PRIMAVERA COMEBACK, VICTORY IN BRATISLAVA

Desire and strength. The Primavera had to win to revive their chances in Europe, and that is what they did against Slovan Bratislava in Senec, Slovakia. It was a lively match full of twists and turns: AC Milan gifted the hosts the lead, equalised shortly before the break and then largely dominated the second half (Polakovič’s sending-off was a crucial moment), during which they scored a further two goals to emerge 3-2 victors. Liberali (a penalty), Scotti and Bakoune all got on the scoresheet for the Rossoneri, while Murár and Kozyk found the net for the home side. In general, it was a better showing than the one against Lecce.

The Diavolo have thus recorded their first victory of the season in Europe, where results hadn’t matched positive performances against Bayer Leverkusen, Club Brugge and Real Madrid. This victory on matchday 5 in the UYL sees Coach Guidi’s side move up the table and towards the top 22, which is where the Rossoneri need to finish to secure a place in the round of 32. AC Milan’s final league phase fixture will be at home to Crvena Zvezda at 14:30 CET on Wednesday 11 December, but now attentions will turn to the big league showdown against Roma at the PUMA House of Football at 18:45 CET on Monday.

CHECK OUT THE GALLERY FROM SLOVAN BRATISLAVA v AC MILAN

MATCH REPORT
We made a tenacious start and had the first chance of the match: in the eleventh minute, Scotti pressured Balog Da into giving the ball away to Liberali, whose lob from distance finished over the bar. At the other end, a low strike from Murár was saved by Longoni. The hosts took a 26th-minute lead, and it was from our own doing: Murár made the most of a mistake by Perin at the back, dribbling past the goalkeeper and placing the ball into the net. There was a scare on the 34-minute mark, when Held played in a cross for Murár, who had been left in too much space but failed to find the target. The Rossoneri regrouped and had an opportunity after a period of sustained pressure in the 35th minute, but Liberali was unable to convert. A deserved equaliser arrived with 43 minutes on the clock: Ossola played a fantastic ball over the top for Comotto, who was fouled in the box by Polakovič, and Liberali stepped up to convert the resulting penalty. A minute later, Longoni produced a wonderful stop to thwart Maroš, while Bakoune struck the bar in stoppage time.

Slovan Bratislava went on the attack at the start of the second half, with Longoni keeping out an effort from Mateáš (50’) and Ivanics failing to find the target with a header (59’). Nevertheless, the Rossoneri were in the game and had a man advantage from the hour mark, when Polakovič picked up a second yellow for a foul on Ibrahimović and received his marching orders. AC Milan immediately made the most of having an extra player, with Scotti producing a lovely back-heel to beat Balog Da and make it 2-1 (61’). Ibrahimović and Bakoune both came close as the Diavolo got at their opponents. Then, in the 83rd minute, the lively Scotti set up Bakoune to fire home our third. It seemed like the match was over, only for Marko to pick out Kozyk for a tap-in that reduced the arrears (84’). However, the scoreline didn’t change, with Scotti missing a chance to add a fourth at the start of stoppage time.

MATCH DETAILS

SLOVAN BRATISLAVA 2-3 AC MILAN

SLOVAN BRATISLAVA (4-2-3-1): Balog Da.; Polakovič, Tománek, Balog Do. (90' Józsa), Held; Marko, Denko (65' Holocsy); Mateáš, Murár (78' Spišiak), Maroš (65' Švec); Ivanics (78' Kozyk). Subs: Vydaren; Barnáš, Horváth; Šalkovič. Coach: Suchomel.

AC MILAN (4-3-3): Longoni; Bakoune, Parmiggiani, Paloschi, Perera; Ossola (73' Bonomi), Perin (73' Tezzele), Comotto; Liberali (90'+1 Colombo), Scotti, Ibrahimović (90'+5 Mancioppi). Subs: Colzani; Grilli; Di Siena, Gualdi, Lamorte. Coach: Guidi.

Referee: Ginchev (BUL).
Goals: 26' Murár (SB), 43' pen. Liberali (M), 61' Scotti (M), 82' Bakoune (M), 84' Kozyk (SB).
Booked: 3' Comotto (M), 30' Denko (SB), 45'+1 Perin (M), 70' Ossola (M), 75' Scotti (M), 77' Parmiggiani (M), 90'+2 Tománek (SB), 90'+3 Bakoune (M), 90'+5 Ibrahimović (M).
Sent off: 60' Polakovič (SB) for a second yellow card.

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