AC Milan secured their first Serie A victory in nearly a month, defeating Udinese 4-0 away on Friday night, April 11th, though the win was tempered by a concerning head injury to goalkeeper Mike Maignan. Goals from Rafael Leão, Strahinja Pavlovic, Theo Hernández, and Tijjani Reijnders sealed the convincing result for Sergio Conceição’s side.
Milan, who had won only two of their previous seven league games, started brightly but were initially frustrated. Reijnders missed a chance within the first 20 seconds after Udinese defenders collided, with goalkeeper Maduka Okoye making the save.
The breakthrough came late in the first half. In the 42nd minute, Youssouf Fofana won the ball and found Rafael Leão on the edge of the area, who curled a superb first-time shot inside the post. Seconds before the interval, defender Strahinja Pavlovic doubled the lead, heading home a Christian Pulisic corner.
Milan suffered a major setback early in the second half when goalkeeper Maignan was involved in a heavy clash of heads with teammate Alex Jimenez. The French international received lengthy treatment on the pitch before being stretchered off and replaced by Marco Sportiello.
Despite the disruption, Milan continued to dominate. Theo Hernández scored the third goal in the 74th minute after a driving solo run, and Tijjani Reijnders completed the rout late on, bundling the ball home from close range following a pass from Leão. Christian Pulisic also had a goal disallowed for offside.
The victory lifts Milan to ninth place in the Serie A standings with 51 points from 32 games, keeping their faint hopes of European qualification via the league alive. However, their most realistic route remains the Coppa Italia, where they face rivals Inter Milan in the second leg of their semi-final on April 23rd, with the tie poised at 1-1. Udinese remain 11th with 40 points.
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