Europa League, Milan-Slavia Prague: the Rossoneri drop the poker and glimpse the quarterfinals

Milan, 7 March 2024 – Dragged by the push of San Siro AC Milan beat Slavia Prague 4-2 in the first leg of the Europa League round of XNUMX and ensured a good margin of safety ahead of the return match, scheduled for a week on Czech soil. This evening too, Pioli's men showed what the Rossoneri's offensive arsenal is capable of, but at the same time also showed the carelessness and defensive difficulties highlighted in recent months. It took the Rossoneri longer than expected to take the measure of an attentive and energetic Slavia, who, after having threatened twice, he was left with ten men due to Diouf's expulsion in the 25th minute': a turning point in the match, because from that moment Milan took the upper hand and in the 34th minute they took the lead with Giroud's header. The reaction of the guests was immediate, capable of equalizing in the 36th minute Doudera. Before the break, however, came a new burst from the Rossoneri, capable of scoring a goal deadly one-two thanks to goals from Reijnders and Loftus-Cheek between the 44th and 46th minutes. Despite being outnumbered and with Milan apparently in control, Sloavia managed to shorten the gap and scare the Rossoneri with the goal of the new Schranz in the 64th minute, before conceding the definitive Rossoneri poker thanks to Pulisic, who deflected Leao's lob into the net, which reached the culmination of an irresistible personal action by the Portuguese, who today, however, was a bit of an alternating current as was his partner on the left wing Theo Hernandez.  

The choices of Pioli and Trpisovsky

Pioli does not give up the usual 4-2-3-1 capable of transforming into 4-1-4-1 in the possession phase without resorting to turnover, demonstrating the importance of the European commitment for the Rossoneri: In front of Maignan is the quartet made up of Florenzi - disqualified in the next championship match like Leao -, Thiaw, Kjaer and Theo Hernandez. The only change, compared to the last match played against Lazio, is in the midfield, where alongside Adlì there is Reijnders and not Bennacer. Nothing new in the offensive phase where the trio of Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek and Leao acts in support of striker Giroud. Trpisovsky's Slavia Pra responds with a 3-4-3: among the three central players in front of goalkeeper Stanek is the former Torino player Zima, flanked by Vlcek and Holes. The flanks are instead the responsibility of Doudera and Diouf, with Masopust and Oscar manning the center of the pitch. Provod and Zmrzly instead act on either side of Chytil, in the attacking trident.

First half

AC Milan need about ten minutes to try to take the measures of a Slavia team that took to the field with order and intensity and to show up in Stanek's area with Florenzi's poisonous, sloping free-kick - already on a warning and booked after just 2' (he will miss therefore the return match) -, but it's a flash in the pan. In fact, the guest's reaction was not long in arriving and was powerful and entrusted to Diouf who, guiltily left alone in the heart of the AC Milan area, in the 12th minute, collected a cross sent from the attacking midfield and kicked the ball out of proportion and too weakly. You don't pay, the Czechs take advantage of the good moment and try again with Doudera who in the 14th minute takes the central lane and unleashes a right-footed shot from the edge that goes just wide. Trpisovsky's team thus tries to take over more and more of the field and bring many players into the half of the field of a Milan that does little filtering in midfield and at times pushes its center of gravity too low, also because in the offensive phase, on the left chain, Leao struggles to trigger. However, in the 25th minute a key episode arrives: In fact, Diouf knocks out Pulisic in the midfield with a hammer-foot intervention and receives a direct red card, leaving his men with ten men. With the numerical superiority acquired, Milan manages to take control of the game, and in the 34th minute, with the first real attack, they take the lead: following the development of an insistent action, Leao receives the ball from Adlì and starts a sharp cross that Giroud, coming out behind the Czech centre-backs, collects to make it 1-0 for the Rossoneri. However, AC Milan's advantage lasts just over a minute, because Slavia's reply is vehement: on the turnaround - taking advantage of an error by Gabbia - the Czechs actually win a corner, on the development of which Doudera evens the score with a beautiful counter-balance right to cross. A freezing shower for Pioli's men, who however have the merit of not losing their bearings and still manage to react, devouring the overtaking three times, between 40' and 42', with headers from Leao, Loftus- Cheek and Gabbia, on whom Stanek performs a real miracle. Reijnders then took care of unraveling the problem with a right-footed shot from the edge of the box in the 44th minute which bounced a few steps away from Stanek and went into the bottom corner of the near post.. The newfound advantage loosens Milan's reins. The end of the half was in fact entirely Rossoneri-led and in full injury time the hat-trick arrived, signed by Loftus-Cheek who fits perfectly into the area and sends everyone to the locker room at 3-1.

Second half

After the interval, Pioli changes half of the defensive unit by inserting Tomori - who had been out of action since the end of 2023 due to a muscular problem - and Calabria in place of Gabbia and the already booked Florenzi and Milan restarts the right attitude by taking advantage of the large spaces that open up to them in front and in the 49th minute came close to scoring a poker for the first time with Leao's right-footed shot, which ended up just a few centimeters wide. Down by two goals and with Milan apparently in control despite little movement without the ball in the offensive phase, Tripsovsky plays the Schranz card in place of an opaque Chytil and the choice soon pays good dividends, because in the 64th minute the Slovakian striker takes advantage of a serious inattention by Theo Hernandez in closing and, after collecting a cross, closes the gap. However, a goal that did not disrupt Pioli's plans as in the 67th minute he inserted Jovic in place of Loftus-Cheek and switched to the two strikers' lineup. Even with a new set-up, the difficulties in defense - where Kjaer commits a couple of errors in rapid succession which risk costing Milan dearly - and on the left-handed side remain, so Pioli's men try to develop the offensive maneuver starting from the feet of a lively Pulisic and relying on the fresh forces brought by Okafor and Bennacer. However, it is Leao who drops the poker who, after playing a somewhat muted game and serving Jovic in the 84th minute who narrowly misses the target of the opponent's goal from the heart of the area, goes on his own and, at the height of an intoxicating serpentine, he surpasses Stanek with a shot underneath which he pounces on Pulisic who, in fact, on the goal line, clears the ball and takes responsibility for the goal of the final 4-2. The scoreboard: Milan (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Florenzi (from 46' Calabria), Kjaer, Gabbia (from 46' Tomori), Theo Hernandez; Adli, Reijnders (from 80' Bennacer); Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek (Jovic from 67'), Leao; Giroud (from 80' Okafor). All. Pioli. Slavia Prague (3-4-3): Stanek; Vlcek, Holes, Zima; Doudera, Masopust, Oscar, Diouf; Provod (from 83' Jurecka), Chytil (from 60' Schranz), Zmrzly (from 83' Provod). All. Trpisovský. Scorers: Giroud (34'), Doudera (36'), Reijnders (44') Loftus-Cheek (46'), Schranz (64'), Pulisic (85'). Note - Yellow cards: Florenzi, Calabria. Expulsions: Diouf. Referee: Halil Umut Meler (Türkiye).