ROSSONERI WIN IN UDINE

Noah Okafor saw off the Udinese hoodoo. The hosts again showed that they could hurt us, but AC Milan played with heart and soul to come from behind to win. It ended 3-2 at the Bluenergy Stadium following an emotional game, in which the Rossoneri took the lead through Loftus-Cheek before falling behind (Samardžić and Thauvin). AC Milan then hit back with late goals from Jović (83') and  Okafor (93'). The performance wasn't without mistakes and the night wasn't without its sour note - having witnessed reprehensible racist abuse towards Maignan - but Pioli's side came through it and secured the victory.

The Rossoneri, after beating Udinese, have made it four straight wins in the league, our best run of form this season. Three points and good signs for the group, who were brilliant tonight. The boys were compact and solid, but still have work to do to grow and aim higher. Matchday 21 ends with us still in third, now on 45 points, having drawn closer to the leaders for the time being. Next Saturday evening, we're back at San Siro where we host Bologna. We are with the boys, we are with Mike.

CHECK OUT THE GALLERY FROM UDINESE v AC MILAN

THE MATCH
It was a predicatble start, with Udinese fighting and AC Milan having lots of the ball. Skillful in getting between the lines, Loftus-Cheek was the Rossoneri's early threat. After a solid opening 15 minutes, some big chances came about for Giroud: he was played through by Leão, but hit straight at Okoye on 16 minutes; and was then picked out by Hernández two minutes later, but failed to connect well. Lovric, and Lucca in the 24th minute in particular, tried their luck, but were off target. After 27 minutes, Pulisic was hit hard by Lucca in the area, but the referee let play go on. In the 31st minute, we took the lead through a great move: Hernández crossed low into the box, Giroud fainted a shot, leaving the ball to run through to Loftus-Cheek who made no mistake - a carbon copy of the goal against Empoli. The joy didn't last long though as Maresca was forced to stop the match temporarily due to racist incidents towards Maignan. Shortly after getting the game back underway, the equaliser came in the 42nd minute: made all by himself, Samardžić went past Kjær and found the bottom corner with a left-footed shot from the edge of the area. Samardžić and Kamara again went close just before half-time.

The early stages of the second half were hurried and scrappy, with many errors made in the build-up phase. Leão was most active, with his quick forward bursts, in trying to break down the defensive pack. On the hour mark, it was Giroud again with a chance heading Pulisic's cross on target, but Okoye saved comfortably. The Rossoneri seemed in control, but gave space to the Bianconeri. In the 62nd minute, Maignan made a timely save from Payero, but just a few seconds later he was unable to avoid Thauvin's finish, who took advantage of Hernández's uncertainty to find the back of the net. In the toughest moment of the game for the visitors, Maignan denied Lucca and Ehizibue wasted a good opportunity on the break. The Rossoneri's changes in attack started to take effect. After a sliced volley attempt by Adli, the equaliser was found in the 83rd minute: Hernández for Giroud, whose deflected shot hit the crossbar and fell down onto the goalline, with Jović ready and waiting to turn it home. And the away side didn't stop there, throwing themselves forward in search of a winner: in stoppage time, Florenzi's corner was headed down into a crowded box and the ball fell to Okafor, who was cool, calm and collected and smashed it in to make it 3-2. Full time.

MATCH DETAILS

UDINESE 2-3 AC MILAN

UDINESE (3-5-1-1): Okoye; Ferreira, Pérez, Kristensen; Ebosele (60' Ehizibue), Lovric, Walace, Samardžić (60' Payero), Kamara (84' Zarraga); Pereyra (46' Thauvin); Lucca (76' Success). Subs: Padelli, Silvestri; Giannetti, Kabasele, Masina, Tikvić, Zemura; Camara; Brenner. Coach: Cioffi.

AC MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria (75' Florenzi), Kjær, Gabbia, Hernández; Adli, Reijnders (68' Okafor); Pulisic (75' Jović), Loftus-Cheek, Leão (94' Musah); Giroud. Subs: Mirante, Sportiello; Jiménez, Simić, Terracciano; Romero, Zeroli; Traoré. Coach: Pioli.

Referee: Maresca from Napoli.
Goals: 31' Loftus-Cheek (M), 42' Samardžić (U), 62' Thauvin (U), 83' Jović (M), 90'+3 Okafor (M).
Booked: 45'+1 Kamara (U), 52' Ebosele (U), 56' Thauvin (U), 65' Walace (U), 71' Lucca (U), 78' Ferreira (U), 88' Hernández (M).

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