FOLLOW THE LIVE SECOND HALF OF MILAN-CAGLIARI HERE
informatore.unionesarda.it/cronaca-live/calcio/milan-cagliari/471457The first half of Milan-Cagliari ended 1-1, with goals from Saelemaekers and Borrelli. The match is intertwined with the Champions League race, where Torino-Juventus has not yet started due to clashes outside the stadium .
After a few minutes of waiting to assess the situation at the Olimpico, referee Guida called the game to begin. Cagliari got off to a difficult start, with Zé Pedro booked after less than ninety seconds, and Milan taking the lead in the second minute: Tomori's long ball from midfield was met by Giménez in the box, who headed it away, and Saelemaekers capitalized on Mina's hesitation to control the ball and fire home with his right foot .
The Rossoblù took a while to get going, finally doing so in the 14th minute with a right-footed effort from Gaetano that went wide after a blocked corner. But they equalized in the 20th minute, following a powerful right-footed effort from Gaetano that Maignan cleared from the top corner. From Obert's corner, Mina's header to the far post was deflected by Tomori, and Borrelli did a brilliant job sliding in the six-yard box to turn it into the net .
The 1-1 draw unnerved Milan, who were forced to win to avoid any risks given the situation in Turin. In the 22nd minute, a corner from the right, Rabiot's header went over Juan Rodríguez, but his aerial deflection missed the target. Nkunku had the best chance in the 27th minute, freed by an assist from Saelemaekers, but his right-footed effort was saved in two stages by Caprile . On the half-hour mark, Fofana missed the opportunity to make it 2-1 with an off-target header that Caprile easily saved.
Maignan came close to a huge goal in the 37th minute, failing to hold onto a harmless Zappa cross and leaving it loose on the edge of the six-yard box. Tomori cleared the ball, beating Deiola . Immediately afterward, Esposito made a brilliant move, beating Tomori on the byline and crossing to Adopo, who was providentially intercepted by Bartesaghi. Pavlović then cleared the ball after Zappa's cross. The Rossoblu were back in the 39th minute, when Deiola stunned a right-footed shot from a central position just inside the box following a Zappa cross (Maignan saved).
Milan came back in the 40th minute, with a cross from Rabiot deflected wide by Giménez (but had they scored, Cagliari would have been saved because there was a previous offside).
The game goes to half-time after a minute of injury time , where Gaetano skips past Fofana twice in great style and shoots high from the edge of the box with his right foot, scaring Milan once again (and the fans boo at half-time).
