AC Milan has one leg in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Coach Stefano Pioli's team played against Slavia Prague for a long time against ten men and eventually won 4-2 against the Czech top club. Goalscorers were Olivier Giroud, Tijjani Reijnders, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Christian Pulisic. Alessandro Florenzi also excelled with two assists.

Milan started with a strong starting eleven. For example, Reijnders stood in midfield next to Yacine Adli and the vanguard was formed by Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Rafael Leão and striker Giroud. Mick van Buren was on the bench at Slavia; Mohamed Ihattaren has not been match fit for a while.

Slavia started well in San Siro and got its first chance through Malick Diouf. However, the Senegalese completely missed the ball in complete freedom and failed to give the visitors the lead. David Dooudera could and perhaps should have given the Czechs the lead. The right winger picked up the ball halfway through the first half, saw plenty of space in front of him and shot wide with his right from the edge of sixteen.

Slavia held up well, but everything changed when Diouf was sent off for a hard tackle on Pulisic's standing leg. The American was able to continue playing and was at the heart of a dangerous Milan attack halfway through the second half. Leão got the ball on the left and saw his shot touched in such a way that Giroud headed the ball at the far post: 1-0.

However, the Milanese party was short-lived. Reijnders headed the ball away from a corner and sent the ball to Doudera. The Czech took the ball in his stride and shot through the inside of the far post: 1-1. Milan did not let this deter them and came close to taking the lead through a header from Leao. However, goalkeeper Jindrich Stanek saved and converted the ball into a corner kick. Reijnders saw a shot being cracked.

It yielded a new corner for Milan. Florenzi passed to Matteo Gabbia, who saw Stanek make the save. It resulted in another corner kick. Florenzi once again passed the ball well, although this time it resulted in a counter attack for Slavia. However, Reijnders prevented worse by cleverly clearing Mojmír Chytil of the ball.

From Florenzi's next corner it was a hit for Milan. This time the right back decided to play the ball short to Reijnders, who was about twenty meters from the goal. The Dutch international found the short corner with a hard shot: 2-1. Florenzi was a huge danger with his corner kicks. The youth product of AS Roma once again gave a sharp lead and this time it was Loftus-Cheek who, through a striking header, ensured a Milan goal: 3-1.

???? Tijjani Reijnders with a wonderful bang @acmilan! ?#UEL #ACMSLP

— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) March 7, 2024

However, the game was not yet over. Substitute Ivan Schranz, who had been on the field for four minutes, scored the tying goal. The Slovakian shot hard in the box into the far crossing: 3-2. However, Milan would manage to increase the margin to two again. Shortly after Luka Jovic shot wide on a pass from Leão, the goal was still in the lead i Rossoneri. Leão delivered the ball to Pulisic, who could no longer miss from close range: 4-2.

More sports news