A fantastic goal from Luka Modric in the 85th minute secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory for Milan at the Arena Garibaldi against a Pisa side that made them work for the win. Massimiliano Allegri's team was close to complicating matters, but the Croatian stepped up and ensured three precious points, leaving Rafael Leão's team five points behind leaders Inter. The Portuguese started the match on the bench to manage his effort, and Milan took the lead through Loftus-Cheek, who headed in a dangerous cross from Zachary Athekame in the 39th minute. In the second half, Milan even celebrated a second goal in the 47th minute when Rabiot struck first time into the back of the net. However, the referee immediately disallowed the goal due to a handball by Fullkrug, a decision confirmed by VAR. The Rossoneri had another golden opportunity to extend their lead in the 54th minute when Pavlovic was brought down by Felipe Loyola inside the Pisa area, resulting in a penalty. However, in the conversion, Fullkrug hit the right post of Nicolas's goal, wasting the chance to make it 2-0. This is where everything started to go wrong for Milan, who allowed Pisa to equalize in the 71st minute: Loyola scored his first Serie A goal, taking advantage of an unintentional assist from Pavlovic to beat Maignan and restore parity. With the game evenly contested and Rafael Leão on the pitch (he came on in the 72nd minute), the victory could have gone either way. Until five minutes before the 90th minute, Luka Modric decided to take matters into his own hands. He perfectly combined with Samuele Ricci, broke free in the area, and finished into the back of Nicolas's net, marking his second goal of the season. Modric went up front to secure three points for AC Milan 🍷 #sporttvportugal #SERIEA #sporttv #Serie A #Pisa #ACMilan #insparya pic.twitter.com/lo2Czla BUD But the match ended in tense fashion for Milan, who were reduced to ten men in stoppage time. Adrien Rabiot received a yellow card (90+1') for a foul on Piccinini at the edge of the area and, following protests, received a second yellow card and was sent off. The French midfielder will thus miss the next game for the team against Como. With this result, Milan extends their unbeaten streak in the league to 23 consecutive matches, maintaining a remarkable record that no other team in the top five European leagues possesses. The only defeat of the season occurred in the opening round against Cremonese. Regarding the schedule, Milan will have a postponed match midweek, hosting Como at San Siro on Wednesday, February 18. The following weekend, they will face Parma again at home. Meanwhile, Pisa is preparing for a Tuscan derby against Fiorentina, scheduled for Monday, February 23, in an important clash for survival.
Milan Luka Modric remains central to this story.
Milan Luka Modric remains central to this story.
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