AC Milan vs. Chievo: Winners and Losers from Serie a Game
After a lacklustre start in which Chievo looked to be on the front foot at the San Siro, AC Milan settled into Saturday’s Serie A match and got spectacular goals from Sulley Muntari and Keisuke Honda en route to a 2-0 victory.
Jeremy Menez and Giacomo Bonaventura were especially impressive for the hosts, and right-back Ignazio Abate was a persistent threat down the right-hand side.
On the other side of the ball, defenders Dario Dainelli and Ervin Zukanovic managed to keep things tidy in front of goalkeeper Francesco Bardi until Muntari finally put Milan ahead in the 55th minute.
Following are some of the winners and losers from Saturday’s late kick-off in Italy.
Winner: Sulley Muntari, Who Scored a Partially Intended Golazo
1 of 6
Whether or not he intended to smack the ball directly into the ground in the 55th minute is immaterial.
All that matters to Sulley Muntari and AC Milan is that 10 minutes after the restart, and following the partial clearance of Ignazio Abate’s cross, the Ghanaian’s rocket of a shot soared upward after striking the surface and left Chievo goalkeeper Francesco Bardi with no chance whatsoever.
Overall, Muntari’s night was hardly spectacular, and shortly before his substitution in the 89th minute, he gave the ball away to Dejan Lazarevic.
But the scoresheet says he scored the winner for the Rossoneri, and the highlight reels will show it was a spectacular goal.
Loser: Alberto Paloschi, Who Struggled to Involve Himself in the Match
2 of 6
While Maxi Lopez, Ivan Radovanovic and Dejan Lazarevic had the odd look at goal for Chievo on Saturday, Alberto Paloschi was mostly a non-entity at the San Siro.
Over the 90 minutes, the striker failed to put a single shot on target, and much of what his teammates mustered in counter-attacking situations didn’t involve him.
His biggest impact was a late shot that struck Adil Rami in the face, forcing the Frenchman to receive treatment on the touchline.
Winner: Jeremy Menez, Who Provided the Necessary Spark
3 of 6
AC Milan came out flat to start Saturday’s match, and against a more incisive opponent, they would surely have paid for their lack of intensity.
But they rectified things after the restart, and leading the charge was none other than Jeremy Menez.
As he has been so often this season, the Frenchman was the spark Milan needed at a crucial moment, and his persistent runs downfield with the ball at his feet forced Chievo to sit deeper and deeper in their own end.
He didn’t get on the scoresheet, but no single player was more impactful for the Rossoneri.
Winner: Keisuke Honda, Who Scored a Wonderful Free-Kick
4 of 6
Chievo started to press higher up the pitch as soon as they fell behind, and it wasn’t until Keisuke Honda put AC Milan 2-0 up that the visitors were well and truly vanquished.
Shortly after Isaac Cofie had fouled Stephan El Shaarawy in front of the Chievo box, the Japan international delivered a superb free-kick that beat goalkeeper Francesco Bardi to the near corner.
Upon his exit in the 81st minute, Honda had also completed 86 percent of his passes, according to WhoScored.com.
Loser: Fernando Torres, Who Missed a Handful of Opportunities
5 of 6
Fernando Torres missed a handful of quality goalscoring opportunities on Friday.
Notably, he hit the side-netting in the first half when he might have at least placed his shot on target, and in the 69th minute his effort from in close was directed away from goal by Isaac Cofie.
The Spaniard was substituted in the 74th minute, and he didn’t look at all happy about it.
Winner: Ignazio Abate, Who Tortured Cristiano Biraghi
6 of 6
From start to finish, Ignazio Abate was AC Milan’s most consistent contributor on Saturday.
While the rest of his teammates made a slow start to the match, the right-back brought the ball downfield time and again, forcing Chievo left-back Cristiano Biraghi to spend the majority of the night on the back foot.
And while the Italy man didn’t pick up an assist on Sulley Muntari’s opener, it was his cross from the right that forced the clearance that the midfielder volleyed into the back of the goal.
