Serie A | Milan Secures First Victory Against Lecce

AC Milan kicked off their Serie A season with a crucial 2-0 away victory against Lecce, courtesy of goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and substitute Christian Pulisic. This morale-boosting win, their first points of the campaign, came despite two earlier Milan goals being disallowed.

The Rossoneri were looking to bounce back from a disappointing home loss to Cremonese in their opening Serie A fixture. They faced additional challenges with key players Rafael Leao and Ardon Jashari sidelined, and Christian Pulisic not at full fitness. Alex Jimenez was also absent, reportedly due to an impending transfer to Bournemouth. Their opponents, Lecce, had started their season with a goalless draw against Genoa. They had recently bolstered their squad with Nikola Stulic, who was making his debut, while Francesco Camarda faced his parent club. Lecce also contended with several injury absences, including Balthazar Pierret, Hamza Rafia, Filip Marchwinski, and Gaby Jean.

Match Highlights

Milan’s Matteo Gabbia thought he had opened the scoring just five minutes in, heading home from a Luka Modric corner, but the goal was chalked off after a VAR review for a foul on Lassana Coulibaly. Pervis Estupinan endured a shaky start for Milan, committing turnovers and nearly conceding a penalty. Lecce`s goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone was kept busy, twice denying Ruben Loftus-Cheek. At the other end, Mohamed Kaba fired over, and Santiago Gimenez missed a clear chance after beating the offside trap. Just before halftime, Strahinja Pavlovic forced a good save from Falcone with a stretching volley.

Lecce substitute Nikola Stulic made an immediate impact on his Serie A debut, setting up Mohamed Kaba, whose shot was easily collected by Mike Maignan. Milan`s Santiago Gimenez had a goal disallowed for offside in the 60th minute, after skillfully converting a pass from Saelemaekers and celebrating in tribute to an injured teammate. Shortly after, a lapse in concentration from Tiago Gabriel allowed Saelemaekers to win a free-kick, leading to the breakthrough. From Luka Modric’s resulting set-piece, Ruben Loftus-Cheek skillfully flicked a header into the top corner from six yards, giving Milan a legitimate lead. Lecce`s Falcone then produced another fine save from Youssouf Fofana`s long-range effort. Gimenez continued to be involved, but his touch let him down after a long run by Pavlovic. Stulic and N’Dri also had chances for Lecce but couldn`t convert. However, Milan capitalized on a defensive error just 20 seconds later. A long clearance from Maignan was mishandled by Gaspar and Danilo Veiga, falling directly to Christian Pulisic, who made no mistake in slotting home to double Milan`s advantage.

Team Lineups