Chelsea connection gives Milan their maiden win in Serie A

When Charalampos Lykogiannis hit the bar from 30 meters in the first minute of the match, most of the fans at the Renato Dall’Ara stadium remembered the game from last season, when Bologna scored after only 32 seconds against Milan in a game which finished 1-1. But that scenario didn’t materialise tonight as the home team failed to score and the guests managed to find the net two times: Bologna – AC Milan.

The offseason didn’t start well for Rossoneri, as the club legend Paolo Maldini left his duty as the director, and the club sold fans favourite Sandro Tonalli to Newcastle. But Milan ended up spending 110 million euros on six players and made a formidable team, much more balanced than last season. Of those six players, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Tijjani Reijnders and Christian Pulišić started the game, and two of them actively participated in Milan's goals. After that Lykogiannis's miss at the start of the game, it was all Rossoneri in the first half. Pulišić started the attack, from which Reijnders assisted Oliver Giroud for the first goal. The former Chelsea winger was excellent in this match, and his excellent volley from the edge of the box increased the lead, and the guests were two goals up after only 21 minutes. Milan played so well that Rafael Leao remained unseen throughout the match.

But Bologna woke up in the second half, forcing Mike Maignan to pull off two good saves, while his teammates were not so agile as in the first half. Pioli made the necessary changes but nothing came of it, as Bologna pushed for at least one goal. Leao had only one chance during the whole match, but it came in the 90th minute, and the ball hit the post. Luckily for coach Stefano Pioli, Bologna failed to score, but with stronger teams in the fixtures for Milan, he must find a way to get his team going for the entire 90 minutes.

SERIE A - MATCHDAY 1

Saturday

Empoli - Hellas Verona 0-1 (0-0)

/Bonazzoli 75/

Frosinone - Napoli 1-3 (1-2)

/Harroui 7 pen - Politano 24, Osimhen 42, 79/

Genoa - Fiorentina 1-4 (0-3)

/Biraschi 58 - Biraghi 5, Bonaventura 11, Gonzalez 40, Mandragora 56/

Inter - Monza 2-0 (1-0)

/Lautaro 8, 76/

Sunday

Sassuolo - Atalanta 0-2 (0-0)

/ Charles De Ketelaere 83, Zortea 90+3/

Roma - Salernitana 2-2 (1-1)

/Belotti 17, 82 - Cadreva 36, 49/

Udinese - Juventus 0-3 (0-3)

/Chiesa 2, Vlahovic 20 (p), Rabiot 45+3/

Lecce - Lazio 2-1 (0-1)

/Almquist 81, De Francesco 87 - Immobile 26/

Monday

Torino - Cagliari 0-0

Bologna - Milan 0-2 (0-2)

/Giroud 11, Pulisic 21/