AC Milan 2-1 Como: Pulisic and Reijnders engineer yet another comeback | OneFootball

AC Milan had to come from behind once again to beat Como, but they managed to do so to record a second consecutive Serie A win.

The away side were on top for large parts of the game and took the lead in the first half with a nice finish from Luca Da Cunha, a lead which they managed to hold until the interval with Milan missing a couple of big chances.

However, just like in the reverse fixture the Rossoneri roared back to down Cesc Fabregas’ side, equalising through Christian Pulisic’s shot from a narrow angle then winning it through yet another goal from Tijjani Reijnders.

Milan move seventh for the time being while waiting for the results of the other games, but they have at least taken advantage of the fact that Bologna play Lazio and Fiorentina host Juventus in the later games.

Sergio Conceicao made two changes to the starting line-up from the team that came from two goals down to beat Lecce, with Mike Maignan coming back in after serving his suspension, then Rafael Leao taking back his spot on the left wing after sparking the comeback one week ago.

Milan were incredible close to taking the lead just four minutes into the game as a huge opportunity fell to Yunus Musah. The American was fed on the right side of the box following a recovery in the Como half and he rounded the goalkeeper, firing a ball across goal that was a couple of yards ahead of Tijjani Reijnders and Santiago Gimenez, but also just wide of the far post.

Como’s half-chances in the opening exchanges came almost exclusively from sloppy Milan giveaways in both halves, the most notable of which came in the 12th minute when Nico Paz unleashed a shot just wide of the near post from the edge of the box.

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Reijnders was unlucky not to register an assist or a pre-assist on a couple of occasions in the opening 25 minutes. The first was a brilliant curling pass through the gap to Theo Hernandez’s run but he couldn’t stay up in the area, then another line-splitting ball saw Rafael Leao found in space though again the end product was missing.

Maignan was forced into his first stop of the game just after the half-hour mark to deny Nico Paz, but moments later he was picking the ball out of his net. Diao and Paz again linked up down the left to tee up Da Cunha, who found the bottom corner with a precise left-footed shot that nestled inside the near post.

The nerves then began to set in, and Como should have perhaps doubled their advantage just before half-time. A great cross from Caqueret was chested down and stabbed towards goal, but perhaps the issue was that the centre-back Kempf was on the end of it, not getting enough power or height to beat the onrushing Maignan.

In what has been a running theme of his tenure so far, Conceicao didn’t like what he saw in the first half and made changes: Theo and Warren Bondo came off, with Alex Jimenez and Youssouf Fofana taking their places respectively.

Como and Da Cunha thought they had a second when the Frenchman burst through the high line and fired past Maignan via a deflection, with Jimenez left in a heap at the other end claiming a foul before the attack. Thankfully, VAR ruled the goal out for offside, then Joao Felix replaced Musah.

That would be the stroke of fortune needed to get back into the game, as Milan levelled things through Pulisic. It was a fantastic finish from the American, who was found by a nice pass from Reijnders down the left side of the box but had no right to beat the goalkeeper from such a narrow angle.

Da Cunha continued to be Como’s main threat, and Maignan had to be alert to get town and tip away a skidding shot that was heading in the bottom corner in a similar way to the goal he scored in the first half.

Photo by AC Milan

Como dominated the possession as Milan seemed happy to sit off and wait for their moments in transition, like when Felix almost put Gimenez through on goal. The Mexican had another quiet game, and midway through the second half was replaced by Tammy Abraham.

Reijnders had been the creator throughout the game but almost became the finisher shortly after Abraham came on, whipping a shot just high of the top corner from Pulisic’s cut-back. At the other end, Cutrone fired narrowly wide on the spin.

With 15 minutes left on the clock, the Rossoneri got themselves in front and it was a goal created by the substitute Abraham. He received the ball with his back to goal, sensed the run in behind from Reijnders and found it with a perfect pass, then the Dutchman applied the finishing touch with a near-post finish.

Abraham and Reijnders were again involved as Milan missed a huge opportunity to kill the game off. The Englishman played a lovely first-time lay off to the midfielder who was alone with just the keeper to beat, yet sent his shot agonisingly wide of the far post.

Dele Alli came on for his Como debut but would ultimately be responsible for a moment of madness that pretty much ended his side’s hopes. In added time he went with his studs into the calf of former England team-mates Ruben Loftus-Cheek, getting his yellow upgraded to a red after a VAR reviews.