March 08, (THEWILL)- AC Milan earned a crucial 4-2 victory over 10-man Slavia Prague in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie at the San Siro on Thursday night. The Rossoneri capitalised on their numerical advantage after Slavia defender El Hadji Malick Diouf was sent off in the 26th minute for a reckless challenge on Christian Pulisic.
Olivier Giroud opened the scoring for Milan in the 34th minute, heading in Rafael Leao’s deflected cross from the left flank. Slavia momentarily levelled through David Doudera’s superb volley, but Tijjani Reijnders and Ruben Loftus-Cheek struck before halftime to give the hosts a 3-1 lead.
Ivan Schranz halved the deficit for the Czech visitors midway through the second half but Pulisic’s close-range effort five minutes from time restored Milan’s two-goal cushion heading into the return leg in Prague.
Stefano Pioli’s men, who dropped into the Europa League after exiting the UEFA Champions League, will aim to book their place in the quarter-finals, having overcome Rennes in the play-off round.
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.
