Ansu Fati provided the lone goal for Barcelona in their final preseason game against AC Milan in the United States. With fewer than three weeks until the start of the season, the Rossoneri still have work to do.
Stefano Pioli decided to start the predicted starting lineup for the next season with just one change from the 2-2 draw with Juventus. Davide Calabria, who was hurt, was replaced by Alessandro Florenzi.
Milan started off a little sloppily and didn’t exert themselves enough to deny Barcelona the majority of the possession. As a result, the Spanish squad had the most of scoring chances at the start of the first half.
The Rossoneri made numerous mistakes on defense, one of which was a pass by Christian Pulisic that gave Jules Kounde the perfect opportunity. After Milan’s shot struck the post, Fikayo Tomori then produced an outstanding block at the goal.
Milan’s first real opportunity came after 18 minutes and was the consequence of quick moves. Olivier Giroud sent the ball to Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who then found Tijani Reijnders in an ideal position. However, the shot was blocked.
There were a few saves by Mike Maignan in the latter seconds of the first half, but they weren’t very significant, and both teams went into the interval with a score of 0-0. After then, Milan failed to create any chances in the second half, whereas Barca did.
The game’s opening goal came from the second half’s first risky opportunity. Ansu Fati collected the ball on the right flank and outmuscled Alessandro Florenzi before cutting inside and beating Maignan with a solid attempt.
Although the goalie was helpless to stop Fati’s strike, his defense counterparts should have done more to contain the winger. In truth, the Barca forward had enough of room to find the back of the net after defeating Florenzi.
After 64 minutes, Milan made its first replacement of the match when Pierre Kalulu, who had recovered from an injury, played his first preseason match for the United States. He took Florenzi’s place on the right side.
Ten minutes later, Pioli made the decision to replace Malick Thiaw, Rade Krunic, Christian Pulisic, and Olivier Giroud with players like Simon Kjaer, Tommaso Pobega, Luka Romero, and Lorenzo Colombo. The game had become quite stale at this time, with the teams exchanging possession.
Milan’s best opportunity of the match came in the 76th minute when Tijjani Reijnders successfully stole the ball from Sergino Dest. Rafael Leao reciprocated the favor by being picked out by the Dutchman on the left flank, but the Portuguese winger’s shot from a prime location was entirely mishit by the Dutchman. The midfielder won’t want to watch the replay.
Theo Hernandez was replaced by Davide Bartesaghi four minutes later, and the Primavera star’s first move was a superb stop to deny Barca what appeared to be a definite goal after a Kjaer error. The 17-year-old has undoubtedly had a strong preseason.
With four minutes remaining, Fikayo Tomtoi was replaced by Alexis Saelemaekers, and Milan did have a few half-chances to score the equalizer and force overtime or penalties. However, Barcelona played strong defense and ultimately prevailed deservingly.
Unfortunately, Milan’s final match of the preseason tour in the United States ended in defeat. The final four friendlies for the Rossoneri in Italy are now behind them before their season opener against Barcelona
