Il Milan beat 5-1 the Sampdoria on the 36th day of A league. At San Siro, Pioli’s Rossoneri reacted to their elimination from the Champions League semi-final by overwhelming Stankovic’s blucerchiati, last in the standings and already relegated. Goal Festival opened by Lion in the 9th minute after a play of Diaz. Quagliarella balanced the challenge in the 20th minute, but the draw lasted only three minutes: in the 23rd minute Giroud he found the evening’s goal with a header from a corner, repeating himself in the 29th minute from a penalty. After the interval the network of Diaz to an empty net and the hat-trick of Giroud have completed the scoreboard.
THE MATCH
We needed a reaction on the field to the Milan after “wiping away the tears” and against Sampdoria a showdown has arrived. The 5-1 with which Pioli’s team dominated the match made all the difference with the Blucerchiati, last and already relegated, clear, but it could help the outgoing Italian champions to find the right momentum in the season finale and try the assault on the fourth, very important, place. Protagonist of the evening Olivier Giroudin his first hat-trick with the Milan shirt, but it was the plays of Lion e Diaz to make a difference.
In this type of match, usually, the problem for Milan was to find a way to unlock the match. Against Sampdoria’s 4-4-2, however, he found the key Diaz after nine minutes, freeing himself on the trocar with a “sombrero” and fishing Lion in the area with a lob assist for the Portuguese to make it 1-0. In the match dominated by Milan without too many worries, perhaps against the best opponent to forget the bitter European disappointment during the week, there was time for Zanoli’s flash which in the 20th minute served to Quagliarella the 1-1 ball after a good play of strength and speed on the right against Diaz and Hernandez. An ephemeral joy for the blucerchiati, excellent for the forward’s career numbers, but lasting only three minutes on the pitch: in the 180 seconds following the draw the Milan he slipped the lead through Messias and Thiaw, finding it on the next corner with Giroud still on an assist from Diaz.
Before the break, Milan also had the strength to sign the 3-1 after a verticalization started by Tonali on a back-heel assist for Giroud; the number pocketing in the area freed Lion which, landed by Gunter, he presented to Giroud the penalty and the goal displacing Ravaglia. The same Frenchman and Krunic also had the chances to increase the Rossoneri’s tally of goals, squandering them. In the second half the script was always the same, but the Milan he put a little more into it from the point of view of determination and at Pioli’s request also finding the 4-1 with Diaz, at the end of a first-time action between Krunic, Leao, Tonali and the Spaniard. And the fifth goal, for the Giroud hat-trick after the battle won a few steps from the goal against Nuytinck.
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REPORT CARDS
Leo 7.5 – Sgasa, sgasa and sgasa on the left and when it does it is uncatchable. He opens the match, then sends Sampdoria’s already fragile defensive system into a tailspin by attacking spaces and looking for combinations. He takes part in the geometry made up of first touches for the 4-1.
Giroud 7.5 – With the hat-trick he arrives in double figures also in the second season in Serie A. First he shoots a cross from Diaz on goal, then he scores the penalty with coolness. After a couple of wasted chances, he also finds the ball to take home.
Diaz 7,5 – Brace of assists and goal of 4-1. The Spaniard was the absolute protagonist in the Rossoneri’s redemption in front of his own fans, inventing the play that led Leao to score and more. Deserved goal in the second half.
Quagliarella 6 – Score the momentary 1-1 by rattling off a series of important career numbers. That’s 182 in the top flight with the former this season, surpassing Roberto Baggio having scored 19 years in a row in Serie A (fewer only than Rivera and Totti). On the field, apart from that flash of opportunist, he suffers from the difficulty of the team.
Zanoli 6 – In the defensive phase, Leao and Diaz who orbit in his area suffer a lot, but as always he gives his best in the offensive phase. He invents the 1-1 action by dribbling Diaz and Hernandez before serving a perfect ball to Quagliarella.
