Milan held to 1-1 draw at Salzburg in Champions League opener

Updated: May 17, 2023, 04:54 am
Milan and Salzburg began with a draw in a Champions League group that also includes Chelsea and Dinamo Zagreb.
Severin Aichbauer/SEPA.Media /Getty Images

AC Milan midfielder Alexis Saelemaekers earned the Serie A title holders a 1-1 draw at Austrian side Salzburg in their Champions League Group E opener on Tuesday.

Saelemaekers equalised in the 40th minute when Rafael Leao found him in the middle of the penalty area after Milan striker Olivier Giroud jumped out of the way to create the opening.

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Salzburg had drawn first blood in the 28th minute through forward Noah Okafor who nutmegged defender Pierre Kalulu and slotted home from the corner of the six-yard box.

The first 10 minutes were high on adrenaline as Salzburg pressed their opponents but came up against a stubborn Milan side who themselves tried to put the hosts under pressure.

"A good result, with a satisfactory performance but not of high quality. They started off better, we recovered later but we could have done better," Milan manager Stefano Pioli told Sky.

The ball was stuck in midfield for most of the second half after Salzburg forward Fernando wasted a chance in the 53rd minute from a cross as his strike went well above the bar.

The tempo picked up again towards the end of the match and Leao almost scored a winner in the fourth minute of added time but his strike crashed against the post.

"Speed in the build-up was missing, especially because they were not that aggressive in the second half," Pioli said.

Salzburg next travel to Chelsea, who earlier lost 1-0 away to Dinamo Zagreb, on Sept. 14 when Milan host the Croatians.

"I did not expect the result between Dinamo Zagreb and Chelsea. This teaches us that there are no taken for granted games... the next match will have an important specific weight," Pioli added.