AC Milan add to Chievo woe as Luca Antonelli's goal secures victory

Updated: May 17, 2023, 06:10 am
Carlos Bacca celebrates with his Milan teammates after assisting on their goal against Chievo.

Luca Antonelli's second-half strike was enough to earn AC Milan a 1-0 victory over Chievo on Wednesday at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium.

With the game knotted 0-0 after 53 minutes, Carlos Bacca set up Antonelli in the box and the Milan defender hit a diagonal shot towards the far post to beat Chievo goalkeeper Albano Bizarri.

The victory, AC Milan's fifth of the campaign, has lifted the Rossoneri to eighth in the standings.

Chievo have now lost three games in a row and have dropped to 11th place.

For the second straight game, AC Milan coach Sinisa Mihajlovic left out veteran goalkeeper Diego Lopez from his starting XI, opting to start with 16-year-old Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal.

AC Milan, who had ended a three-match winless run with a 2-1 win at Sassuolo on Sunday, dominated possession in the opening half.

However, Chievo nearly broke the deadlock in the 44th minute when Sergio Pellissier's powerful header from Valter Birsa's free-kick forced Donnarumma to fully stretch to clear.

The hosts enjoyed a strong start to the second half and took a deserved lead through Antonelli.

On the hour, Bizarri kept out Giacomo Bonaventura's hard drive from 30 yards in what looked to be Milan's second of the evening.

Chievo almost pulled level in the 67th minute but Alberto Paloschi's header was kept out by Donnarumma.

Juraj Kucka should have killed the game off one minute from time but his close-range header from Bonaventura's cross flew wide and Milan held on for three points.