January 07, (THEWILL) – Milan beat Jose Mourinho’s Roma 3-1 to cut Inter’s lead at the top of Serie A to a single point and even though they were missing a number of key players due to injury, COVID-19, and international duty, the Rossoneri were able to secure all three points with ease.
Milan were granted a penalty after just seven minutes of play. Tammy Abraham was the one who made the mistake of extending his arm to parry Theo Hernandez’s well-aimed shot.
Following a VAR review, a spot kick was granted, and former Arsenal and Chelsea forward Olivier Giroud made no mistake from 12 yards, sending Rui Patricio the wrong way.
It was soon 2-0, and Roma were once again the masterminds behind their own demise. Junior Messias was on hand to sweep home the rebound after Roger Ibanez underhit a back pass, allowing Giroud to steal the ball and roll an effort against the post.
For the majority of the first half, Roma was clumsy, but they pulled one back against the run of play just before the break.
Abraham atoned for his previous gaffe by putting his foot out to deflect Lorenzo Pellegrini’s shot past Mike Maignan, who had just made a fantastic save to deny the former Chelsea star.
After a pair of poor tackles, the first quarter came to a sour close, with play having to be stopped twice.
The second half of the game was more evenly matched. Milan had the first chance, with Brahim Diaz bouncing off a few tackles before curling a shot over the bar. Before the hour mark, Roma launched a warning shot, with Abraham twisting rapidly in the box to force Maignan into saving his low shot.
Rick Karsdorp’s second yellow card with 16 minutes to play handed a hammer blow to Roma’s aspirations.
With 10 men, the Giallorossi pressed for an equaliser and were eventually punished for committing too many men forward when two Milan substitutes, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Rafael Leao, combined to put the game beyond all doubt.
Before the end of the game, Roma’s situation worsened when Gianluca Mancini was sent off for bringing down Leao in the area, his second yellow card of the season. Unfortunately for Milan, Ibrahimovic’s penalty was saved by Rui Patricio, denying them a fourth goal.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
