78′
7:40 p.m
With the first real action on the ball, the young Zeroli takes a corner, which becomes dangerous on the second attempt. The ball is not cleared properly and ends up in front of the penalty area to Florenzi, who takes a risk again and sends the ball straight towards the goal. This time only a few centimeters are missing.
76′
7:37 p.m
Stefano Pioli makes another change and gives the unconvincing Loftus-Cheek an early end of work. He is replaced by young Kevin Zeroli, who is celebrating his professional debut.
74′
7:35 p.m
Substitution at AC Milan: Kevin Zeroli
74′
19:34
Substitution at AC Milan: Ruben Loftus-Cheek
73′
19:34
After a good one-two on the right, Laurienté comes dangerously to the edge of the penalty area and finishes flat from a central position. But the shot is again too central and Maignan holds the ball safely.
71′
7:31 p.m
Berardi shows that he can’t go any further, Dionisi brings in ex-Milan player Samu Castillejo for him.
70′
7:30 p.m
Substitution at Sassuolo Calcio: Samu Castillejo
70′
7:30 p.m
Substitution at Sassuolo Calcio: Domenico Berardi
69′
19:29
The goal hardly changed the direction of the game, the proportions of the game are still balanced, but if there are more dangerous scenes, AC Milan always stage them.
66′
19:27
Both coaches react to the goal and make substitutions, with the home team having the inconspicuous Giroud and the still injured goal preparer Bennacer call it a day. The weak Bajrami has to make room on the other side.
65′
7:25 p.m
Substitution at Sassuolo Calcio: Cristian Volpato
65′
7:25 p.m
Substitution at Sassuolo Calcio: Nedim Bajrami
63′
7:25 p.m
Substitution at AC Milan: Luka Jović
63′
19:24
Substitution at AC Milan: Olivier Giroud
63′
19:24
Substitution at AC Milan: Yacine Adli
63′
19:24
Substitution at AC Milan: Ismaël Bennacer
62′
19:24
The lead is definitely okay, Milan has more chances and has now been rewarded.
59′
7:20 p.m
Tooor for AC Milan, 1-0 by Christian Pulišić
Now it’s happened, the Rossoneri take the lead! Bennacer plays a pass into the box on the half-right side of the penalty area to Pulišić, who takes off. The vertical pass is made too loosely by Ruan and ends up with the American. He then chips the ball from a somewhat difficult position at the right five-point corner and thus overcomes the rushing Consigli, who still gets to the ball but can no longer prevent the impact.
58′
7:19 p.m
The home team is still a bit too safe. Ruan skillfully prevents a counterattack from Rafael Leão in his own penalty area.
57′
19:17
But even this standard situation does not lead to any significant goal threat.
56′
7:16 p.m
Sassuolo’s top man Berardi tries again and at least gets a corner with his shot from the second row because Hernández deflects the ball.
53′
19:14
Now AC is pushing something again. After several blocked attempts, the ball lands in front of the penalty area to Florenzi, who then hits the ball just outside the penalty area with a lot of risk towards the guest goal, but misses it.
51′
19:13
Toljan advances well and checks Maignan! The German full-back is played with a good change of sides and immediately picks up the pace. In front of the penalty area he moves inwards a little and then finishes on the penalty line with his weak left hand. But the shot is a little too out of place and Maignan makes a save in the follow-up.
49′
7:10 p.m
Milan were briefly established offensively, but Bennacer’s cross from the right wing slipped completely through and found no taker.
48′
7:08 p.m
The game is slowly getting going again, Alessio Dionisi has brought a breath of fresh air with Ruan.
46′
7:07 p.m
Substitution at Sassuolo Calcio: Ruan
46′
7:05 p.m
Substitution at Sassuolo Calcio: Martin Erlić
46′
7:05 p.m
Kick-off of the 2nd half
45′+1
18:51
Half-time conclusion
Now referee Marinelli asks for a break. It’s 0-0, even though the ball has already hit the net twice. Both times, however, the goal was irregular and was punished as such by the team. Milan have a little more of the game and more chances, but have not yet been able to reap the rewards for their great effort. Sassuolo is having a hard time offensively and has hardly had any shots on goal so far, but the guests are relatively secure defensively. On the one hand, in the second 45 minutes, the home team needs the necessary luck and a little more precision in the final third, while the guests, on the other hand, generally need to deliver significantly more offensively and perhaps take a little more risk. It continues immediately at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
45′+1
6:47 p.m
End of 1st half
45′
6:47 p.m
Official injury time (minutes): 1
45′
6:46 p.m
There is a brief excitement about this. Somehow, when Florenzi crosses, the ball jumps centrally into the five-yard box, where Consigli can just secure the ball in front of Pulišić.
44′
6:45 p.m
Florenzi takes the ball, but gets stuck on the wall with both the first and second attempts. At least there is a corner kick.
42′
18:44
Bennacer is brought down just outside the penalty area and takes a free kick in a dangerous position.
41′
18:42
It’s approaching the half-time break, at the moment the guests are more in charge, Milan can hardly get out of their own half.
