Christian Pulisic’s winning goal for AC Milan ensured that the American star will report to USMNT duty on a high note, while Nicholas Gioacchini finally earned his first start for Como to keep their automatic promotion hopes alive.
Hellas Verona 1 – 3 AC Milan
Christian Pulisic scored what would end up being the winning goal for AC Milan on Sunday, helping them to secure an important road win over Hellas Verona.
Scoring in a fourth straight game across all competitions for the Rossoneri, Pulisic was one of the team’s standouts in his 66 minutes of play before being given a rest by head coach Stefano Pioli. He took four shots, set up an additional two chances, won two out of his five dribble attempts, and drew one foul while completing 19 out of 23 passes.
After nearly a half of play, largely dominated by the visitors albeit without any reward, Theo Hernández put Milan ahead in the 44th minute, charging to the end line on the left side, working by several defenders as he cut inward toward the goal, and hitting his shot in tight space to the far side of the goal.
Five minutes after the break, Pulisic added a second for the team, cleaning up from six yards out after Hellas keeper Lorenzo Montipo pushed Noah Okafor’s shot from the left directly into the path of the onrushing American.
In the 64th minute, Tijjani Noslin gave the hosts hope, launching a laser-guided volley from outside the area to the lower-left corner of Mike Maignan’s goal.
Shortly thereafter, Pulisic was given an early rest, while fellow USMNT star Yunus Musah entered the midfield as a part of a double-switch bi Pioli. A later sub, Samuel Chukwueye, stole the show five minutes after entering the field, giving Milan the final 3-1 lead in the 79th with his own opportunistic volley following a corner.
The victory opens up a three-point lead for Milan over third-place Juventus heading into the break. They will next face Fiorentina on Saturday, March 30.
Juventus 0 – 0 Genoa
Weston McKennie had a short outing for Juventus on Sunday, playing just under an hour as they were unable to turn their home field advantage into a victory, in a rather drab, scoreless draw against Genoa.
Despite dominating just about every aspect of the game, the hosts were unable to convert any of their 17 shots into goals, with Samuel Iling-Junior’s low shot off the upright in the 66th minute the closest chance for either side.
McKennie had a subdued performance, never really threatening goal, but also helping to keep Genoa from creating any real danger of their own. Tim Weah played the final 12 minutes plus added time, and while efficient on the ball, also kept with his team’s overall uninspired attacking performance.
Apart from Iling-Junior’s close call, the only real moments of drama came in the final added time, after Dusan Vlahovic was shown two yellow cards in rapid succession for dissent after disagreeing with a referee’s decision to whistle him for a collision with Genoa keeper Josep Martinez.
The draw, coupled with AC Milan’s victory later in the day, drops Juventus to third. Following the international break, they will return to action with a visit to Lazio.
Como 3 – 1 Pisa
Nicholas Gioacchini earned his first start for Como on Saturday, playing 57 minutes in a left-sided attacking role as a home win over Pisa kept them within reach of one of Serie B’s two coveted automatic promotion spots.
While only managing 21 touches and one shot during his 57 minutes of play on the left wing, the starting role was a step in the right direction for the recent transfer from MLS, one which could signal his gradual integration into a larger role with the team.
Alessandro Gabrielloni put Como ahead after only two minutes when he headed in Simone Verdi’s corner, then Alessandro Bellemo gave them the 2-0 lead in the 10th, cleaning up from short range after a comical error between Pisa’s keeper and defense left the ball as a sitting duck directly in front of goal.
Tommaso Barbieri pulled one back for the visitors in the 49th minute, lunging in to knock Stefano Moreo’s cross over the line.
Gioacchini left the field as a part of a triple-substitution in the 57th minute, and then Patrick Cutrone put the final exclamation point on the game with 11 minutes remaining, beating the Pisa keeper in a one-on-one to finalize the 3-1 victory.
Como occupy fourth place following the victory, only two points behind second-place Venezia in the race for the second automatic promotion spot. They return to action after the international break, hosting midtable Südtirol on April Fool’s Day.
Notes
Both Gianluca Busio and Tanner Tessmann started in Venezia’s midfield on Friday night as the team easily flew past their hosts Palermo by a 3-0 scoreline. While not playing a role in any of their team’s goals, the pair helped to limit Palermo to only three shots on target and only one dangerous chance, despite the home team having a significant edge on possession. Kristoffer Lund started for the hosts at left-back but only lasted 45 minutes before being subbed out at the half. Venezia finished the weekend in second place, one of Serie B’s two automatic promotion spots, while Palermo is still firmly in the playoff group in sixth.
Andrija Novakovich only lasted the first half in Lecco’s 4-1 road loss at Ascoli on Sunday afternoon. He was limited to only 12 touches, took no shots, and didn’t set up any chances as the last-place team in Serie B dropped to ten points below even the relegation playoff spots.
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