AC Milan 1 - Spezia 2

 Milan dominated the first half with relentless offensive movements with Spezia taking a handful of attacking initiative. Kalulu and Gabbia were composed in their defensive duties and Bakayako and Krunic midfield combination met expectations of both defensive stability and offensive contributions. 

 

Provedel was a giant in goal for Spezia and the key to them not conceding. However he was unlucky in a 2 minute period , giving away a penalty against a Leao challenge due to a loss of ball control , Theo did miss this giving him a quick break.  However a minute later Krunic regained possession and initiated a long ball counter resulted in a Leao who was able to tap it past the keeper into the back of the net.

 Milan's attacking dominance continued into the second half , with Spezia having a 5 minute attacking interval with Verde found in space who passed to an unmarked Agudelo who was a mere few metres in front of Mike and slotted it home . The remaining of the match became an arm wrestle with Milan trying to force it into the goal and Spezia doing whatever it took to stop Milan, including a number of illegal fouls which resulted in yellow cards.

Milan's lack of composure in the attacking front resulted in a large waste of shots which by end of the match resulted in 25. Swapping out Brahim for Giroud was a mistake as Ibrahimovic was still involved in the game heavily, one of the most dangerous players on the pitch with repetitive efforts and was trying to get players into the game. However when Ibrahimovic is paired with Giroud , both of their flaws become multiplied due to the lack of movement between the pair and bringing on Rebic behind for Brahim earlier on would have also given Rebic time to grow into the match and still provide dynamic flair to the match.

Final few minutes were scrappy with Rebic growing into the game despite being thrown on very last minute with ten minutes remaining, he was able to pass the ball over to Messias Jnr who slotted past the keeper but due to Rebic being fouled , the referee refused to play advantage and brought the game back for the free kick, in a puzzling decision I can not justify.

Spezia was able to get a lucky break and score on the counter by  Gyasi, who should not have been on the field still due to repetitive illegal challenges whilst still being on a yellow card. AC Milan had one minute left to provide an impact but could not do so in the closure of the match .

Though AC Milan dominated the majority of the match and were hard done by referee mistakes, they lost with 25 shots and 61% possession , if they have been more efficient, a win would have occurred regardless of referee mistakes.

Man of the Match
3- Leao
2- Krunic
1-Ibrahimovic