ACM ran out 5-0 winners on Tuesday night in the return-leg of the TIM Cup semi-finals and sealed a place in the 2016 final in Rome at the expense of Alessandria.
Milan went into the cup tie at the San Siro with a 1-0 lead from the first-leg and enjoyed the first chance of the game after only 7 minutes. Juraj Kucka did brilliantly to weave his way into the box before pulling back for Keisuke Honda, only for the Japanese star to blaze his effort over the bar.
At the other end, Christian Abbiati was called into action and did well to race off his line and stop Fischnaller from turning in after an excellent through ball from Marras.
Alessandria held their own in the opening exchanges but Milan eventually found the breakthrough and on 20 minutes, Jeremy Menez beat the offside trap and struck the ball beyond the on-rushing Grigi shot-stopper and into the far bottom corner.
With that strike, the floodgates opened and just four minutes later Kucka headed a corner into the path of Alessio Romagnoli who buried the ball home from close range. It was the Italian defender’s first goal in Milan colours.
On the stroke of half-time, Menez scored his second of the night and opened up a three goal cushion for the Rossoneri. Andrea Poli was the provider this time around and the Frenchman made no mistakes to seal his brace from close distance.
The Rossoneri took their foot off the gas after the restart with Alessandria creating most of the chances but it was Milan’s night and with a late flurry Milan added a further two goals. On 80 minutes, Romagnoli scored again and then on 89 minutes Balotelli completed the rout for a final score on aggregate of 6-0 to Milan.
Milan went into the cup tie at the San Siro with a 1-0 lead from the first-leg and enjoyed the first chance of the game after only 7 minutes. Juraj Kucka did brilliantly to weave his way into the box before pulling back for Keisuke Honda, only for the Japanese star to blaze his effort over the bar.
At the other end, Christian Abbiati was called into action and did well to race off his line and stop Fischnaller from turning in after an excellent through ball from Marras.
Alessandria held their own in the opening exchanges but Milan eventually found the breakthrough and on 20 minutes, Jeremy Menez beat the offside trap and struck the ball beyond the on-rushing Grigi shot-stopper and into the far bottom corner.
With that strike, the floodgates opened and just four minutes later Kucka headed a corner into the path of Alessio Romagnoli who buried the ball home from close range. It was the Italian defender’s first goal in Milan colours.
On the stroke of half-time, Menez scored his second of the night and opened up a three goal cushion for the Rossoneri. Andrea Poli was the provider this time around and the Frenchman made no mistakes to seal his brace from close distance.
The Rossoneri took their foot off the gas after the restart with Alessandria creating most of the chances but it was Milan’s night and with a late flurry Milan added a further two goals. On 80 minutes, Romagnoli scored again and then on 89 minutes Balotelli completed the rout for a final score on aggregate of 6-0 to Milan.
In the final battle, ACM will face either Internazionale or Juventus ( Juve 3:0 Inter the firts leg). They play the second semifinal tonight at 20:45 CET.
Interesting facts:
332 – the number of days since Jeremy Menez’s last goal for Milan. Before his brace against Alessandria, the Frenchman’s last strike for the club was April 4, 2015 in a 2-1 victory for the Rossoneri at Palermo.
13 – the number of years since the Rossoneri last reached the final of the Italian Cup. The season was 2002/2003 and Milan beat Roma over two legs to lift the prestigious trophy in the same year that the club also won the European Cup.
Alessio Romagnoli – the defender opened his account in Milan colours in style by netting a brace versus Alessandria.
8 – the number of Milan players to have found the back of the net this season in the TIM Cup for a total of 15 goals. They are the following: M'Baye Niang (3), Luiz Adriano (2), Carlos Bacca (2), Alessio Romagnoli (2), Mario Balotelli (2), Jeremy Menez (2), Giacomo Bonaventura (1) and Keisuke Honda (1).
19 April 2014 – the last time Mario Balotelli was on the score-sheet at the San Siro before sealing a 5-0 victory over Alessandria on Tuesday night. On that occasion, Livorno were the opponents and Milan ran out 3-0 winners.
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