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AC Milan made it back to back wins in Serie A as they beat Bologna 1-0 at San Siro on Sunday night, with Luka Modric the match-winner.
The only goal of the game came right on the hour mark as Alexis Saelemaekers did well to pick his head up and find Modric’s run with a nice cut-back. The Croatian swept home via a deflection to spark brilliant scenes, given he is already so beloved.
It should have been a bigger margin in the end as Santiago Gimenez missed some big chances and the woodwork was hit multiple times. However, the important thing was to pick up the three points by any means.
Massimiliano Allegri chose to make one change from the team that beat Lecce before the break, with new signing Adrien Rabiot slotting into the midfield and Yunus Musah coming out, given that he is now at Atalanta.
Milan started the game on the front foot, with the high press yielding turnovers in the attacking half. Rabiot had a shot that was well blocked from the edge of the box, and then Luka Modric had one take a nick off a defender and rattled the side netting.
The bright beginning continued as Santiago Gimenez forced Skorupski into his first save in the 11th minute. A run from Ruben Loftus-Cheek was cut out but the Mexican seized possession and fired a left-footed attempt that was parried away.
Bologna had the ball in the back of the next in minute 14, with a deflected shot from Castro falling to Cambiaghi on the left edge of the box. He fired home with a first-time effort, though the offside flag went up.
Pervis Estupinan was consistently involved in attacks down the left side and he was inches away from giving Milan the lead. A ball worked from one side to the other ended with the wing-back cutting inside onto his right foot and curling an effort that grazed the outside of the post.
After a bit of a lull in proceedings, the Rossoneri were once again very close to taking the lead. A corner from Modric on the left was met by the head of Loftus-Cheek who flicked it just wide, and Gimenez hooked it back into play off the post.
Allegri opted to make a change at the break with Koni De Winter coming on, though it wasn’t for the booked Fikayo Tomori and instead it was Pavlovic who made way.
Gimenez went down inside the Bologna box six minutes into the second half having claimed that he was pulled back while trying to get to a cross from Estupinan, yet it wasn’t given. Then, there was a big worry as Maignan went down requesting a change because of a calf issue, and Pietro Terracciano replaced him.
The chances continued to fall to Gimenez, and he dragged a shot wide of the far post not long before the hour mark after some good pressure brought yet another Bologna turnover deep inside their own half.
Right on the hour, Milan took the goal and there is nobody that the San Siro crowd would have wanted to score more than the man who did: Luka Modric. Loftus-Cheek was the lone leader of a counter until Saelemaekers arrived, and the cut-back from the Belgian was slotted in from about 18 yards out by the Croatian, who turned 40 just days ago.
😍 LUKA MODRIC WE LOVE YOU ❤️🖤
— SempreMilan (@SempreMilanCom) September 14, 2025
After the opening goal there were a bunch of substitutions. Loftus-Cheek and Fofana went off for Samuele Ricci and Christian Pulisic, while the away side brought on Miranda and Bernardeschi.
With 68 minutes on the clock, Milan were very close to doubling the advantage through the substitute Ricci. He let fly from over 20 yards out with a rocket of a shot that grazed the post.
Pulisic nearly made an impact very quickly as he picked up possession on the left side and surged into the box between two defenders, one of whom put an arm out to try and stop him. The USA international went down appealing for a penalty, but it did appear that he slipped.
Gimenez had a golden opportunity to finally get his name on the scoresheet and quieten some of the noise as Pulisic slipped him through on goal with a great feed. However, he wanted too many touches in the end, rounding the goalkeeper to narrow his angle and then hitting the outside of the post. That was his last action, as Christopher Nkunku replaced him.
Nkunku was immediately lively, latching onto a dink over the top and going down under pressure from Lucumi. No penalty was given for that but then he went over again as Freuler stuck a leg in, which did draw a penalty, but then the VAR room called the referee over and it was reversed.
Allegri saw red in the ensuing rage from Milan’s side, with the coach even removing his jacket during a tirade against the referee and the fourth official. As it would turn out, that would thankfully be the last flash point.
English (US) ·