Milan bounced back from a goal down to secure a 3-1 win against Hellas Verona and retain the top spot in the Serie A standings.
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AC Milan legend and former Italy captain Paolo Maldini believes the pressure is on the Rossoneri going into the final two games, but they proved with a come from behind win against Hellas Verona that they ‘can handle it’. Milan bounced back after going behind through Davide Faroni’s header, to secure a 3-1 win and retain the top spot in the Serie A standings on Sunday. Sandro Tonali leveled the score on the stroke of half-time before netting his second of the night, immediately after the break to give the lead to Milan. Alessandro Florenzi’s late strike sealed Milan’s victory. The result helped Milan go two points clear of second placed Inter Milan, who had defeated Empoli on Friday to keep the pressure on Stefano Pioli’s side.
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“With so much enthusiasm around us, the important thing now is to try to give a sense of calm,” the technical director told Milan TV. “It was a match, unlike the one against Lazio, where we started very strong and dominated for the first 20-25 minutes, seeing a goal ruled marginally offside. If you go behind in that situation and you are not ready, it can spark a crisis. When there are so few matches left and you can see the finish line, if the team isn’t sufficiently mature to react in the right way, they could lose their heads. I really have to congratulate the lads, they did everything that was asked of them, including those who came in off the bench.”
Milan will be the champions of Italy if they pick up at least four points from their remaining two games against Atalanta and Sassuolo. Pioli’s side are on an impressive unbeaten run of 14 Serie A games and have won 9 of those. The Rossoneri have accumulated 80 points from their 36 games, two points more than the defending champions Inter, who will next play away to Cagliari before ending the season at home against Sampdoria. “We are close because there are only two rounds left. These are not easy games, but neither was the one we played this evening,” added Maldini. “I watched Atalanta today, they are alive and kicking, still challenging for Europe and full of top level players. We are playing at San Siro, a packed house. There will be a lot of pressure on us, but we can handle it.”
Tonight’s heatmap is dedicated to our birthday boy and beating heart of the team: Tonali ❤️?
La heatmap @gruppo_a2a è dedicata al cuore della squadra: tanti auguri Sandro! ❤️?#VeronaMilan #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/4IN9pR9OVc
— AC Milan (@acmilan) May 8, 2022
Tonali was the star performer for Milan at Marcantonio Bentegodi. The Italian midfielder equalised the score in the third minute of first half injury time. Winger Rafael Leao went past Nicolo Casale down the left flank and pulled it back from the byline for Tonali to bundle the ball in. Four minutes into the second half, Leao was involved once again as he made a darting run down the left channel before setting up Tonali for a simple tap in from in front of goal. Tonali had a wonderful game and could have added a third if not for the offside flag on his 22nd birthday.
