Sergio Conceiçao’s men have regained victory after overcoming the former Betic’s goal with Como. An important day for Assane Diao despite the defeat and also for Theo Hernández, who becomes the highest scoring defender in Milan’s history.
The Rossoneri coach has the arduous task of bringing his team closer to the top four places in Serie A, as was evident after the frustrating 1-1 draw on the last day against a struggling Cagliari.
The team arrives in Lombardy to face a Como team that is also at risk of relegation, but was aiming for its third consecutive victory at home.
Given the fresh confidence that Cesc Fabregas’s men would have gained following their back-to-back 2-0 wins over Roma and Lecce at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, it was perhaps unsurprising that there was little to choose between the two teams in an evenly matched first half.
A Gabriel Strefezza shot forced Mike Maigan to make a save at the near post, while Marc-Oliver Kempf headed wide a Lucas Da Cunha free-kick with the hosts’ first two chances.
Milan sought inspiration from the talisman Rafael Leao, the creator of two chances for Tijjani Reijnders and Álvaro Morata, both thwarted by debutant Jean Butez.
Conceiçao opted for a triple change at half-time, bringing on Alex Jiménez, Yunus Musah and Tammy Abraham to add an injection of freshness to Milan’s attack. And although Jiménez looked dangerous after entering the field, it was the locals who struck first.
The Spanish-Senegalese Assane Diao debuted at home with his first goal for Como, cutting brilliantly from the right wing and beating Maignan at the near post with a superb left-footed shot.
At 19 years and 129 days old, he became the club’s youngest foreign player to score in Serie A. Maxence Caqueret, in his first appearance with the shirt whitebluecame off the bench to assist Diao with a pass from the center of the field.
-However, Como’s joy lasted just over 10 minutes, as Theo Hernández equalized after a defensive ruckus with a left-footed volley after Como failed to clear a Milan corner kick.
It was a historic moment for the French international, who became the club’s top-scoring defender in Serie A history with 30 goals, eclipsing the 29 of a legend like Paolo Maldini.
Leao sealed the contest with Milan’s second goal, who beat Butez with a good shot after a deep pass from Abraham.
Patrick Cutrone was about to equalize the contest, but Maignan excelled at the near post.
In the end, Milan did enough to earn three crucial points to move into fourth, five behind Lazio. With this defeat, Como drops to 16th position, one point ahead of the bottom three.
Flashscore player of the match: Rafael Leao (Milan)
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