On April 12, Beijing time, in the first leg of the Europa League 1/4 finals, AC Milan, the second in Serie A, sat at the San Siro Stadium against Roma, the fifth in Serie A. In the second half, despite Giroud's shot over the crossbar, neither side was able to change the scoreline, and in the end, AC Milan lost 1-0 at home to Roma, failing to seize the lead in the two-legged contest, and the recent seven-game winning streak in all competitions came to an end. Roma ended a four-and-a-half-year embarrassing run without a win against Milan in nine games.
Roma is ranked 23rd in the world, with a total value of 320 million euros, 7 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss in the last 10 games in all competitions, and is unbeaten in the last 3 games. AC Milan, ranked 10th in the world, is worth a total of 530 million euros and has been in explosive form recently, winning all seven matches in all competitions. In the last 6 meetings between the two teams, AC Milan has won 4 and drawn 2 with a considerable psychological advantage.
Stefano Pioli sent a 4231 formation for Milan, with Olivier Giroud up front, Christian Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek and Rafael Leao behind him, Bennacer and Ryanders as the back two, Calabria, Gabria, Gauff and Te'o at the back, and Maignan as goalkeeper.
Roma boss De Rossi deployed a 433 attacking formation, with Dybala, El Shaarawy and Romelu Lukaku up front, Paredes, Cristante and Manlegrini in midfield, and Spinazzola, Mancini, Chris Smalling, Celik and goalkeeper Svilar at the back.
In the 9th minute, Reinders took the lead and fired a low shot that was saved by Svilar, sounding the horn for AC Milan to attack. In the 16th minute, El Shaarawy's push changed the line, and Milan goalkeeper Maignan made a wonderful save to keep the goal open.
In the 17th minute, Dybala set up Roberto Mancini to break the deadlock from a corner kick and Roma took a 1-0 lead.
In the 21st minute, Giroud had two headers cleared in front of Romelu Lukaku and AC Milan missed a chance to equalise. In the 27th minute, El Shaarawy crossed in front of goal to create a threat, and Gabia cleared the ball before Lukaku in time to defuse the crisis again.
In the 37th minute, El Shaarawy's pass floated towards goal, Maignan reacted quickly to save the ball, and Lukaku was slow to follow up and failed to complete the follow-up. In the 42nd minute, Reinders received the ball and hit the goal directly, and Svillar made a successful save. Towards half-time, Spinazzola broke down the flank and fired into the side-netting to extend Roma's lead.
Half-time statistics showed Milan possession 55% with 11 attempts at goal with 2 on target while Roma had 7 attempts at goal with 2 on target. Although AC Milan has a certain advantage in terms of possession and shots on goal, its ability to grasp opportunities in front of goal is slightly insufficient. Roma's defense is well-organized and the attack is efficient.
In the 61st minute, Roma's front court cooperated tacitly, and Pellegrini received Lukaku's return pass and fired a low left-footed shot wide. In the 62nd minute, Cristante received a pass from a teammate and fired a low shot wide of the far post.
In the 63rd minute, Adli accidentally stepped on Pellegrini's foot and was shown a yellow card by the referee. In the 68th minute, AC Milan had a corner kick opportunity, Adley drove to the penalty area, and Te'o's header hit the top of the goal. In the 72nd minute, Reinders shot near the penalty line, and Svillar made another save.
In the 73rd minute, Loftus-Cheek brought down Dybala and received a yellow card. In the 75th minute, Adley shot a cross that looked like a shot, and Svillar flew to lift the ball over the crossbar. In the 82nd minute, Gabia tackled Abraham in front of the goal and hit the crossbar with his foot. In the 87th minute, Chukwueze broke down the right and crossed for Giroud to hit the crossbar.
In the 91st minute, Abraham was suspected of handball in the penalty area, and the referee upheld the original decision after VAR intervened. In the end, the game ended at full-time with AC Milan losing 1-0 at home to Roma.
Statistically, this is Roma's first win after a nine-game winless run against Milan in all competitions, with their last win coming back in October 2019, when Roma beat Milan 2-1 in Serie A and have since drawn three and lost six.