Despite conceding an early goal against Ciro Immobile, Milan stormed back to defeat Lazio 2-1 and scored a dramatic goal in added time. That Rossoneri started the game in poor form, but Pioli’s side were able to consolidate their dominance after half-time. Sandro Tonali, Rafael Leao and Junior Messias guided their Milan to victory while the hosts’ fall was a tough day in the defense office.
Strakosha made a near-catastrophic mistake early on when Junior Messias blocked his release and the keeper handballed the ball outside the box. His form improved significantly after that, however, as he made a number of important saves.
In defence, Patric had a solid day as he diversified into midfield but failed to organize defense with Francesco Acerbi, ultimately resulting in a late equaliser.
Acerbi played a modest game until stoppage time when his failed attempt at clearance allowed Zlatan and Tonali to score the winning goal.
Despite having the challenging task of defending Junior Messiah, Radu held up well in one-on-one situations. He also cleared a goal-bound corner kick off the line in the second half and kept Lazio’s hopes alive.
Lazzari did a good job with Felipe Anderson. He used his pace to his advantage in the first half, playing high and wide against Theo Hernandez.
The former Liverpool man provided a solid defense in front of the centre-backs. Shortly after receiving a yellow card, Sarri replaced the midfielder with Danilo Cataldi, increasing midfield athleticism.
While he didn’t help the defense enough, Milinkovic-Savic was at his best in the offensive third. He played a beautiful cross to open the scoring and was the only sovereign midfielder on either side.
Alberto struggled to create and find space in the game and only managed one shot on target. 30 minutes before the end, Sarri replaced him with Toma Basic.
While he was fairly active in the first half, Anderson’s influence on the right wing waned as Milan began to dominate possession.
When Lazio seemed to be in control early on, the winger had brilliant flashes but failed to repeat his performance in the second 45.
On the opener, the striker made a great run to break free from Pierre Kalulu and was rewarded with an easy tap. Immobile made good use of his speed and tactical intelligence against Milan’s defence, frequently getting hold of the ball and passing his fellow strikers into space.
Cataldi replaced Lucas Leiva, turning well in midfield and providing a consistent deep option for his attacking colleagues.
Basic came on to take Lazio’s midfield to a higher level but he struggled to make an impact while Milan gained momentum.
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Sandro Tonali pushes it home and sends Milan BACK to the top of the #SerieA ?⚫
FT | Lazio Rome 1-2 pic.twitter.com/q9Gnx4sULm
– SuperSport ? (@SuperSportTV) April 24, 2022
Milan’s goalkeeper didn’t have to face too many difficult shots but he made another outstanding save in the first half. As Immobile played Zaccagni from behind the line, Maignan charged in and won a perfectly timed slide tackle to stop the attack.
Kalulu lost track of Immobile from an early Lazio corner and gave him the easy opener. However, the young defender remained calm and rallied for the rest of the game with his typically strong defence.
Also partly to blame for the fourth-minute concession, Tomori later committed a poor turnover in the defensive third that nearly resulted in another goal. However, his form improved as did Kalulu and the defender eventually made up for his mistakes.
In defense, the right-back didn’t give Radu or Zaccagni much time or space, but he was pretty calm in offense.
Alongside Leao on the left, Hernandez provided good support and connected well with his teammates. After Milan’s disappointing first half, Hernandez played less conservatively in a more advanced position, greatly improving the team’s chemistry.
Kessie put in a great performance from defensive midfield, winning several tackles and providing the box-to-box presence required. He also contributed more than usual to the Milan attack.
Diaz didn’t participate nearly enough in the game, scoring just 26 touches in the first 60 minutes. He was able to find decent passing paths throughout the game, but his creativity wasn’t exactly inspiring.
Tonali played a normal game for 90 minutes, enabling a good game from a deep midfield position. Then, with Milan pushing for victory in injury time, he received a header from Zlatan in the penalty area and buried it from close range, scoring a monumental goal in Milan’s comeback scudetto.
Despite close coverage on the wing, Leao once again put in a phenomenal performance. He fired several precise shots from outside the box and played a great back pass to Olivier Giroud to score the equaliser.
On the right wing, the Brazilian was one of Milan’s more prolific attacking players. He was dynamic in the channel and created several scoring chances Rossoneri. He almost scored the opening goal in the second half, but his flat show just went wide of the post.
Giroud had numerous shots in the first half and finally conceded a goal five minutes after the break. The forward’s form had improved significantly and his distribution, which had been lacking in the last few games, was also better.
A surprise replacement for Leao, Rebic helped Milan’s late push for the second goal immensely.
While recording the winning assist, the Swede also managed two shots on just 11 touches in his first appearance in a while.
