November 28, (THEWILL) – Sassuolo came from behind to win 3-1 at the San Siro, denying AC Milan the chance to go top of Serie A in their Sunday fixture at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza home grounds of the Milan side.
With Napoli playing later in the evening, Milan had the chance to put the ball in their championship rival’s court and challenge their credentials, while also demonstrating that last weekend’s loss to Fiorentina was a mere slip-up.
Everything appeared to be going according to that plan after 20 minutes, when the hosts took the lead thanks to their captain Alessio Romagnoli. The defender lost his marker and headed the ball into the back of the net at the near post after a short corner routine.
However, Milan’s lead lasted less than three minutes as the visitors equalised thanks to a spectacular Gianluca Scamacca effort. Mike Maignan was frozen to the spot as the attacker found time and space on the edge of the box and curled his effort into the top corner.
After losing their lead, the hosts went from bad to worse, as they found themselves a goal down within ten minutes. They were unable to deal with a Sassuolo corner, and the ball fell to Scamacca, the obvious man of the match, who struck a shot at goal that deflected off Simon Kjr to make the score 2-1.
Stefano Pioli made a number of changes at the start of the second half in an attempt to jolt his team into action, but despite the personnel changes, they were unable to break down Sassuolo, who determined that the greatest form of defence was attack.
The visitors’ tactical approach paid off when Domenico Berardi of Sassuolo squirmed his way into the Milan area before placing the ball past Maignan to put the game beyond reach for the hosts.
Milan’s next match is an away match against Genoa, while Sassuolo hosts Napoli to continue their top-of-the-table battles.
The title contenders were unable to deal with the attacking danger posed by a Sassuolo side that has been out of form recently. Over the course of 90 minutes, Milan appeared to be devoid of any tactical nous in dealing with their 13th-placed opponents, who pushed them off the field even in the presence of the ageless Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
About the Author
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.
