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In the early morning of January 14, Beijing time, a 1/8 final of the Italian Cup was contested, and AC Milan, who ranked second in Serie A, faced Genoa at home. Pioli discharged in a 4231 formation for this match. Menion served as the starting goalkeeper. Kalulu, Gabia, Tomori and Theo Hernandez are teamed up at 4-back. Tornelli and Clunic double backs. The attacking combination of Messias, Daniel Maldini, Rebic and Giroud joined forces. Raphael Leo, Saler Markles, Bakayoko and Florenzi sit on the bench.
Shortly after the match began, Klunic's header hit the crossbar and Genoa escaped. It was Genoa who scored first, relying on a corner kick opportunity, Austi's high header to the left of the goal, the goalkeeper did not react at all. Milan were then hit again, and Tomori was injured and had to be replaced by Florenzi. The two sides were evenly matched in the first half, but Genoa scored a higher quality shot on goal, scoring 1 goal on 3 shots. Milan didn't even have a shot on target in the first half.
Milan, who were behind in the second half, had to step up their attacks, take control of the situation and keep creating good chances. Genoa, on the other hand, was able to focus most of its energy on defense. Florenzi's shot was confiscated by the goalkeeper and Messias' header went high. It wasn't until the 74th minute that Milan finally equalised. Teoc Hernan's precise cross was met by Olivier Giroud's header into the dead corner. The goal gave Pioli a temporary sigh of relief. Olivier Giroud then had a chance to score twice, but unfortunately his header was deflected off the top of the goal. At the end of regular time, the two sides played a 1-1 draw and had to enter extra time.
At the start of extra time, Milan launched an onslaught, Leo's small angle shot was slightly offside, Tonari's long-range shot was also deflected, and Theo Hernandez's shot was high. It wasn't until the 102nd minute that Milan scored and Raphael Leo scored with a shot. The goal was imaginative. Salmales also scored, and it was still Theo who delivered the assist. The goal killed the suspense of the game. In the end, after 120 minutes of vicious fighting, AC Milan refused to be upset, eliminated Genoa 3-1, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia. AC Milan have won four consecutive games in all competitions.
The best performer of the game was undoubtedly Theo Hernandez, who delivered 2 assists and 4 key passes, and in the post-match sofascore rating, Theo Hernandez scored a game-high 8.4 points. Olivier Giroud also performed well, scoring 1 goal on 3 shots and 2 key passes to score 7.8 points. Two substitute players, Rafael Leo and Salmales, both played a decisive role, scoring one goal each to help AC Milan get through the hurdle.