AC Milan 4-0 Venezia: Rossoneri run riot in first 45 minutes to record first win | OneFootball

AC Milan got their first win of the 2024-25 season and they got it in emphatic fashion, beating Venezia 4-0 at San Siro on Saturday night.

What was quite remarkable was that all four goals came in the first half, effectively ending the contest before the interval. The first was scored after 90 seconds as Theo Hernandez snuck one in from a narrow angle, then a close-range ricochet went in and was eventually awarded to Youssouf Fofana.

The penalty spot then became Milan’s friend as Tammy Abraham and Rafael Leao each drew spot kicks in quick succession. The first was tucked away by Christian Pulisic, and Abraham took care of the second.

It is exactly what the Rossoneri needed with all of the pressure surrounding the team and the manager, especially in view of the two daunting upcoming games against Liverpool in the Champions League and Inter in the league.

Paulo Fonseca made four changes to the starting line-up compared to the game before the break against Lazio, with Matteo Gabbia and Theo Hernandez coming into the defence, Rafael Leao getting his spot back on the left wing and Tammy Abraham getting his full debut.

It took just 90 seconds for Milan to break the deadlock, and rather predictably it came from Theo Hernandez who had already scored three goals in his previous two games against Venezia. The away side were caught out down their right side, with Theo surging into the box and hitting a low shot that somehow squirmed through Joronen from a narrow angle.

Venezia then gave Milan a couple of scares as the defence looked a bit shaky inside the opening exchanges, with Oristanio coming closest as he curled an effort just wide of the far post that Mike Maignan seemed to have covered.

Things would fall apart very quickly from there for Eusebio Di Francesco’s side as they conceded three goals in quick succession. The warning signs began when well-built attack – where Maignan pinged the ball to Abraham – saw a cut-back from Tijjani Reijnders after a feed from Ruben Loftus-Cheek cut out just as Pulisic was arriving to finish.

The resulting corner from the left side was taken by the USA international and it seemed to ricochet rapidly at the near post before it was flicked in by Matteo Gabbia from close range, making it 2-0 in the 16th minute.

Nine minutes later, the first of two quickfire penalties was awarded to the Rossoneri. Tammy Abraham pounced on a loose ball inside the ball and as Joronen lunged to try and get something on it he brought the striker down. Pulisic took the penalty, and fired in confidently from 12 yards.

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Then, in the 29th minute and just four minutes after the last penalty, another was awarded and there was even less doubt about that decision as Leao was stamped on inside the area. It was given after a VAR check, and this time Abraham was the one tasked with firing home from the spot, which he also did with relative ease.

The early stages of the second half made it clear that Milan were not going to rest despite having a four-goal lead as they went in search of more. An excellent run and pass from Loftus-Cheek found Leao’s central cut, and the Portuguese winger looked to beat Joronen with a bit of an off-balance shot that was saved easily in the end.

The barrage continued and Gabbia looked to double his tally for the night with a stooping header from Leao’s low cross, though the goalkeeper tipped it around for a corner kick.

In the 63rd minute, Fonseca chose to make a couple of changes to freshen things up. Alvaro Morata and Noah Okafor came on, with Leao and Reijnders the ones to make way.

Venezia thought they had got a goal back before a bizarre situation ensued. Zampano fired a low shot through Maignan and into the back of the net, but VAR intervened because Nicolussi Caviglia had put his studs into Loftus-Cheek’s leg in midfield in the build-up. The result: goal disallowed, and a second yellow for the Venezia player.

Further changes came after, with Abraham making way for Yunus Musah, then a few minutes later Fofana and Pulisic came off for Kevin Zeroli and Samuel Chukwueze.

The final effort of the game fell to Loftus-Cheek as he looked to get in on the act, letting fly from the edge of the box, though his attempt sailed over the bar and the full-time whistle followed soon after.