Serie A, Milan 4-2 Udinese: Rossoneri recover from early setback to seal opening day win

The
opening
game
of
the
season
in
the
Italian
top
flight
for
the
Rossoneri
saw
a
penalty
from
Theo
Hernandez,
two
goals
from
Ante
Rebic
and
another
from
Brahim
Diaz
guide
them
to
three
points,
despite
conceding
twice
to
the
visitors
through
Rodrigo
Becao
and
Adam
Masina.

New
signings
Charles
de
Ketelaere
and
Divock
Origi
were
named
on
the
bench
for
Stefano
Pioli’s
side,
with
the
former
introduced
for
the
final
20
minutes
and
the
latter
for
the
final
seven
in
front
of
their
new
fans.

Results
|

Fixtures

It
was
a
losing
start
for
new
Udinese
head
coach
Andrea
Sottil,
though
he
will
have
been
buoyed
by
his
team’s
ability
to
keep
Milan
honest
in
a
game
that
was
more
open
in
the
first
half
than
Pioli
would
have
liked.

It
was
far
from
an
ideal
start
for
the
hosts
as
Udinese
took
the
lead
in
just
the
second
minute
when
Becao
headed
a
Gerard
Deulofeu
corner
in
at
the
near
post.

4
–
AC
Milan
have
scored
at
least
4
goals
in
the
debut
Serie
A
match
of
their
season
for
the
first
time
since
August
2010
vs
Lecce.
This
is
only
the
second
time
for
the
Rossoneri
in
the
current
Century.
Heat.#MilanUdinese
pic.twitter.com/li1D4cLCUD

—
OptaPaolo
????
(@OptaPaolo)

August
13,
2022

That
advantage
did
not
last
long
though
as
a
VAR
check
led
to
a
Milan
penalty
being
awarded
on
10
minutes
after
Brandon
Soppy
was
judged
to
have
fouled
Davide
Calabria,
with
Hernandez
calmly
dispatching
the
spot
kick.

The
champions
were
in
front
just
four
minutes
later
when
neat
play
from
Diaz
gave
Calabria
the
chance
to
cross
to
Rebic,
who
swept
the
ball
past
Marco
Silvestri.

Deulofeu
made
a
mess
of
a
chance
when
in
on
goal,
but
Udinese
were
level
just
before
half-time
when
two
more
former
Watford
players
combined,
with
Roberto
Pereyra
crossing
for
Masina
to
head
in
at
the
far
post.

If
Milan
made
a
slow
start
in
the
first
half,
Udinese
managed
to
trump
it
in
the
second
as
Nehuen
Pereza
and
Masina
made
a
mess
of
a
Hernandez
cross
from
the
left,
allowing
Diaz
to
prod
the
hosts
back
in
front
just
34
seconds
after
the
restart.

Diaz
had
been
a
thorn
in
Udinese’s
side
all
game,
and
won
the
ball
inside
the
opposition’s
box
on
68
minutes
before
squaring
to
Rebic
to
lift
his
finish
into
the
roof
of
the
net
to
seal
the
win.

What
does
it
mean?
Rossoneri
recover
from
early
scare

The
only
time
in
the
last
10
meetings
between
the
teams
that
Milan
have
lost
against
Udinese
came
in
the
first
game
of
the
2019-20
season,
when
a
Rodrigo
Becao
goal
gave
Le
Zebrette
a
1-0
win.

It
will
therefore
have
been
quite
a
concern
for
Milan
when
the
same
player
gave
the
away
side
the
lead
in
just
the
second
minute,
especially
given
the
sloppy
nature
of
the
way
it
was
conceded.

However,
this
Milan
team
is
made
of
sterner
stuff
than
they
were
three
years
ago,
and
they
turned
things
around
little
more
than
10
minutes
later
–
then
even
responded
to
another
setback
after
conceding
again
just
before
half-time.

Calabria
shines
and
Diaz
dazzles

Rebic
may
get
the
headlines
for
his
brace,
but
Calabria
and
Diaz
were
the
star
turns,
at
the
centre
of
everything
good
from
Milan.

As
well
as
getting
an
assist,
Calabria
topped
his
team’s
stats
for
key
passes
(two),
total
passes
(76),
total
passes
in
the
opposition
half
(37)
and
tackles
(six)
while
putting
nine
crosses
into
the
box,
of
which
four
were
defined
as
“good
crosses”
by
Opta.

Former
Manchester
City
and
Real
Madrid
youngster
Diaz
grabbed
a
goal
and
an
assist,
having
also
played
a
big
role
in
the
creation
of
Milan’s
second
goal.

Slow
start
does
not
cost
Milan,
yet

Prior
to
this
game,
Milan
had
conceded
the
fewest
goals
in
2022
(nine
in
19
matches)
across
the
big
five
European
leagues,
while
also
keeping
the
most
clean
sheets
during
this
period
(12).

However,
sloppily
conceding
from
a
corner
early
on
seemed
to
fluster
them,
and
they
should
have
conceded
again
before
Udinese’s
second
goal
did
come
just
prior
to
the
break.

The
hosts
had
far
more
control
in
the
second
half
but
better
teams
could
have
punished
them
further,
though
a
rusty
start
that
still
ends
in
a
routine
three
points
will
do
Pioli
just
fine.

Key
Opta
Facts

–
Milan
have
scored
at
least
four
goals
in
the
debut
Serie
A
match
of
their
season
for
the
first
time
since
August
2010
vs
Lecce.
This
is
only
the
second
time
for
the
Rossoneri
in
the
current
century.

–
Udinese
conceded
at
least
four
goals
in
their
Serie
A
seasonal
debut
match
for
the
fifth
time
in
their
history,
the
second
in
the
last
40
years
(the
last
4-0
vs
Roma
in
2016).

–
Diaz
scored
a
goal
in
Serie
A
for
the
first
time
since
September
25,
2021
vs
Spezia:
he
netted
five
out
of
his
eight
goals
in
the
top-flight
between
August
and
September.

–
Rodrigo
Becao’s
goal
after
one
minute
and
31
seconds
was
the
fastest
ever
conceded
by
a
reigning
Italian
champion
in
matchday
1
in
Serie
A.

–
Rebic’s
first
goal
was
his
first
in
Serie
A
at
San
Siro
in
482
days:
the
previous
one
before
today
was
against
Genoa
in
April
2021.

What’s
next?

Milan
travel
to
Atalanta
next
Sunday
(August
21)
while
Udinese
host
Salernitana
next
Saturday
(August
20).