Author: Amrit Santlani
Bologna haven’t beaten Milan since January 2016, and they didn’t manage to win this time either. Although the start of the match, right from the first minute, was created by the hosts. Likoyannis, from 25 meters, hit Magnana’s crossbar with force.
After surviving the initial scare, Milan began to dominate the game and opened the scoring through Giroud, who scored his goal of the new campaign in the 11th minute. Pulisic crossed for Tijjani Reijnders on the by-line. The Milan newcomer, who came from AZ Alkmaar, passed the ball into Giroud’s empty penalty area – the Frenchman scored almost without interference – 0:1.
Ten minutes later, the visitors made it 2-0 with another incredible goal. The trio of former Chelsea players, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic and Giroud, combined, and the Frenchman fed the USA international, who found the back of the net with a shot from outside the area on his Serie A debut.
Just before the half-hour mark, Milan could have been 3-0 up: Pulisic crossed for Giroud, but the latter’s volley was saved by Łukasz Skorupski. Mike Maignan made a regulation save to stop Lewis Ferguson’s goal, and the first half ended 2-0 to Milan.
Shortly after the restart, the Bologna players had a penalty turned down after a rash tackle by Fikayo Tomori, while Theo Hernandez was shown a yellow card for dissent.
The Frenchman made a smart save from a Michel Aebischer shot, before Rafael Leao embarked on one of his individual runs and hit the post for what would have been a brilliant third goal. Bologna’s forwards had plenty of chances in the game, but their lack of daring meant they lost three points.
Torino – Cagliari – 0:0
Cagliari’s Brazilian midfielder Paulo Daniel Dentello Azzi spent the entire match on the pitch. He could have scored in the 8th and 63rd minutes, but his shot was off target. In general, the teams created one moment of danger each. In the 4th minute, Torino striker Antonio Sanabria shot from a corner kick into the right corner – Radunovich deflected it out for a corner. In the 16th minute, Naitan Nandez shot high, but Milinkovic-Savic also deflected the ball for a corner. In general, the classic “Italian draw”.