SERIE A LIVE – AC Milan v Cagliari: Final score, highlights and reactions

Date: 29th August 2021 at 7:41pm
Written by:

Welcome to the Forza Italian Football live blog for the Serie A match between AC Milan and Cagliari from the Stadio San Siro on this warm Sunday night as the Rossoneri seek to make it two wins from two and keep up with league leaders Inter and Lazio.

Milan were victorious in their Serie A opener against Sampdoria as Brahim Diaz got the winner in Genoa last week, while Cagliari came from two goals down to earn a draw with Spezia.

AC Milan v Cagliari – Final score – 4-1

Milan coach Stefano Pioli to DAZN: “I believe that if we want to have a positive future, all players must feel like starters. I’m struggling to make choices because important players will return, and maybe two other players will arrive.”

Milan vs Cagliari – Match Facts

  • AC Milan have won their first two league games of the season in two Serie A campaigns in a row for the first time since 2002/03 and 2003/04, under Carlo Ancelotti.
  • AC Milan have fired 11 shots in the opening 40 minutes against Cagliari, as many shots as they had attempted in the whole game against Sampdoria.
  • AC Milan have scored 4+ goals in a single Serie A first half for the first time since November 2011, against Chievo.
  • Alessandro Deiola has scored the first Cagliari’s Serie A goal against AC Milan since João Pedro in September 2018 – they have stopped a five-games streak without a single league goal against the Rossoneri.
  • Olivier Giroud is the first player to have scored 2+ goals in his very first Serie A home match for AC Milan since Mario Balotelli in February 2013.
  • Olivier Giroud has just become the 15th Frenchman to have found the net for AC Milan in the Serie A: the Rossoneri are the side with the most French different scorers in the competition.
  • Olivier Giroud has scored a league brace for the first time since April 2018, for Chelsea against Southampton in the Premier League.
  • Giroud has scored today his eighth penalty in the Top-5 European Leagues and his first since December 2015, for Arsenal.
  • Sandro Tonali has scored his second Serie A goal, both from a direct free-kick (the first one was in October 2019 against Genoa).

Full time – Milan 4-1 Cagliari

Giroud got two on his home debut and was given a standing ovation when he came off in time added on. Milan were a cut above Cagliari and kept their 100 percent start to the season in tact as 40,000 Rossoneri fans returned to the San Siro for the first time since the pandemic.

Minute 90 – Rebic tries his luck

Ante Rebic has a go from long range, but the ball balloons over the bar. There will be two minutes of time added on.

Minute 85 – Cagliari sting is gone

Milan have taken the sting out the game and seem content just to hold onto the ball. Cagliari have all but accepted defeat.

Minute 78 – Cagliari come forward

Cagliari continue to make forays forward and Nandez wins a freekick from Theo. The resulting set piece sees Maignan punching the ball off the line.

Minute 68 – Leao close

A brilliant piece of control from Leao as he brings a lofted ball down on his chest and races towards the box, luckily for Cagliari his cross was diverted side by Godin, otherwise Giroud was ready for a tap in.

Minute 60 – Giroud again

The Frenchman is involved in everything good Milan do. This time it’s Calabria swinging a ball into the box but he can’t get his header on target.

Minute 50 – Better from Cagliari

After conceding four goals in the opening half, Cagliari look a little bit more organised thus far int he second.

Second half starts

We are back underway at the San Siro… Another five-goal half?

Half time – Milan 4-1 Cagliari

A dominant half from Milan, and it doesn’t look like it will end there. Giroud has been on fire and has two goals.

Minute 42 – GOAL MILAN

A penalty was awarded after Strootman handled in the box and Giroud stepped up for his second of the game.

Minute 34 – Cagliari warning

Milan might be two up but Cagliari still feel their are in this as Pavoletti fires wide from just outside the box.

Minute 30 – Danger all round

Every time Milan attack they look like they are going to score. Kjaer has a header blocked, and Giroud has a shot deflected away by the defence, all after Radunovic pushed a strike away.

Minute 24 – MILAN SCORE

A brilliant counter attack! Brahim takes the ball from the halfway line and picks out Giroud who makes no mistake and gets his first goal for the club.

Minute 17 – MILAN SCORE

Milan are back in front after a Leao shot from long range defects off Brahim, wrong footing Radunovic, and ends up in the net.

Minute 15 – CAGLIARI SCORE

The Sardinians have levelled the game almost instantly. Joao Pedro looks like he is going to have a go, but instead plays a dinked ball into the area and Alessandro Deiola heads into the corner. Game on!

Minute 12 – MILAN GOAL!

Sandro Tonali scores a brilliant freekick. He gets the ball up and over the wall and into the top corner.

Minute 10 – Carboni to the rescue

Milan are looking up for this! Some nice passing from the Rossoneri eventually a nice flick by Giroud looks to put Leao in on goal, but a brilliant tackle by Carboni denies the forward.

Minute 5 – Giroud goes close

A home debut for the Frenchman and he gets ahead of the defender, but can only put his header over the bar.

Kick off!

Cagliari get us underway at the Stadio San Siro. Who will take the three points?

A throwback to 2009

Milan beat Cagliari 4-3 in a match 12 years ago and Pato bagged this.

AC Milan v Cagliari – Official line-ups

AC Milan will be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Franck Kessie, who are still recovering from injury, for the match against Cagliari. Meanwhile, the Sardinians are without goalkeeper Alessio Cragno and midfielder Marko Rog.

Milan: Maignan; Calabria, Kjaer, Tomori, Theo; Tonali, Krunic; Saelemaekers, Brahim, Leao; Giroud.

Cagliari: Radunovic; Ceppitelli, Godín, Carboni; Nandez, Marin, Strootman, Deiola, Dalbert; Joao Pedro, Pavoletti

AC Milan v Cagliari – Match stats

  • Cagliari have suffered most of their Serie A defeats against AC Milan – 43 games – and their last win dates back to May 2017.
  • AC Milan have kept a clean sheet in their last five games against Cagliari in Serie A, the team that the Rossoneri have recorded most consecutive clean sheets in the competition is Chievo (seven) which came in 2016.
  • Milan have lost only three of their 39 home matches against Cagliari in Serie A.
  • Milan have kept clean sheets in their last six Serie A games, and only three times in their history have they managed at least seven clean sheets in a row in Serie A. In February 1994 (nine), in October 1993 (seven) and in January 1972 (seven).
  • Cagliari are unbeaten in four Serie A away games (2W, 2D), since the 2000s, they have only had a longer streak without defeat away from home twice in Serie A: Eight games in December 2019 with Rolando Maran and five in November 2006 with Marco Giampaolo.
  • Stefano Pioli at 59 percent is the second coach in the history of AC Milan with the highest percentage of wins in Serie A (41 wins in 70 games), behind only Lajos Czeizler (64 percent: 73 wins in 114 games).
  • Joao Pedro has not found the goal in any of the last four Serie A matches against Milan, after having scored in all the previous three.

WHERE CAN I WATCH MILAN V CAGLIARI IN SERIE A?

Serie A can be followed all over the world with Paramount+ holding the rights in the USA, and CBS Sports Network broadcasting one game per week as well. In the UK, BT Sport have the rights to Serie A and will show around 200 games over the course of the season. Meanwhile in Australia, beIN Sports is the official broadcaster.

 

Comments are closed.