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THE TABLE
AC MILAN-SAMPDORIA 5-1
Milan (4-2-3-1): Maignan 6; Calabria 6, Thiaw 6, Tomori 6 (36′ st Kjaer sv), Hernandez 5.5 (36′ st Ballo-Toure sv); Krunic 6.5, Tonali 7 (36′ st Pobega sv); Messias 6 (15′ st Saelemaekers 6), Diaz 7.5 (24′ st De Ketelare 6), Leao 7.5; Giroud 7.5. A disp.: Tatarusanu, Mirante, Kalulu, Gabbia, Adli, Bakayoko. All.: Pioli
Sampdoria (3-4-1-2): Ravaglia 5.5; Zanoli 6, Gunter 5, Nuytinck 5 (24′ st Amione 5.5); Leris 5.5, Winks 5, Rincon 5 (37′ st Paoletti sv), Augello 5.5; Djuricic 5 (37′ st Ilkhan sv); Gabbiadini 5 (24′ st Lammers 6), Quagliarella 5 (24′ st Oikonomou 5.5). Extra: Turk, Tantalocchi, Murillo, Murru, Segovia, De Luca, Jesé. Herds: Stankovic 5.
Referee: Furnace
Markers: 9′ Leao (M), 20′ Quagliarella (S), 23′ Giroud (M), 29′ rig. Giroud (M), 18′ st Diaz (M), 23′ st Giroud (M)
Ammonite yourself: Hernandez (M); Gunter, Zanoli, Oikonomou (S)
Expelled: Nobody
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OPTA STATISTICS
• Rafael Leão set a personal best for participation in goals in a Serie A tournament – 21 (13 goals, 8 assists); before him, the last AC Milan player to have been involved in more than 20 goals in a single top flight was Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2011/12 (34).
• Fabio Quagliarella scored for 18th different Serie A season only Francesco Totti (23), Silvio Piola (20) and Gianni Rivera (20) have done better, he also became the fifth 40-year-old to score in the history of the competition, after Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alessandro Costacurta, Silvio Piola and Pietro Vierchowod.
• Only Rodrigo Palacio (39 years and 86 days) and Silvio Piola (37 years and 51 days) have scored at least three goals in a Serie A match older than Olivier Giroud (36 years and 232 days).
• In 2023, only Kevin De Bruyne (seven) has served up more assists than Brahim Díaz (six) in Europe’s top five leagues.
• Olivier Giroud (1986) is the ‘oldest’ player to have scored at least 10 goals in Europe’s top five leagues.
• Only Angers (27) have lost more games than Sampdoria (24) in Europe’s top five leagues.
• Olivier Giroud returned to score a hat-trick in the league for the first time since 15 May 2016 (against Aston Villa in the Premier League).
• Milan hadn’t scored three goals in the first half hour of a Serie A match since 29 August 2021, against Cagliari: Tonali, Rafael Leao and Giroud.
• Milan have not scored at least five goals in a single Serie A match since 12 May 2021 against Turin away (7-0) while they have not succeeded at home since 18 July 2020 (5-1 against Bologna).
• Sampdoria hadn’t conceded three goals in the first half hour of a Serie A match since 18 January 2020, against Lazio (Caicedo and brace from Immobile).
• Since early March 2023, Alessandro Zanoli has been involved in four Serie A goals (two goals and two assists), no defender has done better in the competition in the period.
• Brahim Díaz has dished seven assists this season, one more than in the previous two seasons in Serie A.
• Sandro Tonali (seven game-winning passes this season) equaled his record for assists in a single Serie A season (also seven in 2019/20 with Brescia).
• Fabio Quagliarella has returned to scoring in Serie A 369 days after the last time (vs Fiorentina on 16 May 2022), and all of his four goals against Milan have come at the Meazza stadium.
• Sampdoria are the club that have conceded the most goals from penalties this Serie A (seven like Bologna).
• Milan are the team that has scored the most goals in the first half hour of play in Serie A this season (21).
• Brahim Díaz is the player who has served Rafael Leão the most assists in Serie A (five like Sandro Tonali).
• For the first time, Brahim Díaz dished up two assists in a game in Europe’s top five leagues
• Stefano Pioli has won 100 games for Milan in all competitions.
• Stefano Pioli has surpassed 700 points in Serie A (702).