Friday was a landmark day for Milan boss Stefano Pioli as he made a piece of history after overseeing a dramatic 2-1 win at Roma. Despite being reduced to ten men, Rossoneri continued their outrageous start to 2023/24 to enter September’s international break with a perfect record.
Olivier Giroud and Rafael Leao were on the scoresheet as Milan stunned the Stadio Olimpico. Pioli’s men have had Roma’s number of late. They are now unbeaten in their last eight Serie A encounters against Jose Mourinho’s team. But yesterday’s win was particularly significant for Pioli.
Leao’s extraordinary volley secured Milan all three points and made Pioli the second manager in Rossoneri history to hit a 300-point milestone in Serie A. The only other tactician to reach this feat is Real Madrid chief of staff Carlo Ancelotti, which makes Pioli’s record even more impressive.
Milan looked in cruising control after Leao’s sublime finish fired them 2-0 up only a few minutes into the second half. However, Fikayo Tomori picked up a red card just after the hour mark, leaving Rossoneri in an awkward spot for the remainder of the game.
It took a significant effort from Milan to defend their lead and avenge a brace of scoring draws from last season. Pioli holds no grudge against Tomori. Instead, he has praised the Englishman’s performance before the expulsion.
“Fik was playing a great game, with great reads in the defensive phase. He is very aggressive, it is true that sometimes he should procrastinate. I would have changed him, it’s a great shame. Now, we won’t have him for the derby,” the Milan boss said, as quoted by Tuttomercatoweb.
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