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Three goals in the second half gave AC Milan a comfortable 3-0 win over Spezia at Stadio San Siro on Sunday, leaving the Rossoneri atop Serie A alongside Atalanta.
Rafael Leao scored the first goal and the third goal of the night for the Rossoneri, with Theo Hernández It is also on the scoresheet, but it was Hakan Calhanoglu’s entry after the break that changed the balance as the home side looked more spirited and inspired after a stuttering first half during which Spezia displayed good defensive compactness.
The Rossoneri immediately came out looking for an early lead, but the visitors did well to clear a dangerous ball from Alexis Saelemaekers just before Rafael Leao could shoot and Brahim Diaz had a weak shot easily blocked by Rafael shortly after.
Spezia seemed comfortable sitting deep to close the gap, but they were also quick to play the ball forward with well-organized counterattacks, almost finding the advantage when Gianluigi Donnarumma had to make a miraculous save to prevent Davide Calabria from sending the ball to his own net and try to clear a center of Daniele Verde.
Calabria redeemed himself when his low shot found Lorenzo Colombo, but a perfectly timed tackle from Erlic stopped the shot with the youngster’s right foot.
Brahim Díaz was Milan’s most inspired player in the first half, although the Spaniard couldn’t take advantage of a good cross from Saelemaekers as the ball bounced off his shoulder and ended up over the crossbar.
Verde and Saelemaekers gave both teams a scare before the break, in which Calhanoglu replaced Colombo with the Rossoneri, with Leao asked to play as center forward.
The Turkish midfielder made his presence felt in the 57th minute, with a curved cross that was picked up by Leao at the back post, putting Milan ahead.
The match continued to look balanced after the opener, but Theo Hernandez showed no signs of weariness despite the recent schedule, producing an impressive run that broke Spezia’s lines before sending the ball into the lower right corner with a precise shot.
Leao added a third, his second the night, two minutes later when he was free to hit from a few steps, after Franck Kessie had thrown a Saelemaekers cross.
The message that Calhanoglu inspires AC Milan to Spezia’s victory first appeared on Forza Italian Football.
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com
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