“AC Milan defeats Lazio 2-0 and advances to Champions League semi-finals with goals from Bennacer and Hernández”

Goals: 17. Ismaël Bennacer, 29. Theo Hernández

AC Milan achieved an important victory in the afternoon. In a direct battle for participation in the top four, they beat Lazio 2:0 and at the same time set themselves up for the semi-finals of the Champions League. The only drawback remains the injury of Rafael Leão, who left the field after ten minutes due to a muscle injury. Ismaël Bennacer and Theo Hernández provided AC’s goals.

It remains to be seen how serious Leão’s injury is, but his substitution after ten minutes did not exactly please the Milan fans, and certainly not Stefano Pioli. The important fight with Lazio still spilled over to the Rossoneri side in the first half.

At the first hint of a chance, Giroud missed the ball perfectly and right after that, in the 17th minute, Lazio’s play failed, which Ismaël Bennacer quickly took advantage of and scored the leading goal after Giroud’s tap. A packed San Siro could have been satisfied because that was exactly what the home side needed.

Although AC Milan could not rely on the individual qualities of Rafael Leão, they used those of Theo Hernández. The French defender passed with the ball on his foot from his own half to the penalty area, from where he made it 2:0 with a great shot. Lazio did not create anything in the first half and the home lead was fully deserved.

The Rossoneri controlled the match in the second half as well, despite Stefano Pioli rotating the lineup. Unfortunately, there weren’t too many goal-scoring events to be seen, and until the 60th minute, the most interesting moment was Hernández’s clash with Casalo, after which the Lazio player suffered a bloody scar. Milan managed to push forward once more, but Rebić’s goal was disallowed for offside. Maurizio Sarri tried to freshen up the game of his wards by making substitutions, but it didn’t help either.

If anyone deserved credit in this game, it was AC’s defensive line. Stefano Pioli ordered an excellent tactic for his charges and Lazio did not know how to deal with it. Continuously, the second team in the table at the San Siro did not even shoot at the goal. AC is in fifth place after the win, but three points adrift of second place with four rounds to go.