11 November 2023: Getting away from the jeers that saw them off the pitch at the Giuseppe Meazza last weekend may be a blessing in disguise. While away successes are always hard-won in Serie A, a trip to Puglia to face Lecce (who just avoided banishment back to Serie B in their first year back in the top flight last season) might provide Milan a chance to both reset and accumulate some points . . .
Lecce (4-3-3): Falcone; Baschirotto, Pongragic, Gendrey, Dorgu; Ramadani, Kaba (Oudin 46), Rafia (Sansone 46); Strefezza, Krstovic, Banda
Milan (4-3-3): Maignan; Tomori, Thiaw, Calabria, Hernandez; Krunic, Pobega, Reijnders; Leao, Giroud (Musah 82), Chukwueze (Jovic 54)
After a somewhat desultory start where Lecce appeared happy to sit back, and Milan to simply watch them doing so, the red-and-black attack sprung to life just before the half-hour. Theo's chip into the box was met by a running Tomori, who volleyed it past a surprised Falcone, and just three minutes later it was Hernandez himself who deposited a thundering free kick into the top shelf for a sudden two-goal Milan advantage. As befits the current side, though, the road to prosperity was a bumpy one and barely five minutes of good feelings had expired before Krstovic somehow eluded the Milan defense to get onto the end of a Banda cross to tap home and cut that lead in half. The rossoneri had two-thirds of the possession in the second half, yet could not score again, and were content to bring Musah in for Giroud in order to see out the final ten minutes in a more defensive mindset; the sending-off of Krstovic a minute later secured three points that they desperately needed, however lukewarm the performance. [scoresheet]
Men of the Match:
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Theo Hernández (Milan)
⭐️⭐️ Rafael Leao (Milan)
⭐️ Patrick Dorgu (Lecce)
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