Milan steamrolled to a 3-1 second-leg win against 10-man Slavia Praha to confirm progression into the Europa League quarter-finals as 7-3 aggregate winners. Stefano Pioli’s side headed to Prague to protect a handsome 4-2 first-leg lead, but they went one better, putting the Czech Republic outfit to the sword.
Like in the first leg, Slavia handed Milan a significant boost early on. Davide Calabria was on the receiving end of Tomas Holes’ horror challenge in the 20th minute, compelling referee Glenn Nyberg to send off the home side’s captain. It didn’t take long before Rossoneri capitalized on their numerical advantage.
Christian Pulisic opened the scoring in the 33rd minute to put the tie to bed. However, Milan refused to stop there. After scoring a header in the first leg, Ruben Loftus-Cheek returned to the scoresheet to double the visitors’ lead with a thumping finish inside the box. Theo Hernandez teed him up perfectly.
Star winger Rafael Leao put the icing on the cake on the stroke of halftime, scoring an absolute beauty to make it 3-0. But despite being a man down for the second game on the trot against Milan, Slavia penetrated Pioli’s porous backline as Matej Jurasek struck home a consolation goal in the 84th minute.
Let’s look at our Milan ratings.
Milan (4-2-3-1)
Mike Maignan – 6
The French goalkeeper made several comfortable catches before picking up an injury midway through the first half, which forced Pioli to sub him off.
Davide Calabria – 6
Despite drawing a red card, which effectively put this tie beyond doubt, the Milan captain’s performance flattered to deceive, especially in the front third.
Matteo Gabbia – 6.5
Though it was far from a flawless showing from the Italian center-back, he at least held up his end of the bargain in the air. Picked up a silly booking, nonetheless.
Fikayo Tomori – 6.5
He’s still a bit rusty following a lengthy spell on the sidelines. There’s plenty of room for improvement.
Theo Hernandez – 7
With most of Milan’s attacks going on the left, the highly-rated left-back enjoyed plenty of the ball tonight and registered an assist to cap off an impressive display.
Yacine Adli – 6.5
It feels like the hype surrounding the young midfielder has made him believe he’s a new Andrea Pirlo. His decision-making and passing have to be more clinical.
Yunus Musah – 7.5
Unlike Adli, the USMNT star was nothing short of superb this evening, working his socks off down the middle of the park. Equally industrious on both ends of the field.
Rafael Leao – 7.5
Another piece of Leao magic lifted the crowd to their feet as the Portuguese winger showed an array of eye-catching dribblings on his favorite left flank.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 8
He might be Milan’s key player in the second half of the season, as evidenced by another electrifying performance from the in-form playmaker.
Christian Pulisic – 7
Not only did he score for the third game on the spin, but the United States skipper kept Slavia defenders on their toes the entire first half with his darting runs down the right.
Olivier Giroud – 6
It’s a pity he failed to score in second-half stoppages to regain some confidence amid a rough patch, but the veteran striker deserves the credit for his commitment.
Substitutes
Marco Sportiello – 6.5
Malick Thiaw – 7
Pierre Kalulu – 6.5
Samuel Chukwueze – 6
Tijjani Reijnders – 6
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