virtually every statistical category that matters — outshooting Milan 25 to 16, posting 10 shots on target to Milan's three, and completing more passes with comparable accuracy — painting a picture of a Cagliari side that was the better team for large stretches. The game turned definitively with Juan Rodríguez's goal barely a minute into the second half, a moment that visibly destabilised Milan: goalkeeper Mike Maignan was booked for arguing seconds later, and a flurry of substitutions from both benches could not alter the outcome. For Milan, nine saves from Maignan underline how exposed they were, and a defeat at home to a side in the lower reaches of the table raises serious questions about their form at a critical stage of the season.
How entertaining was this match?
Mattia Felici comes on for Sebastiano Esposito.
Sebastiano Esposito takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Davide Bartesaghi takes a left-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Zachary Athekame's right-footed shot is blocked.
Christian Pulisic attempts a header but misses the shot.
Paul Mendy takes a right-footed shot, but it's saved.
Ibrahim Sulemana takes a right-footed shot, but it's blocked.
Christian Pulisic takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Marco Palestra's right-footed shot is blocked.
Luka Modric takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Starhinja Pavlovic attempts a header but misses the shot.
Gianluca Gaetano's right-footed shot is saved.
Ndary Adopo takes a left-footed shot, but it's blocked.
Adrien Rabiot takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Ibrahim Sulemana takes a right-footed shot, but it's blocked.
Ibrahim Sulemana comes on for Alessandro Deiola.
Paul Mendy is on, and Gennaro Borrelli is off.
Sebastiano Esposito's left-footed shot is blocked.
Gabriele Zappa takes a right-footed shot, but it's saved.
Gennaro Borrelli takes a right-footed shot, but it is saved.
Gennaro Borrelli takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Rafael Leao is on, and Youssouf Fofana is off.
Adrien Rabiot takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Marco Palestra replaces Pedro Figueiredo.
Christian Pulisic attempts a header but misses the shot.
Alberto Dossena comes on for Juan Rodriguez.
Luka Modric is substituted for Ardon Jashari.
Niclas Fullkrug comes on for Christopher Nkunku.
Zachary Athekame replaces Fikayo Tomori.
Mike Maignan receives a yellow card.
Juan Rodriguez scores with a header.
Gennaro Borrelli's left-footed shot is saved.
Yellow card shown to Starhinja Pavlovic.
Pedro Figueiredo attempts a header but misses the target.
Adrien Rabiot takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Christian Pulisic is on, and Santiago Gimenez is off.
Gianluca Gaetano takes a right-footed shot but misses.
The first half ends with a score of 1-1.
Sebastiano Esposito takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Gennaro Borrelli takes a right-footed shot, but it's saved.
Santiago Gimenez takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Alessandro Deiola takes a right-footed shot, but it's saved.
Pedro Figueiredo takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Youssouf Fofana's header is saved.
Santiago Gimenez takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Christopher Nkunku takes a right-footed shot, but it's saved.
Adrien Rabiot attempts a header but misses the shot.
Gennaro BorrelliGennaro Borrelli scores with a left-footed shot.
Yerry Fernando Mina Gonzalez's header is blocked.
Gianluca Gaetano's right-footed shot is saved.
Gianluca Gaetano takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Alessandro Deiola takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Alexis SaelemaekersShot! Alexis Saelemaekers scores with a right-footed shot.
assist: Santiago Gimenez
Goal! Alexis Saelemaekers scores to make it 1-0.
AC Milan host Cagliari at San Siro in a match with huge European stakes for the Rossoneri, who need three points to keep their Champions League qualification hopes alive. Cagliari arrive relaxed after securing survival, but Milan's worrying home form and leaky defence make this a trickier proposition than the standings suggest.
