Late Okafor winner seals dramatic comeback win for Milan away at Udinese
Milan were out for revenge after handing Udinese their first victory of the season in November, and the first clear opportunity fell their way on the 15-minute mark, when Rafael Leao’s ball from the left played in Olivier Giroud, but the Frenchman was unable to beat Maduka Okoye at his near post.
Either side of the half-hour, Tijjani Reijnders sent two cutbacks into the box, both of which were played just behind the waiting Giroud. But while the first chance went to waste, Ruben Loftus-Cheek arrived late to connect with the second, and his deflected effort found the back of the net to put Milan ahead.
Moments after the restart, the match was halted for five minutes when the Milan players walked off in solidarity with Mike Maignan, who was allegedly suffering racist abuse from Udinese fans.
Soon after the resumption, the hosts were level through a moment of magic from Lazar Samardzic, who received the ball 30 yards out, shimmied his way past Simon Kjaer and curled an effort from 20 yards into the bottom corner.
Giroud’s duel with Okoye continued into the second half when the goalkeeper needed to make a smart stop to keep out the striker’s powerful header from a Christian Pulisic cross.
That save proved crucial when, with just under half an hour remaining, the home side went in front. Reijnders and Theo Hernandez seemed to have done enough to thwart the progress of Florian Thauvin cutting inside, before the Milanese pair got in each other’s way, allowing Thauvin to nip in and place the ball past Maignan.
Stefano Pioli threw on Luka Jovic for the closing stages in search of an equaliser, which proved to be a master stroke, as eight minutes from time, the Serbian was perfectly placed to head the ball over the line after Giroud’s latest effort hit the bar and bounced on the goal line.
With their tails up, Milan went in search of a winner, which arrived in injury time, and Okafor had the golden touch as he powered home at the back post after Giroud’s header from a corner fell his way.
The win means the Rossoneri record a fourth successive SA win for the first time this season, while Udinese remain on one home win all season after dropping points beyond the 75th minute for the fifth time in their last six.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Olivier Giroud (Milan)
