Luxury victory for Milan in the first test in the USA: Guardiola beaten 3-2

Milan’s first friendly in the United States, played at the Yankee Stadium in New York against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, ended 3-2: Lorenzo Colombo scored for the Rossoneri with a brace on two assists from Samuel Chukwueze and Marco Nasti on an assist from Alexis Saelemaekers. A two-faced performance for Fonseca’s group: an interesting first half, a second half that was very questionable and dull until Nasti’s winning goal, immediately following the Rossoneri’s new dominance of the game. Obviously the result doesn’t count for much. What counts is getting minutes into your legs, what counts is finding some tactical guidance, even if the squad is still very experimental.

The first half
Milan’s first half at Yankee Stadium is good, positive, interesting. Fonseca’s team showed some good offensive play, orchestrated in the middle of the field by an inspired Bennacer and made possible thanks to the movements of the full-backs and wingers that were already quite evident. Chukwueze did very well, providing two assists for Lorenzo Colombo. Saelemaekers was questionable, having lost the ball on the occasion of Haaland’s goal. Great disappointment for Florenzi: there are fears of something serious for him in his knee.

The second half
The second half of the Rossoneri begins without changes, but with a totally different attitude. The young players from Manchester City go for the double and continuously keep possession of the ball and control of the game: Chukwueze and his teammates practically never create any conditions to score. Guardiola’s team, on the other hand, becomes dangerous by exploiting some of Milan’s inattentions; on one of these, Hamilton goes off on Calabria, puts the ball in the middle where the too inattentive Tomori is fooled by McAtee for the 2-2. Milan wakes up from the 70th minute onwards and starts playing again: thus they find certainties and control of the game. It is no coincidence that the winning goal also arrived: Calabria’s verticalization for Saelemaekers, ball back to Marco Nasti who, first time, beats Ederson. In the final, space for Pulisic and Jovic.