LATE DRAMA AWAY TO LAZIO

It was hard-fought and not always pretty. AC Milan's 1-0 win at the Olimpico is great news all the same. It was a real battle: Lazio went down to ten men before the hour mark and finished the game with eight men, while Okafor it was who bagged a late winner. The final stages were chaotic and tempers ran high on both sides; the Rossoneri also had a Leão goal disallowed. It was no easy task tonight, far from it in fact. Pioli's side struggled in the first half, creating very few clear-cut chances. They looked like a better team after the break but still lacked organisation. Noah is the man for the important goal (his fifth of the season); following the reverse fixture against Lazio, Udinese, Monza and Cagliari.

It was a defiant performance, but also an intelligent and proud one in front of a hostile home support. The Rossoneri took three big points in a game against a strong team. We should also mention the return of Tomori. Following their matchday 27 fixture in Serie A, the Diavolo now have 56 points in the table, now just one off second place. It could prove to be a crucial win in the race for Champions league football, one to build on as the team looks to improve. Now, we're back to Europa League action as we host Slavia Praha in the first leg of the Round of 16 on Thursday night.

CHECK OUT THE GALLERY FROM LAZIO v AC MILAN

MATCH REPORT
It was a scrappy start, with Lazio having the first chances: from a corner, Vecino put one just wide following F. Anderson’s flick-on after eight minutes; Zaccagni’s effort was blocked after eleven minutes, and two minutes later a mix-up between Florenzi and Maignan almost cost the away side dearly with Castellanos lurking. The game was quite flat, apart from a few forays forward. AC Milan struggled to get into the game: in the opening 30 minutes, only a Florenzi free-kick, which hit the wall, was of note, before shaking things up. On 35 minutes, two flashes of brilliance from Pulisic, playing through Adli’s solo run forward and then shooting over. In the 39^th minute, L. Alberto tried his luck, with Maignan getting down low to his left. In first-half injury time, it was Pulisic again, who cut inside onto his left and fired a shot on target that Provedel pushed over. From the resulting corner, Giroud, free at the back post, headed over: 0-0 at half-time.

The Rossoneri came back out after the break with more urgency: Leão had a good effort from distance after 48 minutes and Giroud volleyed over on 56 minutes. And a minute later, the game changed with the sending off of Pellegrini (two yellow cards). After both sides made several changes, Immobile’s header after 62 minutes and Giroud’ turn and shot a few minutes later were both too weak. The match exploded into life in the 73^rd minute when Okafor was just inches away from turning home Reijnders’ ball across the face of the goal. And then Provedel made a stunning save from Loftus-Cheek’s thunderous strike shortly after. There was a scare at the other end on 75 minutes, with Immobile missing from in front of goal, following Isaksen’ set-up. There was no rest and a lovely ball from Reijnders for Leão saw the ball end up in the back of the net following his cross and Gila’s deflection, but VAR ruled out the goal for offside with the Portuguese player receiving the ball just too far ahead of the last man. But we never gave up and were rewarded in the 88^th minute after good build-up play: Leão put the ball into the middle, Okafor’s left-foot effort tested Provedel and it was Okafor again on the rebound smashing home with his right past the last line of defence. There was chaos in the closing stages, with Immobile and Cataldi wasting opportunities and the Biancocelesti ending the game with eight players with red cards to Marušić and Guendouzi. 1-0 at the final whistle.

MATCH DETAILS

LAZIO 0-1 AC MILAN

LAZIO (4-3-3): Provedel; Marušić, Gila, Romagnoli, Pellegrini; Guendouzi, Vecino (78' Cataldi), L. Alberto (60' Hysaj); F. Anderson, Castellanos (60' Immobile), Zaccagni (66' Isaksen). Subs: Mandas, Renzetti; Casale, Lazzari, Ruggeri; A. Anderson, Kamada; Pedro. Coach: Sarri.

AC MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Florenzi (64' Calabria), Kjær (81' Thiaw), Gabbia (81' Tomori), Hernández; Bennacer (64' Reijnders), Adli (71' Okafor); Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Leão; Giroud. Subs: Mirante, Sportiello; Jiménez, Kalulu, Terracciano; Musah; Chukwueze. Coach: Pioli.

Referee: Di Bello from Brindisi.
Goals: 88' Okafor (M).
Booked: 23' Sarri (L) from the bench, 58' Romagnoli (L), 61' Florenzi (M), 70' Adli (M), 77' Immobile (L), 80' Gabbia (M), 84' Hernández (M), 95' Leão (M), 96' Pulisic (M).
Sent off: 57' Pellegrini (L), 94' Marušić (L), 96' Guendouzi (L).

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