Tijjani Reijnders immediately makes itself known with a wonderful debut at AC Milan | Foreign football

Reijnders made a dream transfer to the Italian top club for more than twenty million last month. There, the Zwolle native immediately forced a basic place in the preparation. And he did not betray the confidence of trainer Stefano Pioli.

In fact, after ten minutes it was Reijnders who forced the first goal of the season for AC Milan. The deepest midfielder was the only one who anticipated a high cross. He brought it nicely in front of the goal from the back line, where the experienced Olivier Giroud scored his first goal of the season and promoted the pass of his new Dutch teammate – who plays with number 14 – to an assist.

For AC Milan, which already escaped after twenty counts when Charalampos Lykogiannis hit the crossbar with a flare, the opening goal was the signal to accelerate. That led to the decisive goal ten minutes later. It was of special beauty and was registered to Christian Pulisic. The American, bought from Chelsea, combined with Olivier Giroud and fired the ball into the far intersection: 0-2.

Watch Tijjani Reijnders’ assist here

Moments later, the next beautiful attack almost resulted in a world goal from Giroud. Just like Milan, Reijnders grew in the game. His role? As the deepest midfielder, helping to chase and support the attackers in attack. He found his way better and better, without neglecting his defensive duties. For example, just after Giroud saw his volley caught in his own goal mouth, Reijnders prevented Bologna from scoring the tying goal.

And that was not the last time. After more than an hour of play, the hard core in the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara already counted the 1-2, but it also failed to materialize due to Reijnders, who had sprinted all the way back. It even earned him a body check from relieved Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan. For example, it seemed as if Reijnders had been with the Italian giant for years and he not only gave a very nice business card to the supporters, but also to national coach Ronald Koeman, who included him in the pre-selection of Orange on Friday.

There was no more scoring by either team. AC Milan slowed down a bit, which Bologna was unable to take advantage of despite opportunities. At the home club, not only Reijnders’ bosom friend, also sold by AZ to an Italian club this summer, but also Joshua Zirkzee started in the base. The attacker of the Dutch Juniors functioned well in the combination, but was not a killer in the few moments when he was given space.

Bologna did not get further than two balls on the outside of the post. Coach Thiago Motta, who saw Beukema make a solid impression, gave Sydney van Hooijdonk a comeback in the red-blue, who was rented out to Heerenveen last season. Oussama El Azzouzi even made his first minutes in Serie A as a substitute. The Moroccan, born in Veenendaal, was still active for FC Emmen last year. He saw Milan’s Portuguese star player, Rafael Leão, hit the post in the final minutes.