Milan 3-0 Lecce: Quickfire goals seal Rossoneri triumph

Three goals in five first-half minutes was enough to see Milan earn a third consecutive Serie A win as they swept aside Lecce 3-0 at the San Siro.

An open start to proceedings saw Mike Maignan called into action to deny the visitors from taking the lead, with the French goalkeeper turning Nikola Krstovic’s effort from distance around the post.

But Paulo Fonseca’s side found the breakthrough in the 38th minute when Alvaro Morata nodded Theo Hernandez’s teasing free-kick in off the crossbar.

Milan’s opener saw a swagger emerge in their play, with the hosts doubling their advantage two minutes later when Rafael Leao’s ball in behind the Lecce defence picked out Hernandez, who struck emphatically beyond Wladimiro Falcone.

But the quickfire blitz was not finished there. Tammy Abraham was twice denied in quick succession by the post and the palms of Falcone, with his second effort dropping fortuitously to Christian Pulisic who finished from close range.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek came closest to increasing Milan’s lead after the break, clipping the crossbar with an attempted cross, with Davide Bartesaghi’s sending off in the 80th minute taking the shine off an otherwise impressive showing from the Rossoneri.

A fun Friday night #MilanLecce #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/b8fPhK8azt

— AC Milan (@acmilan) September 27, 2024

Data Debrief: Fonseca finding his feet

After a difficult start to his Milan tenure, Fonseca has finally got his side playing, with their win over Lecce making it three consecutive wins in Serie A.

The hosts ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.59 from their 15 shots, six of which were on target.

Leao’s assist for Hernandez’s goal was his sixth goal involvement against Lecce (five goals and one assist), the most he has managed against a team in Serie A alongside Hellas Verona and Roma.

Only Barcelona (10) have scored more goals than Milan (nine) in the first half across Europe’s top five major leagues so far this season.