Before the cup final, AC Milan and FC Bologna were battling for important points in Serie A. Thanks to two substitutes, the Rossoneri came out on top in the first of the two matches.
Despite two consecutive wins, AC Milan were only ninth in the table before the matchday, with little chance of qualifying for European competition via the league. Coach Sergio Conceicao made one change from the 2-1 win in Genoa: Joao Felix replaced Fofana, who had to be substituted against Genoa due to injury and was not in the squad.
On the other side, Bologna coach Vincenzo Italiano made five changes to his starting lineup after the 1-1 draw against Juventus: Erlic, Lykogiannis, Moro, Pobega, and Dominguez replaced Lucumi, Miranda, Ferguson, Cambiaghi, and Odgaard (not in the squad) in the starting eleven.
Three chances for Milan in quick succession
After a slow start, the game picked up pace after around 15 minutes, with the hosts creating three chances in quick succession. Pulisic got the ball rolling, but Lykogiannis blocked his shot at the last moment (17). Shortly afterwards, Joao Felix moved into the box, but his deflected effort went wide of the post. The resulting corner landed on Jovic’s head, but Bologna keeper Skorupski was able to prevent the ball from crossing the line (19′).
But the visitors were also able to create chances and repeatedly appeared dangerous in front of goal. Dominguez had the best opportunity, but his shot was deflected around the post by Maignan.
However, the game flattened out shortly before the half-time whistle, with the level of play dropping noticeably. After 42 minutes, Orsolini had the best chance of the game to put the visitors ahead. However, the attacking player did not connect properly with the ball and missed the goal by a long way.
Orsolini’s solo effort puts Bologna in front
After the break, the Rossoblu got off to the perfect start, with Orsolini putting Bologna ahead with a strong solo effort. The Italian broke down the right wing and dribbled towards the edge of the box. From there, he placed the ball in the far corner (49′).
Milan took a long time to get back into the game, but after a triple substitution, the Rossoneri turned up the heat: substitute Samu Chukwueze passed from the left side into the center, where Pulisic laid the ball off to Gimenez. From a few yards out, the substitute equalized in the 73rd minute.
Pulisic turns the game around
Shortly afterwards, the San Siro erupted in cheers once again – but only briefly, as Pulisic was offside when he scored (75′). However, the American’s goal was allowed to stand shortly afterwards. Once again, it was Samu Chukwueze who started the attack, which ended with Pulisic pushing the ball over the line (79′).
The home side managed to hold on to their narrow lead until shortly before the end, but then almost conceded an equalizer, but Maignan kept Cambiaghi out to preserve the lead (90). In stoppage time, Milan then counterattacked to seal the win: Samu Chukwueze picked up speed, left two opponents in his wake and set up Gimenez, who scored his second goal of the game.
Thanks to coach Conceicao’s lucky touch, the hosts were able to celebrate a successful dress rehearsal ahead of Wednesday’s Coppa Italia final in Rome (9 p.m.), where the two clubs will meet again.
