AC Milan’s Malick Thiaw, Alvaro Morata and Tijjani Reijnders all got on the scoresheet in a surprise 3-1 win at holders Real Madrid in the Champions League as the continental heavyweights clashed at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday.
Thiaw gave seven-times European champions Milan the lead with a header from a corner in the 12th minute but Vinicius Jr equalised with a penalty 11 minutes later.
Morata put the visitors back in front by netting from a rebound in the 39th and Reijnders fired home a Rafael Leao cross after a counter attack to wrap up Milan’s statement win over the lacklustre title holders.
Real are languishing in 17th place in the 36-team Champions League table with six points, one spot ahead of Milan on goal difference after four games.
Off the back of a stunning 4-0 home defeat by Barcelona in the Clasico over a week ago, Carlo Ancelotti’s Real struggled again and looked far from the commanding side who finished last-season’s campaign with a LaLiga and Champions League double.
The last time Real lost successive games in all competitions was over three years ago when they were beaten 2-1 by Sheriff Tiraspol in the Champions League in late September 2021 and lost by the same result to Espanyol in LaLiga five days later.
“It is clear that this is bad. Defending, like attacking, is a collective thing, we have to put the emphasis on that,” captain Lucas Vazquez told Movistar Plus.
“We’re at a time when our opponents are punishing us a lot. We have to work so that it doesn’t happen again.”
MILAN MENACE
Real tried to control possession early but Milan were a constant menace on the counter, exploiting Rafael Leao’s speed in space behind Vazquez, who was often exposed in the same way he had been in the Clasico loss to Barca.
Milan boss Paulo Fonseca said on Monday he had carefully studied how Barca thrashed Real, who struggled against their rivals’ speed on the counter, conceding four goals in a similar fashion to how Milan got in position to open the scoring.
Leao beat Vazquez with a great run on the left, with Eder Militao coming to the rescue to block but conceding a corner that Christian Pulisic lifted to Thiaw who squeezed between Aurelien Tchouameni and Militao to head past Andriy Lunin.
Real went into attacking mode as they sought an equaliser and, after Vinicius Jr had a couple of efforts saved by Mike Maignan, the Brazilian levelled with a penalty after he was fouled by a sliding tackle from defender Emerson Royal.
However, Milan immediately got back in control and, after Lunin made a two fine stops to deny Reijnders and Pulisic, a terrible pass by Tchouameni gifted the visitors the ball and a quick counter ended with Morata tapping a rebound in.
Maignan made another good save to keep out a low, angled shot by Kylian Mbappe after real broke just before halftime, when their players walked to the dressing room under heavy booing from the frustrated Bernabeu crowd.
Ancelotti made three substitutions at the interval but Real were even worse in the second-half and toothless up front, with Vinicius, Mbappe and Jude Bellingham missing easy passes and struggling to beat Milan’s disciplined five-man defensive line.
After Lunin made a stunning one-handed from Leao’s close-range header in the 53rd minute, the Portuguese winger again darted up the left before setting up the unmarked Reijnders, who swivelled before firing a low shot into the net in the 73rd.
Real thought they had cut the deficit in the 82nd minute with Antonio Ruediger striking home a rebound off the keeper, but his effort was ruled out for an offside in the build-up, leaving the Madrid fans to trudge home dejected.
(REUTERS)