AC Milan vs. Sassuolo: Winners and Losers from Coppa Italia Game
AC Milan are through to the quarter-final round of the Coppa Italia after edging Sassuolo, 2-1, on Tuesday.
The victory avenged the Rossoneri's loss to the Neroverdi earlier this month and was delivered by a late Nigel de Jong goal after Andrea Poli had hit the woodwork.
Giampaolo Pazzini also scored for the hosts, while Nicola Sansone replied for the guests.
Overall there were a handful of standout performances at San Siro as well as one or two that were rather less impressive.
Following are the individual winners and losers from this encounter.
Winner: Alessio Cerci, Who Set Up the Pazzini Opener
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Alessio Cerci, on loan from Atletico Madrid, put in a useful 83 minutes on Tuesday in which he assisted the match's opening goal.
In the 38th minute, the winger's cross was met by Giampaolo Pazzini, who had allowed the ball to pass over his shoulder before hitting it into the back of the net on the volley.
Cerci generally had the running of Sassuolo left-back Alessandro Longhi at San Siro, and given his performance, he will surely have played himself into Rossoneri manager Filippo Inzaghi's first-team plans going forward.
"Perfect cross from Cerci for Pazzini" was how Milan's official Twitter account described the first goal of the contest.
Loser: Leonardo Pavoletti, Who Could Have Opened the Scoring
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Leonardo Pavoletti will be ruing missed chances after Sassuolo came ever so close to ousting AC Milan from the Coppa Italia.
Midway through the first half, the Neroverdi attacker had a clear sight of goal but managed to pull his shot wide of the target uninhibited.
Then, in the 56th minute, he found himself on the end of a superb Alessandro Longhi pass after the left-back had combined nicely with Simone Missiroli down the left-hand side.
But once again, the 26-year-old failed to test Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati, who didn't end up having all that much to do on Tuesday.
Winner: Stephan El Shaarawy, Who Continues to Round Back into Form
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Stephan El Shaarawy showed more signs of realising the form he displayed early on in his AC Milan career Tuesday and delivered what was an effective performance from start to finish.
Early on in the match, it looked as though Sassuolo right-back Sime Vrsaljko was going to have a productive night opposite Mattia De Sciglio, but the more El Shaarawy imposed himself, the more he forced Vrsaljko onto the back foot.
Time and again, the Italy international brought the ball downfield on the dribble, and but for Giacomo Bonaventura's penchant for having his shots blocked, he might have picked up one or two assists as well.
Nevertheless, it was a display to build on for the talented 22-year-old.
Winner: Alberto Pomini, Who Stood Tall Between the Sticks for Sassuolo
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But for Alberto Pomini, Sassuolo might have lost by three or four goals at San Siro.
The Sassuolo goalkeeper was exceptional at times on Tuesday, and he had to be.
In the 25th minute, he made perhaps his best save of the match when he stuck out his leg to deny Alessio Cerci, and in the 50th minute, he stretched out to save Giampaolo Pazzini's headed attempt from a corner.
He stopped another Pazzini effort shortly after the hour mark, and in the 67th minute, he extended himself to keep Cerci at bay from distance.
"Pomini denies Pazzini a second with a bullet header!" was Football Italia's reaction to Pomini's stop in the 50th minute.
Loser: Cristian Zapata, Who Was Generally Poor in Defense for Milan
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Cristian Zapata had a bad day at the office Tuesday, with subpar distribution and regular mistakes in the Milan defense.
In the 63rd minute, he stuck out a leg to trip Leonardo Pavoletti as he fell away from the Sassuolo man, and as a result the guests were awarded a penalty.
Nicola Sansone converted from 12 yards.
Later on, the Colombia international quite nearly put the ball into his own net after Alessandro Longhi had put a dangerous cross into the Milan box.
"It's not Zapata's day—he risks an own goal with a shinned clearance and gives away a corner," remarked Football-Italia, via Twitter.
Winner: Nigel de Jong, Who Scored the Winner
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Nigel de Jong was typically physical in the centre of the park for AC Milan on Tuesday, but his most important contribution was saved for the 86th minute, when it looked as though the Rossoneri's round of 16 showdown with Sassuolo was headed for extra time.
After Andrea Poli rang a shot off the crossbar following a corner kick, the Netherlands international slammed the ball into the back of the net on the rebound.
The goal saw off a plucky opponent who had won at this ground just a week earlier and put Milan through to the last eight of the competition.
De Jong was quoted from an interview with Rai Sport (via Rossoneri Blog) as saying, "It’s not important who scores but we have to win. It wasn’t an easy match and we played a strong Sassuolo. But we won and that’s important. It’s the first victory of the New Year and it’s important for the confidence of the team."
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