Pulisic and Hutchinson Fire Milan Past Spiralling Udinese
Milan take all three points in Udine
AC Milan returned to winning ways with a 2-0 Serie A victory at Udinese on Sunday, as Christian Pulisic's early opener and Omari Hutchinson's first goal for the club piled more misery on the hosts, who slumped to a sixth straight defeat.
Both camps arrived in Udine nursing wounds. Milan had to shake off Thursday's 3-0 Europa League defeat at Bournemouth, a game in which Mike Maignan saw red, with fresh injuries to Adrien Rabiot, Diego Moreira and Mario Gila joining Samuel Chukwueze, Matteo Gabbia, Alexis Saelemaekers and Pietro Terracciano on the absentee list.
Udinese, meanwhile, had lost five Serie A games in a row, most recently 3-0 at home to relegation candidates Lecce. Oumar Solet, David Alaba, Idrissa Gueye, Vakoun Bayo and Alessandro Zanoli all missed out, while Nicolò Zaniolo returned to the bench after five weeks.
Modric's quick thinking unlocks Udinese
Milan needed only six minutes to break through. Luka Modric spotted the chance to take a free kick quickly over the top of the Udinese defence, with Mergim Vojvoda playing Pulisic onside. The American hooked the ball down and beat Maduka Okoye one-on-one.
Udinese responded through Hassane Kamara, who pounced on a cheap giveaway from Ardon Jashari and surged forward for a snapshot that Maignan palmed round the base of the near post. Davide Bartesaghi blasted wide after running onto a through ball, Fikayo Tomori could not make the most of a Pulisic pull-back, and Maignan spilled a ferocious long-range Vojvoda strike.
Matteo Palma then went to shrug Gonçalo Ramos off the ball and caught him in the face, but the incident was deemed insufficient for a VAR review. Milan should have doubled their lead on 40 minutes when Tomori rolled a cross in from the right, only for both Pulisic and Bartesaghi to go for it and somehow fail to tap in from six yards.
Jesper Karlström and Christian Kabasele tried their luck from distance, while Bartesaghi's first touch on a Pulisic pass let him down, allowing James Abankwah to make a decisive block. Bartesaghi then won the ball back off Abankwah with a sliding tackle and immediately launched a counter, setting up Pulisic to force Okoye into a save at the near post.
Hutchinson opens his Milan account
Zaniolo made his comeback from the bench, but Milan doubled their lead on 65 minutes. Hutchinson laid the ball off for Jashari's daisy-cutter from the edge of the box, and Okoye parried it meekly into the path of the former Nottingham Forest winger, who smashed home the rebound. It was Hutchinson's first goal in the Rossoneri jersey.
Udinese had chances to respond. Keinan Davis blasted a finish across the face of goal from the by-line when a cross looked the better option, and Okoye kept the scoreline down by palming a Gonçalo Ramos effort onto the crossbar from close range after Pulisic's attempt was deflected into his path.
Maignan had to make a tricky save from a Davis volley six yards out from a set play, but Arizala and Okoye struggled to prevent Ruben Loftus-Cheek from turning in a Bartesaghi cross at the back post. Substitute Alphadjo Cisse came on and within 60 seconds had cut inside to bend a right-foot finish just wide, while Palma made a decisive sliding tackle on Loftus-Cheek — a challenge during which the English midfielder sustained an injury.
Match facts
Udinese 0-2 Milan
Goals: Pulisic 6 (M), Hutchinson 65 (M)
Key moments: 6' Christian Pulisic (assist: Luka Modric); 39' Gonçalo Ramos; 43' Jesper Karlström; 65' Omari Hutchinson; 90' Luka Modric