Bonucci punches Milan into the lead as the Rossoneri sink Crotone

Milan went into today’s match against Crotone with heavy expectations. Decent results (ish) over the past few weeks may have stirred those.

However, Milan struggled to unlock the Serie A strugglers.

It was Leo Bonucci who gave Milan the lead against Crotone in the second half with a scrappy goal. It’d been a long time coming for the Rossoneri, who had dominated the play throughout the game. It shouldn’t have taken Milan fifty-four minutes to take the lead, but their build-up is agonisingly anaemic, and this current Rossoneri side are not one to thrive in the final-third. Of course, Bonucci’s goal was comical - with the ball being almost punched off his back and into the net - but we will take it!

Milan’s issues in front of goal would have been resolved, had Franck Kessie been awarded his goal - but it was pulled back for a foul on a defender. VAR has made a massive impact in plenty of Milan games this season so far.

Seven additional minutes of added time made things a bit nervy for the Rossoneri, who could only muster a single goal in regulation time - thus the worry of an equaliser was always there. Gigio Donnarumma came to Milan’s rescue (as per) and the Rossoneri saw the game out to grab three points.

Room for positivity? Indeed. However, there will be a lot to learn from this for a Milan side who are seriously underachieving this season.