UCL: Milan see off brave Club Brugge
AC Milan 3 - 1 Club Brugge
Tijjani Reijnders netted two impressive second-half goals as AC Milan overcame a shaky start to defeat a 10-man Club Brugge.
The Belgian side began brightly, with Christos Tzolis nearly putting them ahead, only for a superb save by Mike Maignan to deny him.
Milan, needing a victory after defeats against Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen, took the lead when former Chelsea forward Christian Pulisic's inswinging corner flew directly into the net.
Referee Felix Zwayer showed a red card to Raphael Onyedika for a high tackle on Reijnders following a VAR review, leaving Brugge with what eventually proved to be a significant disadvantage.
Despite the setback, Brugge managed to level the score with a well-crafted goal. Substitute Kyriani Sabbe finished off a slick team move, slotting the ball into the far corner. At 19, Sabbe became only the fourth teenager to score against Milan in the Champions League.
There were some grumbles from the home crowd when Milan boss Paulo Fonseca substituted the energetic Rafael Leao, but the decision paid off immediately as his replacement, Noah Okafor, set up a goal. Okafor broke down the left wing, cutting the ball back for Reijnders to calmly side-foot into the net.
Reijnders sealed the victory with his second goal, converting a cross from fellow substitute Samuel Chukwueze.
There was also a special moment for Francesco Camarda, who came on to become the youngest Italian ever to play in the Champions League at just 16 years and 226 days old.
The home side Mian move up to 18th with that win, while Club Brugge drop to 24th. However, both are still in the play-off places.
My reaction
That was an exciting match to watch. Milan have some quality players but Club Brugge made sure it was a context, even after they had a player sent off. Pulisic was the best player on the night. Aside from the goal, the overall display from him was outstanding.
I did speak to one Milan fan after the match who wasn't happy with all aspects of the performance. He said: "Glad to have the points and all but I feel 11v11 would have been a different story. There were several bad elements here. Our poor play while being a man-up and lacklustre passing are definite concerns."
