Champions League: Milan falls 2-1 in Zagreb

Zagreb (Croatia), 29 January 2025 – After five consecutive successes, Milan's winning streak ends with a 2-1 loss at Cannavaro's Dinamo Zagreb (who were eliminated anyway) and they fail to achieve their goal of finishing in the top eight of the table, finding themselves forced to play the playoffs to secure a place in the Champions League round of XNUMX. The evening was directed by a nightmare first half for the Rossoneri, who started the match playing too passively and conceding a goal by Baturina due to a serious mistake by Gabbia. Then, at 39', the rain on the wet: the second yellow card given to Musah who thus left his team with ten men for the entire second half, in which Milan however raised their heads and levelled the scores with Pulisic in the 53rd minute. A draw that lasted just 7 minutes though because in the 60th minute, former Fiorentina player Pjaca definitively brought Dinamo back into the lead, who were then able to protect the result in the presence of a Milan who had a penalty initially awarded revoked and that in the end was no longer able to sting despite a good offensive push.  

The choices of Conceiçao and Cannavaro

Conceiçao has to make a virtue of necessity due to a long list of absences and opts for 4-3-3 deploying, in the back pack in front of Maignan, Tomori in the unusual role of right back. Forming the department with the Englishman, the central pair Gabbia-Pavlovic and Theo Hernandez on the left wing. Musah, Fofana and Reijnders instead preside over the midfield, while up front there is Pulisic, slightly behind Leao and Morata. Cannavaro's Dinamo responds with a similar formation to that of the Rossoneri: Torrente, Teophile-Catherine, Mmaee and Pierre Gabriel make up the back four protecting goalkeeper Nevistic. The dam in front of the defence is formed by Ademi and Misic, while Stojkovic, Baturina and former Juventus and Fiorentina player Pjaca form the trio of attacking midfielders behind striker Kulenovic.  

First half

From the first few minutes, Dinamo showed more brilliance and tried to put Milan under pressure by pushing on the flanks. Once again, however, Conceiçao's men played too passively, moving the ball at excessively slow paces (Da Leao and Theo Hernandez on the left did not arrive sharply) and generally showed little lucidity in the finalization phase. In coverage, things certainly did not go better because the Rossoneri were often unbalanced and in the 19th minute they paid a heavy price when Gabbia failed to tame a seemingly harmless ball and inadvertently passed it to Baturina who flew towards Maignan and beat him for the 1-0 for Croatia. The home team's goal was not enough to spur the pride of a Milan that did not react, continuing to struggle to decipher the defensive phase of a very orderly Dinamo and in the 39th minute he was forced to deal with another very heavy blow: already cautioned, in fact, Musah stopped Stojkovic with a nasty move and received the second yellow card of his evening, leaving the Rossoneri in numerical inferiority. With a man down, things risk going downhill irremediably for Conceiçao's team, who seem to be on the ropes and at the end of the half they come close to capitulating again on Baturina's through ball to Kulenovic who, all alone in front of Maignan, fails to hit the Rossoneri goal by a whisker. The Dinamo striker then wastes another golden opportunity in injury time, but even if he had scored, everything would have been ruined by his offside position, which effectively spares Milan, who put a nightmare first half behind them, at least limiting the damage.  

Second half

After the break, Conceiçao then decides to intervene by inserting Chukwueze in place of a dull Morata and Terracciano in place of Gabbia with Tomori who can thus move up to the natural role of central defender. Despite the changes, however, the start of the second half is also uphill for the guests because Dinamo in the 49th minute takes advantage of an unbalanced Milan and scores on the counterattack with Stojkovic. However, the Croatian joy lasts only a few moments because the goal is disallowed for an obvious hand touch by Baturina who adjusts the ball at the start of the action. This time the scarecrow shakes Conceiçao's team who throw themselves forward and in the 53rd minute equalises with Pulisic who receives a pass from a teammate in the area and, with the complicity of a less than perfect intervention by Nevistic, sends the ball into the net with a right-footed shot to the near post.. A draw that risks lasting just a couple of minutes, since Dinamo has the strength to reply again and in the 55th minute takes the lead with Kulenovic, good at surprising the Milan defense from behind. However, everything is ruined by an offside position of the author of the assist Pierre-Gabriel. These are the dress rehearsals for the counter-overtaking goal that always comes from Milan's right defensive lane, where Pjaca receives the ball and unleashes a diagonal shot that beats the blameless Maignan.The match heats up and in the 62nd minute another key episode occurs: Leao picks up a deep pass, runs into the area and is brought down in the area. The referee Letexier cautions the Dinamo goalkeeper and whistles for a penalty but then he is called to the VAR and retraces his steps and revokes the penalty for a precedent (and apparently venial) between Leao and Mmaee. With the clock ticking and his team in the lead, Cannavaro then tries to cover himself by bringing on Rog and Ademi from the 70th minute. The Rossoneri, for their part, still try everything in search of a precious equaliser and, after having created a few headaches for their opponents with the headed attempts of Pulisic and Pavlovic, Conceiçao also plays the Abraham and Okafor cards who try to make themselves seen near Nevistic without worrying him too much. The final is a Rossoneri boarding dictated more by nerves than by tactical organisation, which however does not pay dividends because Dinamo manages to protect a victory that is not enough for the Croatians to avoid elimination but above all pushes Milan to thirteenth place forcing them into the playoffs to aim for the eighth finals. The scoreboard: Dinamo Zagreb (4-5-2): Nevistic; Torrente, Teophile-Catherine, Mmaee, Pierre-Gabriel (from 93' Jakirovic); Ademi (from 70' Rog), Misic; Pjaca (Ristovski from 70'), Baturina (Mbuku from 93'), Stojkovic; Kulenovic. All. Cannavaro. AC Milan (4-3-3): Maignan; Tomori, Pavlovic, Gabbia (from 45' Terracciano), Theo Hernandez; Musah, Fofana, Reijnders (from 82' Okafor); Pulisic, Morata (from 45' Chukwueze), Leao (from 82' Abraham). All. Conceição. Scorers: Baturina (Dinamo Zagreb 19'), Pulisic (Milan 53'), Pjaca (Dinamo Zagreb 60') Note - Yellow cards: Pulisic, Misic, Pjaca, Maignan, Nevistic. Red cards: Musah (double yellow card).