Sandro Tonali’s first goal of the Serie A campaign gave AC Milan a gutsy three points away to Hellas Verona, while extending their unbeaten record on the road to a remarkable 17 Serie A matches.
In a first half dominated by own goals, reigning champions Milan took the lead inside 10 minutes when Miguel Veloso inadvertently turned home Rafael Leão’s driven cross, giving the visitors a fortunate advantage. Any feeling of bad luck was brushed aside for Verona moments later, when a stray leg from Matteo Gabbia helped direct Koray Günter’s strike beyond Ciprian Tătăruşanu in the Milan goal.
A run of four straight defeats prior to this weekend’s clash had cost Gabriele Cioffi his job as Verona boss, but under the stewardship of new manager Salvatore Bocchetti, the home side took the game to Milan early in the second half. A trio of chances for Roberto Piccoli saw Verona come close, firstly with a whistling effort from outside the box, before going on to hit the crossbar with a header and hooking a volley into the arms of goalkeeper Tătăruşanu.
However, rather inevitably, Milan found a winner, as the ever-impressive Tonali slotting home under the legs of an onrushing Lorenzo Montipò. Substitute Ante Rebić picked out the midfielder with an inch-perfect threaded pass, with Tonali finishing with the confidence of a world-class centre-forward.
Despite the three points, Milan’s nervy nature will do little to inspire coach Stefano Pioli, whose side move to within three points of leaders Napoli. Disappointment for Verona, who were unlucky not to have found an equaliser late on, but a performance new manager Bocchetti can take plenty of promise from.
