Milan extended their lead over third-placed Juventus by three points following an impressive display characterized by goals from Theo Hernandez, Christian Pulisic, and Samuel Chukwueze in Verona. The Rossoneri secured their place in the Europa League quarter-finals with a victory over 10-man Slavia Praha on Thursday. Despite a knee injury sustained by Mike Maignan during that match, he returned to the lineup, while Rafael Leao and Alessandro Florenzi came back from Serie A suspensions. Conversely, Hellas Verona, aiming to distance themselves from the relegation zone, faced challenges with Thomas Henry suspended and Juan Manuel Cruz sidelined due to injury.
Early in the match, Fikayo Tomori deflected a Theo Hernandez free-kick wide, while Noah Okafor’s attempt at a spectacular volley was thwarted by a superb save from Lorenzo Montipò. Milan continued to press, with Christian Pulisic hitting the crossbar from a difficult angle. Tijjani Noslin and Okafor also had opportunities, but failed to convert.
Milan eventually broke the deadlock through a remarkable individual effort from Theo Hernandez, who navigated past two defenders before slotting the ball into the net from a tight angle. However, Hernandez was subsequently booked for his celebration and will miss the next match due to suspension. Despite losing Kalulu to injury at halftime, Milan doubled their lead when Okafor capitalized on a defensive error to test Montipò, allowing Pulisic to score from the rebound, marking Milan’s 5,000th Serie A goal.
Verona managed to pull one back through a stunning strike from Noslin, but Milan secured the victory with a splendid volley from substitute Samuel Chukwueze. Despite Verona’s efforts, including another powerful shot from Noslin and a late attempt from Karol Swiderski, Milan held on for a 3-1 victory.
Verona 1-3 Milan