Ante Rebić came to AC Milan’s rescue yet again as his second-half strike was enough to earn I Rossoneri a nervy 1-0 win over Brescia on Friday.
Having endured a slow start to his Milan career, Rebić put in a stellar showing last time out against Udinese as he fired two goals – including a 93rd-minute winner – to steer Milan to a 3-2 win.
While his performance against Brescia was far less dramatic, it was a similar result for Rebić, whose goal ensured Milan‘s winning run has now stretched to three games in all competitions.
Stefano Pioli’s side did come close to opening the scoring early in the game. Striker Zlatan Ibrahimović had an early penalty appeal turned down, while his looping header came agonisingly close to dropping over the line soon after.
However, it was by no means one-way traffic as Brescia had a number of fantastic opportunities. Milan needed crucial tackles from both Alessio Romagnoli and Andrea Cistana to keep out what looked like certain goals, while Gianluigi Donnarumma also had to claw an effort away off the line.
Shortly before the interval, Ibrahimović will have thought he was set to open the scoring after Theo Hernández’s cross found him six yards out from goal, but the Swede somehow managed to fire wide of the target.
The second half was similar to the first as Brescia attacked with real energy. Ernesto Torregrossa saw an acrobatic effort fire back off the woodwork, before Donnarumma was again called upon to save the day.
The young goalkeeper made a handful of crucial saves, and Brescia were made to pay for their profligacy in the 71st minute. Ibrahimović’s cross towards Samu Castillejo was deflected into the path of Rebić, who poked home to give Milan the lead.
Substitute Emanuele Ndoj should have equalised for Brescia soon after, only for his scuffed effort to make life easy for Donnarumma.
Milan thought they had grabbed a late second through Castillejo, but the goal was eventually ruled out after Ibrahimović was deemed to be offside in the buildup.
Fortunately, it did not matter, as Milan held on to pick up their third win on the trot, climbing up to sixth in the Serie A standings as a result.