Defending Serie-A champions AC Milan registered a dominating 4-1 victory over Monza in their latest match in the domestic league.
Spanish midfielder Brahim Diaz scored a brace for the hosts while Divok Origi and Rafael Leao scored the other two goals. Filippo Ranocchia netted the only goal for Monza.
Coming into the match, AC Milan won their last two league matches. They wanted to get another victory to keep the pressure on league leader Napoli. Milan were against a newly promoted Monza side.
Stefano Pioli opted 4-2-3-1 setup for the match. Ciprian Tetarusanu started in goal. Sergino Dest, Simon Kjaer, Fikayo Tomori, and Theo Hernandez completed the back four. Ismael Bennacer and Tommaso Pobega played at the base of the midfield while Brahim Diaz was given a free no.10 role. Junior Messais and Ante Rebic started on the wings. Divock Origi was given the duty to lead the lines.
Brahim Diaz Stars in AC Milan Victory
The defending champions got a great start to the match. Young midfielder Brahim Diaz scored the opener in the 16th minute of the match. After making a surging run toward the goal, Diaz defeated Monza’s goalkeeper with a brilliant low shot.
The visiting team then got two great opportunities to restore parity. But Ciprian Tetarusanu kept Milan’s lead intact. He at first saved a powerful effort from Stefano Sensi and denied Carlos Augusto.
Soon after that, AC Milan striker Divock Origi had a great chance to extend Milan’s lead. But the forward’s effort could only find the side net. However, Milan did not have to wait much for the second goal as Brahim Diaz doubled their lead in the 41st minute.
The first half ended 2-0 in Milan’s favour. Soon after the break, Ante Rebic failed to convert an easy chance after receiving a superb pass from Brahim Diaz.
Divock Origi scored the third goal of the match for Stefan Pioli’s side. The Belgian forward created some space at the edge of the box before launching a vicious effort that found the back of the net.
Soon after that Monza’s 21-year-old Filippo Ranocchia scored a brilliant freekick to pull one goal back. This however was not enough for the visiting team. Finally, last season’s MVP Rafael Leao scored the fourth goal for AC Milan after coming on as a substitute.
The match ended in a big 4-1 win for the Rossoneri. With this win, Milan are now in second place in the Serie-A table. they have twenty-six points from eleven matches and will face GNK Dinamo Zagreb in their next match.
Meanwhile, Monza are now in fourteenth place with ten points from eleven matches. Monza will face Bologna in their next outing.