Milan vs Salernitana 1-1: Resilient Granata Snatch Historic Point at San Siro

AC Milan, Italian Football, Salernitana, Serie A

After securing qualification to the Champions League quarter-finals at Tottenham’s expense, Milan resumed their domestic duties by hosting Salernitana at San Siro. Following a back-and-forth first half, Olivier Giroud gave the Rossoneri the lead in added-time. Nonetheless, Boulaye Dia replied in the second half to secure a first ever draw for the Granata on Milan’s turf.

Starting Lineups

Stefano Pioli maintained his new favorite 3-4-2-1 lineup with Brahim Diaz and Rafael Leao supporting Giroud. Ismael Bennacer teamed up with Rade Krunic in midfield, while Alexis Saelemaekers and Theo Hernandez occupied the wide positions. Pierre Kalulu, Malick Thiaw and Fikayo Tomori formed the three-man backline, with Mike Maignan in goal.

On the opposite side of the pitch, Paulo Sousa adopted a similar formation, spearheaded by Boulaye Dia. The Senegalese striker was supported by Antonio Candreva and Grigoris Kastanos, while Lassana Coulibaly and Emil Bohinen played in the double pivot.

Exciting First Half

Although Milan had the upper hand in terms of possession and chances, Salernitana held firm for the first 45 minutes. The Diavolo’s best chances came through Leao who saw his low drive going just wide off target and Giroud who almost scored from a spectacular bicycle kick which went over the woodwork.

Nevertheless, the visitors had a knife between their teeth, coming close on two occasions. First, it was Kostanos who found himself in front of goal but took too much time to execute, which was enough for Krunic to block this shot. Then, Dia pounced on a poor clearance from Thiaw and won the sprint against the young defender. Nonetheless, Maignan produced a stunning tackle to save the day.

Giroud Put Milan Ahead

Although the Granata maintained a clean sheet for 45 minutes, they just couldn’t survive a solitary minute of added-time, as Giroud directed Bennacer’s corner kick goalward, leaving Guillermo Ochoa with no chance and giving the home side a valuable advantage just before the halftime whistle.

Dia Equalizer

While the start of the second period saw more of the same – with Milan getting the lion’s share of possession – Salernitana stunned the hosts by snatching the equalizer at the hour-mark.

Damagoj Bradaric found enough space on the left flank and Saelemaekers failed to block his cross. The Croatian thus managed to pick up the unmarked Dia who stormed into the box to put his first-time shot past Maignan.

VAR Overturns Penalty

Pioli had seen enough from his attacking trio, so he decided to overhaul the frontline by sending in Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Divock Origi and Charles De Ketelaere all at once.

A few minutes later, the referee pointed to the spot, believing that Bradaric had tripped Bennacer inside the box. But much to the dismay of the Rossoneri supporters, VAR intervened and the decision was overtuned.

Ochoa Denies Milan

In the final minutes, Milan came close to scoring on several occasions. However, Ochoa denied Divock Origi from an extremely clore range while also pulling off a magnificent save on Ibrahimovic. On another occasion, the ball bundled over the line, but somehow found a way out of the goal.

Final Whistle

Following an added-time melee, the referee blew his whistle as the sides share the spoils. While it was surely a satisfying point for Salernitana, Milan are left to rue their chances, as they couldn’t pounced on the previous results of the matchday which saw their Top Four challengers all dropping points in what has surely been an unusual weekend in Calcio.

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