Tammy Abraham’s late goal gave AC Milan a thrilling 2-1 Champions League victory over Red Star Belgrade at the San Siro on Wednesday, giving the Italian side four straight wins.
Abraham’s winning goal in the 87th minute was a cruel blow to the Serbian visitors, who came back from a goal down and looked for a deserved winner as the Englishman struck to lift Milan with 12 points to 12th place.
Red Star is in 31st place with three points.
With the top eight teams automatically qualifying for the round of 16, Milan wanted to keep in touch with the top group, but Red Star came close to drawing first blood when Andrija Maksimovic’s shot hit the crossbar in the 18th minute.
This motivated the hosts to take action, but they had to change their plans when, due to an injury, Ruben Loftus-Cheek was replaced by Samuel Chukwueze, and the pitch was forced to make another change after an injury to Alvaro Morata, and Abraham took his place on the pitch.
Rafael Leao opened the scoring for the hosts in the 42nd minute, controlling a long ball from Youssouf Fofana perfectly and then firing his second touch into the top corner.
Rafael Leao of AC Milan scores his first goal against Red Star Belgrade in the UEFA Champions League. | Photo source: REUTERS
Rafael Leao of AC Milan scores his first goal against Red Star Belgrade in the UEFA Champions League. | Photo source: REUTERS
Nemanja Radonjic, who scored twice as his team came from behind to beat Stuttgart 5-1, equalized in the 67th minute, winning the ball outside the area and unleashing a breathtaking shot that missed Mike Maignan’s desperate dive.
“Red Star” almost took the lead when Mirko Ivanić fired a shot wide of the goal, then in the 87th minute Abraham grabbed the winner, and the striker took advantage of the chaos in the penalty box after a set piece and put the ball into the net.
Milan coach Paulo Fonseca was pleased with the victory but expressed frustration after his team played against a team that had lost four of its previous five matches in this year’s competition.
“I need to talk to the team. I don’t want to say too much, I want to analyze (the match), but there are things that are clear to me. “It’s not a tactical or technical issue – we’re coming here for a crucial match and the feeling that we’re not doing everything to win the match is the worst feeling we can have,” he told the broadcaster. Heavenly sport.
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Red Star, 31st in the table, pushed hard for victory in the second half, prompting Fonseca to question his team’s commitment.
“I know I work every day to do well, but I don’t know if everyone on our team can say that. We have an obligation to give our all and do everything to win, and we didn’t do that,” he said.
I need to talk to the team about what happened on the pitch. They need to understand that something like this can’t happen.”
