AC Milan returned to winning ways in the league on Sunday afternoon, beating Monza 3-0 at San Siro to gain ground on Juventus.
The game was ultimately won in the first half through goals from Tijjani Reijnders and Jan-Carlo Simic; the former scoring after a brilliant dribble and the latter getting his first Milan goal from a Rafael Leao tee-up.
Noah Okafor came off the bench to fire in a third after a lovely team move but was forced off not long after through a muscle problem, and the Rossoneri were able to celebrate a clean sheet as well.
The result means that Milan have moved five points behind Juventus who are in second place while waiting for Inter’s result later as they travel to Lazio.
Stefano Pioli made a couple of changes to the starting line-up, with Simon Kjaer recovering from injury to take a spot at centre-back and Tommaso Pobega coming into the midfield with Yunus Musah injured.
Milan had the first moment of danger in the game as Di Gregorio was forced to rush off his line to a position outside the box to stop Ruben Loftus-Cheek who would have been through on goal otherwise.
In the fourth minute, Milan did take the lead. Reijnders dribbled between five Monza players, with the last one beaten by a lovely slalom before the Dutchman poked the ball between the legs of Di Gregorio, who might feel a bit of regret to have not saved it.
Milan nearly doubled their advantage when Leao went on a trademark run down the left side, pulling the ball back for Theo Hernandez whose low shot across goal was stopped by Di Gregorio’s outstretched hands.
It was an end-to-end start to the game, as Pedro Pereira cut back for Lorenzo Colombo who saw a shot blocked, then at the other end Milan countered with Leao in a central area but his shot was sent into the stands.
Colombo had another chance to score against his parent club when he was fed inside the box with a pass, turning and then firing into the side netting at the near post.
The Rossoneri continued to create in transition, and Loftus-Cheek carried the ball for virtually the entire half of the field before seeing his strike deflected over for a corner. The move started from a fantastic Reijnders tackle too.
Milan were forced into a change midway through the first half as Pobega went down with what looked like a muscle injury, and Jan-Carlo Simic came on to replace him.
Not long before the half-hour mark, Alessandro Florenzi was close to making it 2-0 as he unleashed a piledriver of a shot that was heading for the top corner but was well saved by Di Gregorio.
Monza got on top in the game after Milan’s switch to a 3-4-3, and Danilo D’Ambrosio caused Simon Kjaer to clear desperately inside his own box, before Dany Mota had a shot charged down from about 15 yards out.
It was very close to being a two-goal lead five minutes before the interval when Florenzi’s low driven shot drew a fantastic save from Di Gregorio, who also somehow managed to palm the ball to safety.
Four minutes before the break, Milan did make it 2-0 and it was an unforgettable moment for Simic. Leao beat his man on the right side of the box and laid a perfect pass across the six-yard box where the teenage centre-back was on hand to fire into the roof of the net.
Christian Pulisic was inches away from making it a three-goal advantage going into half-time when he cut inside onto his left foot and curled a shot that hit the underside of the bar and ricocheted away.
Milan had in truth looked leggy at times in the first half and the second half started that way. They did have a half-chance though when Leao again went on a run across the box and flashed a cross just in front of the onrushing Tomori.
Mike Maignan made his first big save of the game around the hour mark when Colpani was found accidentally with a scuffed shot about 12 yards out before spinning and firing his own attempt that the Frenchman was equal to.
Not long after Giroud sent a first time effort onto the roof of the net, Pioli opted to make changes as Noah Okafor came on for Leao, Ismael Bennacer for Loftus-Cheek and Davide Bartesaghi for Kjaer.
Inside the final 20 minutes, Milan put the game to bed with a beautiful team move. Okafor had been unlucky not to score moments earlier with a curling shot that was saved, and he wasn’t to be denied a second time as Reijnders beat Akpa Akpro and fed Giroud who flicked it into the path of the Swiss forward who swept in with his right boot.
However, Okafor wouldn’t have long to enjoy his goal as he pulled up with what looked like a hamstring injury, forcing him off with Samuel Chukwueze coming on in his place.
The Rossoneri had a chance for a fourth goal on the break after a Monza set piece, with a three-on-one situation ending when Theo was tackled brilliantly inside the box by Akpa Akpro.
