MILAN: Tijjani Reijnders gave AC Milan something to cheer about over Christmas with the only goal in Friday’s 1-0 win at lowly Verona which was marked by more fan protests.

Netherlands midfielder Reijnders lashed in his eighth goal of the season from Milan’s first real chance of the game in the 56th minute, crashing home first-time from Youssouf Fofana’s neat pass.

“It was very important... luckily we won because it was a difficult match but we got the three points and now we can celebrate Christmas,” said Reijnders.

Milan manager Paulo Fonseca, whose job is reported to be under threat, acknowledged the challenges posed by missing players and recent form but expressed satisfaction with his team’s hard-earned win.

Milan had secured just one win from their last five league matches with eight players sidelined due to injury, including forwards Alvaro Morata and Christian Pulisic.

“The first half was somewhat inevitable with so many players missing and not winning the most recent match, so we were sluggish,” Fonseca told DAZN.

“Without so many players at the moment and our current form, I am satisfied with the victory, which was the most important thing. It was a much-deserved win, we kept a clean sheet and showed more stability in defence.”

Reijnders’ strike moved Milan up a place to seventh on 26 points, five from the Champions League positions and 11 behind leaders Atalanta who host Empoli on Sunday.

That position is not where supporters expected to be this season and the away end loudly voiced its dissent throughout the first half.

Chants demanding Gerry Cardinale, founder of Milan’s owners RedBird Capital Partners, to “sell and go” rang around the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi, as did others urging the players to “show some balls”.

Verona went closest to scoring in the first half and Fonseca suffered another injury blow when forward Rafael Leao was forced off due to what looked like a thigh problem, adding another name to a lengthy list of absentees.

Fonseca said the injury sustained by Leao was not too serious despite the Portugal international limping off.

“I spoke to Rafa, it doesn’t seem to be anything particularly special. It’s nothing major,” Fonseca said “[Taking him off] was more a preventative measure because he didn’t want to take any risks.”

Reijnders has been one of the few consistent bright spots of an otherwise up-and-down season for Milan, whose celebrations for the club’s 125th anniversary were ruined by angry fans barracking players and the ownership.

After he scored with a well-timed run to evade the defence, Milan resorted to time-wasting tactics.

Tempers flared and a member of the Verona coaching staff was sent off for dissent during stoppage time.

The narrow defeat for Verona leaves Paolo Zanetti’s team one point and place above the relegation zone.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2024