AC Milan: Rossoneri win incredible shots on goal from 24 shots on goal after equalizer in 120th minute – US – Rio Ave 2-2 (8-9p)

AC Milan couldn’t have made their life more difficult, but they found a way through Rio Ave and the group stages of the Europa League

Alexis Saelemaekers opened the scoring for the Rossoneri in the second half, but goals from Geraldes in normal time and Gelson Dala early in extra time left Milan behind until the 120th minute

A drama that hit as a penalty was awarded for the handball sent by Hakan Calhanoglu, then an absolutely incredible penalty shootout ensued in which Rio Ave rejected three winning shots as Milan battled for win 9-8

Stefano Pioli entered the game knowing he couldn’t call on Ante Rebic, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alessio Romagnoli, Mateo Musacchio, Leo Duarte and Andrea Conti, and the main surprise for the selection was that Daniel Maldini got the nod in front of Lorenzo Colombo

The opening exchanges were frantic and typical of both teams trying to impose their own style on the game, with Milan pressing high and Rio Ave trying to play in the middle, with the highlight of the first 10 minutes being a shot from Simon Kjaer its own half which was hit by venom but ended up at least 10 meters wide

The Rossoneri pulled their first significant effort on goal in the 12th minute thanks to a well-worked free-kick routine that had clearly come straight from the training ground.After two touches the ball was brought back to Theo Hernandez, well that the Frenchman made his effort sparkle on the right post from the best part at 30 meters

Milan clearly liked their chances from a distance as Hakan Calhanoglu later decided to aim for 40 yards, but he was unable to recreate one of his famous knuckleball free-kicks, instead distorting the attempt

The game slipped into the same cycle in which the home team sat deep and deployed a low block, Pioli’s team couldn’t cut them, they lost the ball and the recovered fairly quickly before fighting again against a Defensive Line

Both teams struggled to generate real quality in terms of passing and even less shooting, but Gianluigi Donnarumma was called to action for the first time when Carlos Mane stepped in from the left wing and took exerted an effort towards the far post the non99 was easily able to cross and grab given its huge frame

Ultimately, the referee would blow during the half-time without either side having a clear opportunity, and for Milan the main threat came from Theo Hernandez’s marauding runs.

It was understandable then that Pioli made a change at the break, with the disappointing Castillejo making way for Brahim Diaz

At the start of the second half, Aderllan entered the pound of Rio Ave for what was a very smart tactical foul pulling down Maldini, who was in a position where it was easy to slide One-on-one Calhanoglu

The difference with Brahim on the pitch was almost instantaneous when Milan started knocking on the door The Spaniard saw a shot blocked inside the area after a neat flow from Saelemaekers with what was a final slide

However, it was in the turn that followed that Milan took the lead A ball coming out from the right found its way towards Saelemaekers on the edge of the box, and he took a touch to stabilize himself before shoot inside the nearest post with a measured finish from his right foot

Tarantino had a great chance to equalize for the home side just before the hour mark as he leaned in to steer a cross towards the goal, but he passed comfortably away from the far post despite the fact that the attacker was not marked

Pioli made his second change of night midway through the second half as Daniel Maldini made way for Rafael Leao

Leao immediately put his mark on the game, receiving the ball back to goal before turning and launching into a run to the edge of the box where he cynically tripped From the free kick that resulted, Calhanoglu saw his shot deflected narrowly over the top corner

In the end, Milan would be forced to pay for the missed opportunity as Rio Ave leveled A down movement from Milan’s right side ended with Geraldes hitting a first shot against Donnarumma after a cut-back perfect, bringing the score to 1-1

Milan nearly regained the lead with six minutes from the moment a long throw found its way to Calhanoglu on the edge of the box, whose reflex shot whistled wide From the corner that followed Calabria did the same but 10 meters further, and this time without deviation

Rio Ave had the best chance of winning within 90 minutes as Santos shot a few inches from the edge of the box after a bullet ricocheted at him, but the match would eventually drag on

With the first attack of extra time, Rio Ave took the lead for the first time in the game Gelson Dala was able to run to goal after hitting the ball against Kessie’s legs, although his arrival in the corner most distant gave Donnarumma no chance

Pioli attempted another dice roll from the substitutes bench five minutes into extra time, Colombo ahead of the Saelemaekers

Kieszek was forced to a halftime stop in extra time, swinging Bennacer’s free kick over the bar, before Gabbia took the lead from the corner that came after

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The Rossoneri started to make forays, and Theo Hernandez was found with an excellent through ball by Tonali before his cross needed close-to-post intervention, while from the resulting corner Theo took saw an effort from the edge of the surface trimmed

Absolute disaster for the hosts in the last minute of extra time A desperate long ball was thrown over and behind, where Borevkovic inexplicably reached out an arm and handled the ball, conceding a penalty and receiving a second yellow card for his worries

Calhanoglu stepped up and sent the kick with venom to ironically send the tie to a penalty shootout, with the players on the ground after an extra 30 minutes in their legs that they probably didn’t need

Bennacer took the first penalty for Milan and found the bottom right corner perfectly, but Geraldes responded by sending Donnarumma the wrong way Kjaer then moved forward and beat Kieszek with a powerful effort, but Santos covered with confidence to bring the score to 2-2 after four kicks

Theo Hernandez was next and he did as good a job as his two teammates in finding the inside net, although once again Rio Ave hit back through Jambor Brahim Diaz couldn’t have hit his penalty more smoothly in the top left corner to make 4-3, but Piazon made it 4-4 with a calm effort

Calhanoglu repeated his exploits of the last seconds by shooting another incredible penalty in the lower corner, but captain Augusto made sure he was going to die suddenly with a perfectly executed panenka

Calabria went next and once again the left side of the goal was kind to Milan as he returned the ball but the shootout continued as Gelson Dala scored Tonali went next and did exactly the same as Calabria; Gabriel replied 7-7

Colombo went on next and blasted his attempt over the bar, but somehow Milan stayed there as Monte’s penalty hit both posts and rolled away

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Leao then took responsibility and confidently propelled the ball home, and Donnarumma knows he should have saved Pinto’s effort as the ball hit his arm and crossed the line He will have felt even worse seconds later skiing his penalty, but Marzano did the exact same

And so back to the start we went, but this time Bennacer couldn’t score with Kieszek saving well low to his left Geraldes buckled his efforts on the post, and we continued Kjaer hit the house in the middle to bring the score to 9-8, and Donnarumma made a decisive save when it was important to book Milan’s place in the Europa League group stage

AC Milan, avenue Rio FC, UEFA Europa League, Stefano Pioli, Daniel Maldini, Serie A