Champions League: Milan record three straight wins

AC Milan made it three wins from three Champions League games victory with a 3-2 win against Slovan Bratislava.

All thanks to goals from Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao, and Tammy Abraham, which made them score maximum points as they continued their good run of form after a 3-1 win against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu during their last Matchday.

This had put pressure on the Rossoneri after disappointing Serie A results added to the general sense of inconsistency. 

This will boost them this week as they did the job with Alvaro Morata, who was suspended.

Milan made a bright start through Samuel Chukwueze, who curled his effort wide. The Nigerian winger then went down too efficiently, running into a defender.

Despite their dominance, the  Rossoneri nearly went behind in 15 minutes when David Strelec sprung the offside trap and got around Mike Maignan, only to be denied by a desperate Strahinja Pavlovic goal-line clearance.

After stinging the goalkeeper’s gloves at the near post, Pulisic opened the scoring. He completed a rapid give-and-go with Tammy Abraham to sprint towards goal, placing the angled drive beyond Dominik Takac into the far bottom corner.

The visitors ensured that Milan’s lead lasted only a few minutes as they made good on the threat of an earlier opportunity. With another simple counterattack, Tigran Barseghyan sprinted away undisturbed to beat Maignan one-on-one with a dinked finish.

The visitors caught the Rossoneri defense again, but Fikayo Tomori blocked the across while Tijjani Reijnders drilled wide from the edge of the area.

Substitute Rafael Leao made an impact as he ran onto the Youssouf Fofana through ball before flicking the delicate finish over the on-rushing goalkeeper.

Moments later, Slovan made a mistake and was punished. Strelec’s backpass was straight at Abraham, who gladly accepted the gift to add a third goal.

The referee turned down Milan’s request for a foul when Rafael Leao and Emerson Royal went down from challenges, and Slovan countered to reduce the deficit and wet up a nervy finish. Nino Marcelli hit a ferocious long-range strike into the top corner that bent back Maignan’s glove.

Moments later, the referee showed Marko Tolic two yellow cards in quick succession for dissent, as the visitors finished the game with ten men.