AC Milan kept their slim Serie A title hopes alive with a late 2-0 victory over US Cremonese, thanks to goals from Strahinja Pavlović and Rafael Leão.
Match Report
A 2-0 win for Inter Milan against Genoa CFC on Saturday had left Milan trailing the league leaders by 13 points ahead of next weekend’s Derby della Madonnina. However, two late strikes on Sunday ensured the gap was cut back to 10 points.
Cremonese, who stunned Milan at San Siro on the opening matchday and had not recorded a league win since December 7, were competitive throughout the first half. Federico Bonazzoli dragged an effort wide of Mike Maignan’s left post in the 26th minute, before Jamie Vardy failed to direct his header on target from the ensuing corner.
Milan responded in the 34th minute when Youssouf Fofana slipped a precise through-ball to Leão, but the Portuguese winger pulled his shot wide. Fofana was later denied by Emil Audero in stoppage time, as the Rossoneri began to assert greater control.
The visitors continued to press after the break, with Leão missing another promising opportunity. It appeared Milan would be forced to settle for a draw when Niclas Füllkrug headed Luka Modrić’s cross wide in the 86th minute.
But three minutes later, Modrić’s curling delivery was glanced on by Koni De Winter and turned home by Pavlović to finally break the deadlock.
As Cremonese pushed forward deep into stoppage time, they were exposed on the counter-attack. Christopher Nkunku squared the ball across goal, leaving Leão with a straightforward finish to seal the win.
Data Debrief: A Long-Awaited Breakthrough
Prior to this encounter, Milan had failed to score in their last three away Serie A matches against Cremonese (two draws, one defeat). Their previous goals at the Stadio Giovanni Zini dated back to a 2-0 win on 26 September 1993, courtesy of Jean-Pierre Papin and Marco Simone.
For much of the contest, another frustrating afternoon seemed possible. Yet Milan’s persistence paid off, as they finished with 20 shots and an expected goals (xG) total of 3.51, compared to Cremonese’s 15 attempts and 0.99 xG.
The result also means Milan, who suffered a 1-0 defeat to Parma Calcio 1913 last week, have avoided back-to-back scoreless Serie A matches since April 2022 (0-0 draws against Bologna FC 1909 and Torino FC).
They now sit four points clear of third-placed SSC Napoli and hold a nine-point advantage over fifth-placed Como 1907, managed by Cesc Fàbregas.