February 14, (THEWILL) — AC Milan claimed a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Pisa thanks to Luka Modric’s 85th-minute winner, though Adrien Rabiot’s late dismissal threatened to complicate matters for Massimiliano Allegri’s side. The Croatian midfielder played a give-and-go with Samuele Ricci before evading Simone Canestrelli’s challenge to poke the ball past Nicolas and claim all three points for the Rossoneri.
The visitors survived an early scare when Filip Stojilkovic was sent through on goal but failed to capitalise, with Mike Maignan rushing off his line to smother the attempt. Ruben Loftus-Cheek then put Milan ahead before the interval, powering in a header from Zachary Athekame’s cross to relieve pressure on the away side.
Niclas Fullkrug entered the match in the second half and had the opportunity to double the advantage from the penalty spot after Strahinja Pavlovic was fouled by Felipe Loyola inside the box. The former West Ham striker clipped the outside of the left post with his effort, leaving Milan vulnerable to a fightback.
Pisa drew level when Loyola found the bottom-right corner after the ball fell kindly to him in the area, setting up a tense finale. Modric’s clinical intervention looked to have settled the contest before Rabiot received two yellow cards within 20 seconds, first for a foul on the edge of the box and then for dissent, forcing Milan to play out the remaining minutes with 10 men.
The result moves Milan to within five points of Serie A leaders Inter, maintaining their challenge at the top of the table following a difficult encounter against lower-league opposition. Allegri’s team held firm despite the numerical disadvantage to claim a vital away victory.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
