AC Milan needed a strong result on Friday in Serie A to move past the frustration of their opening loss to Cremonese. On the road against Lecce, they got exactly that, thanks to second-half goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Christian Pulisic.
Head coach Massimiliano Allegri had to approach this match without two of his top attacking players. Rafael Leao has been sidelined for two weeks with a muscle injury sustained in the Coppa Italia match against Bari, while Pulisic started today on the bench due to discomfort in his right ankle.
Without their two key attackers, the Rossoneri struggled in the first half to turn their clear talent advantage over Lecce into goals. The teams went into halftime tied 0–0, with the most notable moment being a goal from Matteo Gabbia that was disallowed following a VAR review.
Things shifted after the break. Another goal was disallowed in the 62nd minute — this time from Santiago Gimenez — setting the stage for the breakthrough. Four minutes later, Luka Modric delivered a pinpoint cross that Ruben Loftus-Cheek headed home to give Milan the lead.
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