Many people had already written off Cremonese as a lost cause, especially with a high historic relegation rate for SA teams going winless in the opening 13 rounds. Yet, to their credit, Massimiliano Alvini’s men choked the life out of Milan’s frontline, tracking back well to prevent the champions from constructing moves with their customary ease. That was the case until 10 minutes before HT, when a pinpoint header from Malick Thiaw via a corner forced Marco Carnesecchi to palm the ball away to his right with an instinctive parry.
That gilt-edged chance seemed to spark Milan into life, and a powerful shot from Junior Messias towards Carnesecchi near-corner just a couple of minutes later forced the Atalanta loanee into another block. The largely one-way traffic persisted all the way up to HT, though Cremonese went in by far the happier team, showing much more discipline than the side that had conceded four goals in their two prior home league games against teams starting this round in the top-five.
Cremonese’s approach continued working after HT, though they looked to have finally been breached by Divock Origi, who latched onto the ball after a series of deflections and guided it into the net. However, a quick VAR check rightly saw his effort ruled out for offside, keeping the game scoreless. In an effort to try and sharpen Milan’s attack, Stefano Pioli deployed Milan’s joint top-scorer Rafael Leão in place of the Belgian, yet he too was effectively marshalled by a tireless Tigers backline.
The hosts’ best chance of a breakthrough looked to be from a set piece, and the 80th minute brought them their first corner of the night, only for it to hit a white shirt. Normal service quickly resumed, and though Cremonese cut a tired outfit in the dying minutes, their defence stood firm to clinch a shock point against the champions. The result may not ultimately save Cremonese come the spring, but Milan know well that this is a major setback in their title defence, as their gap behind leaders Napoli now stands at eight points.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Marco Carnesecchi (US Cremonese)