38′
6:39 p.m
The game has calmed down a bit offensively now. Both attacking sides simply find it difficult to create clear scoring chances.
35′
6:37 p.m
Maignan is challenged again and skillfully intercepts a long ball into the penalty area.
33′
6:36 p.m
And now things are getting really dangerous on the other side for the first time! Berardi makes a great move inwards from the right wing and flicks the ball from a good 20 meters to the far corner. With the shot he forces Maignan to make a good save. The Frenchman just wipes the ball over the crossbar. The subsequent corner kick brings in nothing.
31′
18:34
The ball fidgets in the net again, but the assistant’s flag goes up again. Rafael Leão made a great start into the penalty area on the left and was served superbly by Bennacer. The Portuguese then welds the ball into the right angle from a short distance, but he probably started a little too early.
29′
6:31 p.m
The Rossoneri keep trying from the second row. However, Loftus-Cheek’s shot after Rafael Leão’s lay-up is missing quite a bit and the score remains 0-0.
27′
18:28
The guests are able to clear the corner again, Milan are showing good approaches, but are not yet able to capitalize on their offensive superiority.
26′
18:28
Toljan prevents anything worse from happening in his own penalty area and uses all of his body to clear Rafael Leão’s shot from a tight angle for a corner. Previously, Bennacer had handled a sideways shift very well and penetrated the penalty area on the left.
23′
6:25 p.m
And that brings danger on the second attempt! At first Sassuolo is able to clear the rehearsed variation, but then Bennacer grabs the ball in the halffield and after a small solo shot powerfully with his left at the short corner. His shot from about 16 meters from a half-right position hits the side netting.
23′
18:24
Now there is the first corner kick for the hosts, Pedersen blocks in the same duel as Pulišić’s cross.
21′
18:23
In most cases, Sassuolo is good defensively, so Pedersen on the left side of defense can take a free kick against Pulišić and thus stop the attack.
18′
6:20 p.m
The home team tries again and again to attack, this time Bennacer delivers a sharp cross from the right half of the field to the second post towards Rafael Leão. But Consigli in the guest goal was careful and grabbed the cross out of the air.
16′
6:18 p.m
In terms of the proportion of the game, the game is still relatively even, but so far only the hosts have been able to pose a real threat.
14′
6:16 p.m
The Rossoneri try again offensively, but Rafael Leão’s good cross from the left half lane finds no taker in the middle.
12′
18:13
Sassuolo takes the first corner of the game, but Milan can clear the set piece first.
10′
18:12
Reijnders has the next good chance for the hosts, but after a short run he shoots the ball just past the goal from the edge of the box.
7′
18:11
Now, for the first time, Milan becomes dangerous on several occasions, in the end the ball is even in the goal, but the goal rightly doesn’t count. Giroud has an overview on the left side of the penalty area on the baseline for Bennacer, who is standing in the back area, who then hits the ball to the left corner. Consigli parries to the side, where Giroud then sharpens the ball again so that Bennacer, who has run in, only has to push it in. The Frenchman was clearly offside when he made his assist.
6′
6:08 p.m
Loftus-Cheek wins the ball in the opponent’s half, but his powerful long-range shot from the second row gets stuck on a Sassuolo defender.
5′
6:06 p.m
In general, the game is getting off to a rather slow start, with both teams not allowing much defensively and also missing out on the big moves offensively.
3′
6:04 p.m
The first attack attempt goes to the guests, but Bajrami’s cross from the right wing ends up in the arms of Maignan.
1′
18:02
Dinner is served! The hosts usually play in red and black, the guests are wearing white jerseys today.
5:41 p.m
Both coaches rely largely on the tried and tested lineups and make little changes to the starting lineup. Stefano Pioli rotates only once and brings on Florenzi for the injured Tomori. Alessio Dionisi, on the other hand, makes two changes, preferring Bajrami and Berardi to Boloca and Samu Castillejo. Milan definitely has room for improvement compared to the 2-2 away draw against US Salernitana and the guests also have room for improvement compared to the 1-2 home defeat against FC Genoa.
5:25 p.m
The last time these two teams met there was a big surprise, which should give the outsiders some courage today. On the 20th matchday of last season, Sassuolo, who were sixteenth in the table at the time, beat fifth-placed Milan 5-2 away and thus secured important points in the relegation battle. Whether the guests can achieve an unexpected result again today remains to be seen later; referee Livio Marinelli will open the game at 6 p.m.
5:19 p.m
This evening, AC Milan and Sassuolo Calcio will play their last game of this calendar year on the 18th matchday of Serie A at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. The distribution of roles is very clear: AC, third in the table, is the clear favorite compared to Sassuolo, 15th in the table. For the Rossoneri, the task is clear: They definitely don’t want to fall further away from the top, as they are already seven points behind second-placed Juventus Turin. When it comes to guests, the situation is rather the opposite. With 16 points, they are only three points ahead of the penultimate place and want to move away from the bottom of the table with a three pointer today.
5:07 p.m
Welcome to Serie A on Saturday evening!