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AC Milan struggled against a determined Rijeka side in the Europa League

By Benjamin Barkworth

MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 28: Patrick Cutrone of AC Milan celebrates his goal during the UEFA Europa League group D match between AC Milan and HNK Rijeka at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 28, 2017 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 28: Patrick Cutrone of AC Milan celebrates his goal during the UEFA Europa League group D match between AC Milan and HNK Rijeka at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 28, 2017 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images) /
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I Rossoneri put in a disjointed performance against the Croatian champions, but came away with a 3-2 win.

Milan came into the season with high expectations due to spending over £160 million on new players. There were hopes that this would be the boost needed for them to challenge for the Serie A title. Although, getting top four is much more realistic, and winning the Europa League is achievable. Based on this performance, the Milanese giants have a lot of work to do to achieve either of these goals.

They had started their group campaign well with a convincing 5-1 win away from home against Austria Vienna. This match looked to be going a similar way when André Silva scored an excellent individual goal in the 14th minute. However, the manner of that goal should have provided a warning. Milan struggled to create anything as a team in the final third, and had issues maintaining possession at times.

Rijeka couldn’t take advantage of Milan’s issues, though, and they went into the break 1-0 down. Mateo Musacchio doubled their lead early in the second half with a rebound from a corner. Matjaž Kek opted to bring on Boadu Acosty not long after this in order to exploit the space behind I Rossoneri’s defence.

This substitution eventually brought results as he managed to beat Leonardo Bonucci to a long ball, and chipped the ball past Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 84th minute. Not long after that Alessio Romagnoli conceded a penalty after failing to shield the ball out of play. Josip Elez converted it, but Donnarumma was unlucky as he dived the right way.

In under seven minutes it looked like Milan had capitulated. However, they had a hero in their midst. 19-year-old Patrick Cutrone got on to the end of Fabio Borini’s chipped through ball, and dinked the ball past the goalkeeper to score a 94th minute winner.

Conclusions

It was an exciting end to the match for the fans, and a great moment for Cutrone. However, the manner of the victory will disappoint Vincenzo Montella. Losses in the league against Sampdoria and Lazio have unfairly put the pressure on him. This match will do little to alleviate the pressure. His team was unwilling to take risks with their passing, and the midfield struggled to keep possession especially in the final third.

The next league match is huge for them because they play AS Roma at home; this is the kind of match they need to win if they want to regain their status as a top team in Italy. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the best kind of performance to precede such an important game.

Next: Zenit take control of their UEL group after beating Sociedad

Rijeka will be relatively happy with their performance as they nearly came away from the San Siro with a point. However, losing in the last-minute will still hurt, regardless. They will be aiming to continue their title defence by beating Rudeš away from home as they already trail Dinamo Zagreb by four points.

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