Milan beat Sampdoria 2-1 at Stadio Luigi Ferraris despite losing Rafael Leao through a red card. French internationals Olivier Giroud, Theo Hernandez and Mike Maignan performed miracles in the second half to give the Serie A holders a win when a point seemed satisfactory. It’s what champions do!Messias made Milan’s domination count with a good finish on 20 minutes. Again, it was the in-form Rafael Leao who helped create the coal when he escaped his marker Alex Ferrari and delivered the ball for the Brazilian to hammer home. Incidentally, this wouldn’t be the last time Leao and Ferrari came head-to-head, or leg-to-head.The Portuguese thought he created another assist when new boy Charles De Ketelaere bundled the ball past Emil Audero, only to have the goal cancelled by VAR for offside. In the midst of the Rossoneri attacks, Sampdoria tried to find an unlikely equalizer and came mighty close when Serbian forward Filip Djuricic hit the crossbar with a stunning shot from way out.
The pivotal moment of this match came just a minute into the second half. Leao tried an ambitious overhead kick, but rather than hitting the ball – he brutally kicked Ferrari in the head, leaving him in agony on the ground. Referee Fabbri showed Leao his second yellow of the night, leaving Milan with a man down for half of the match. Suddenly, Sampdoria came to life.
Djuricic made it 1-1 with a fantastic header from Tommaso Augello’s left-hand-side cross just ten minutes after Leao’s sending-off. Milan coach Stefano Pioli sent defender Fikayo Tomori for goalscorer Messias in a bid to hold on to a point amid heavy pressure from the Genoese.Such is Milan’s quality that they can afford to attack despite being a man down. French internationals Theo Hernandez and Giroud combined, leaving the former with a shooting chance, but Audero managed to lift it over the bar.
Seconds later, Giroud’s attempted header was blocked by Gonzalo Vilar’s hand – and that was a penalty, awarded after a VAR review. The former Arsenal and Chelsea goalscorer made no mistake. The tide has turned again, and Milan have restored their lead.Samp came close to levelling with five minutes remaining, but Mike Maignan kept his cool and managed to keep efforts from Manolo Gabbiadini and Valerio Verre.The win took Milan up to second in the table ahead of Sunday’s matches.SERIE A – ROUND 6SaturdayNapoli – Spezia 1-0 (0-0)/Raspadori 89/Inter – Torino 1-0 (0-0)/Brozovic 89/Sampdoria – Milan 1-2 (1-1)/Djuricic 57 – Messias 6, Giroud 67 pen/Sunday13:30: (1.38) Atalanta (5.50) Cremonese (9.50)16:00: (3.10) Bologna (3.35) Fiorentina (2.50)16:00: (2.35) Lecce (3.35) Monza (3.40)16:00: (2.80) Sassuolo (3.40) Udinese (2.70)19:00: (1.66) Lazio (4.10) Verona (5.90)21:45: (1.46) Juventus (4.50) Salernitana (8.00)Monday21:45: (5.40) Empoli (3.70) Roma (1.79)***odds are subject to change***