AC Milan edge to vital victory away to Monza in tense Serie A encounter
Monza were looking to break their reputation as slow starters at the Stadio Brianteo, having conceded first in four of their last five on home turf. Dany Mota thought he’d given Monza the perfect start by volleying in from Milan Duric’s knockdown, only for referee Ermanno Feliciani to rule out the attempt for a foul in the build-up.
The Biancorossi had Milan on the ropes in the opening 15 minutes, with Georgios Kyriakopoulos firing narrowly wide from 20 yards, before Daniel Maldini met Pedro Pereira's inch-perfect cross from six yards but sent his shot wide.
The Rossoneri’s struggles were indicative of a side who’d suffered their worst start at this stage in five years.
Noah Okafor’s tame effort from a piercing counter-attack appeared to showcase their struggles, and that left the back door open for Monza to capitalise as Pereira’s powerful header forced Mike Maignan into evasive action.
Eventually, however, Milan gained some control, and even edged ahead on the stroke of ha;f-time as Reijnders marked his return from suspension in style by reacting first to Alvaro Morata’s deflected attempt and heading past Stefano Turati.
Scoring first is generally a good omen for Milan, who had won all five Serie A matches when netting the opening goal this season. And while the visitors weren’t able to add a quick second after the restart, a scrappy and cagey midfield battle suited the visitors. However, Milan had much more control in the latter stages and came close to a decisive second when Theo Hernández was allowed space to dribble and shoot unchallenged, forcing Turati into a fingertip save.
Monza struggled to get into dangerous positions against a more robust Milan in the second period, as they eventually succumbed to defeat having failed to score for the first time in five home matches. A third win in four games has eased some pressure on Fonseca however, but the Serie A giants still have plenty of work to do as they sit eight points behind league leaders Napoli.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Tijjani Reijnders (AC Milan)
