Udinese-Milan 0-4, the Rossoneri score poker. Hard clash on the pitch: head trauma for Maignan and Jimenez

Udine, 11 April 2025 – The Milan by Sergio Conceiçao finds his smile again scoring a poker at the Bluenergy Stadium in Udine in the advance of the thirty-third day. A first step to get out of the serious crisis that has caused the Rossoneri to slip to ninth place in the standings. Only the next and very delicate matches will tell if this swallow will be enough to make Primavera.

Harsh Game Collision, Head Trauma for Maignan and Jimenez

A match marked by an injury on the pitch. The Milan goalkeeper, Mike Maignan, was taken to the hospital in Udine by ambulance for checks after a very tough game clash, fortuitously, in the 6th minute of the second half, with his teammate Jimenez. From what we learn from Ansa, the goalkeeper suffered a concussive head trauma with loss of initial knowledge.

He is currently at Santa Maria della Misericordia for tests on his wrist, another part of his body that has suffered a severe trauma. Also Jimenez had to leave the field after a few minutes: for him shoulder trauma and mild head trauma with brief peritraumatic amnesia. He will return to Milan with the team.

The match

Wuel what seemed pretty clear this evening is that Conceiçao's choice to bravely veer towards 3-4-3 by strengthening the defence and midfield has given Milan greater balance, who started – in contrast to the latest outings – without timidity and with a proactive spirit: the opportunity wasted one-on-one with Okoye and after just 20” by Reijnders was the spark that ignited a very balanced and determined Milan in the first half hour. Not even the opportunity that came to Ehizibue in the 33rd minute scared the Rossoneri who between the 43rd and 45th minute scored a deadly one-two thanks to goals from Leao (his right-footed shot from the edge was splendid) and PavlovicAt the beginning of the second half Udinese tried to react but Milan, despite losing Maignan due to a bad clash with Jimenez, kept the tiller straight and closed the game thanks to the substitutions and goals in the final quarter of an hour by Theo Hernandez and Reijnders.

The choices of Runjaic and Conceiçao

Runjaic, despite the heavy absences of Thauvin, Sanchez, Zemura and Davis, does not give up on the 3-5-1, deploying Kristensen alongside Bijol and Solet in the central trio protecting Okoye. Ehizibue and Kamara instead preside over the side lanes, with Karlstrom as director and Lovric and Ekkelenkamp as mezzali. Finally, up front, there is Atta behind the striker who is Lucca. On the opposite front, instead, Conceiçao carries out a real revolution by switching to a three-man defence for the first time, composed of Tomori, Gabbia and Pavlovic, lined up in front of Maignan, today with the captain's armband on his arm. Jimenez takes the place of the injured Walker and Emerson Royal on the right flank, while on the left flank there is still Theo Hernandez. In the middle of the field, instead, the Fofana-Reijnders tandem. The other big surprise is the presence of Jovic – preferred to Abraham – in the center of the attacking trident, flanked by Pulisic and Leao.

First half

New formation and a counter-trend start for the Rossoneri who after just 20” have a delicious goal opportunity with Reijnders who takes advantage of a misunderstanding between Bijol and Kristensen, finding himself one-on-one with Okoye who manages to neutralize the Dutch midfielder's shot with his foot. Milan, however, gain confidence and rhythm, attack with order and speed to try to elude the Bianconeri's pressing and find the right gap and in the 13th minute they come close to taking the lead again with Jovic who is anticipated by a few centimeters by Bijol's providential block for a corner. Even in the defensive phase, Conceiçao's men manage to find more balance and risk practically nothing until the 33rd minute when Udinese, who also loudly asks for a penalty for a slight hold on Lucca, on the counterattack make their first appearance near Maignan with a venomous shot from Ekkelenkamp, ​​for which the French goalkeeper is however ready. A flash isolated, because the Rossoneri soon throw themselves forward again Between the 43rd and 45th minute they scored a deadly one-two: Leao broke the deadlock by taking advantage of Fofana's assist, who was good at snatching the ball from an opponent in the attacking midfield and passing it to the Portuguese who unleashed a right-footed volley from the edge of the area., which nestles under the crossbar for the 1-0 away goal. It's not over, however, because another 2' pass and, following a corner kick taken perfectly by Pulisic, Pavlovic also scored the 2-0, heading the ball into the net in the heart of the area despite Ehizibue's desperate intervention and going over the goal line.

Second half

The second half begins without substitutions made by the two coaches and with an Udinese that tries to play with more initiative. After just 6', however, Conceiçao is forced to make a double substitution because Maignan, coming out of the area, collides in a very violent and fortuitous way with Jimenez and is forced to leave the field on a stretcher amidst the applause of the crowd that until that moment had overwhelmed him with whistles. Milan is a bit dazed and suffers the initiative of the Bianconeri who try first with the oversized overhead kick by Lucca and then with the conclusion from a tight angle by Atta that does not hit the target of the Milan goal. To try to reopen it, Runjaic also plays the card of the first substitutions by inserting Rui Modesto and Iker Bravo for Lovric and Kamara who leave the field with a bit of disappointment. Just a minute later, a new opportunity for the Bianconeri arrives with Lucca who, following a scramble in the heart of the six-yard box, fails to hit the ball. Milan cashes in and in the 67th minute tries to react with an initiative by Reijnders who, on the short side of the box, skips past an opponent and attempts a curling shot that ends up wide, passing just a few centimetres from the post. With just under 20 minutes to go, Conceiçao also decides to use the resources coming off the bench, bringing on Abraham and Sottil in place of Jovic and Jimenez, who also left the pitch with a bruise after the clash with Maignan. A move that immediately pays dividends because in the 74th minute the Rossoneri score a hat-trick: everything starts with Abraham's backheel freeing Leao who passes the ball to Theo Hernandez who flies towards Okoye and unleashes a violent left-footed shot that goes in under the crossbar.The 3-0 opens up real prairies for Milan who exploit them and at 81 the poker falls: the newcomer is once again the protagonist Abraham who on the counterattack sets up Leao with a perfect change of side; the Portuguese beats Okoye with a lob that turns into Reijnders who two steps from the goal line reaches double figures for goals in Serie A for the season, definitively closing the accounts.. In all fairness, there would have been room for Abraham in the Rossoneri goal festival, but the Englishman started from an obvious offside position when Pulisic's shot was deflected into the net in the 85th minute. A correct decision that does not substantially change the excellent impact of the former Roma player and that does not take anything away from the resounding and deserved success of the Rossoneri. The scoreboard: Udinese (3-5-1-1): Okoye; Kristensen (from 76' Pafundi), Bijol, Solet; Ehizibue, Lovric (from 64' Rui Modesto), Karlstrom, Ekkelenkamp (from 76' Payero), Kamara (from 64' Iker Bravo); Atta, Lucca. All. Runjaic AC Milan (3-4-3): Maignan (from 52' Sportiello): Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Jimenez (from 71' Sottil), Reijnders, Fofana, Theo Hernandez (from 85' Terracciano); Pulisic, Jovic (from 71' Abraham), Leao (from 85' Bartesaghi). All. Conceicao Scorers: Leao (Milan 42'), Pavlovic (Milan 45'), Theo Hernandez (Milan 74'), Reijnders (Milan 81'). Note - Warnings: Terracciano.

MATTEO AIROLDI