A second-half strike from Tijani Reijnders proved decisive as Milan cruised to a 1-0 win over Verona in a hotly contested Serie A clash on Friday.
After failing to win their last two league matches, Milan moved up to seventh in the table with a much-needed three points.
The visitors struggled to find their rhythm in the first half, and Tomas Suslov almost fell behind when Samuel Chukwueze pounced on a loose pass before Mike Magnan made a low save.
Fonseca then went off injured as Rafael Liao was forced off before the break with what appeared to be a muscle problem.
However, Milan finally found a breakthrough in the 56th minute as Reijnders made a well-timed run to elude the defense before expertly directing a first-time shot into the top corner.
Despite a spirited display, Verona could not equalize late on and remain one place and one point above the relegation zone.
Victory in Verona #Veronamilan #SempreMilan
Brought to you by @bitpanda_global pic.twitter.com/2FdaxxvyDw— AC Milan (@acmilan) December 20, 2024
Data Debrief: Making the Difference
After Milan’s goalless draw with Genoa last weekend, the Rossoneri went into the Christmas break with three points thanks to the Reds.
The Dutchman has now scored four goals in 15 games this season, his joint-most in a season in a top-10 European league (four in 33 games for AZ in 2021-22).
After conceding two goals in each of their first three league matches this season, Milan have now kept a clean sheet in eight of their last 12 Serie A matches, with only Napoli (nine) and Juventus (10) keeping more this season.
Their defense deserves credit though as they limited Verona to just 0.8 expected goals (xG), hitting just two of their 10 shots on target.
