AC Milan extended their impressive start to the Serie A season by comfortably defeating Cagliari 3-1, securing their fifth win in six league matches. In contrast, Cagliari is still in search of their first victory upon their return to Italy’s top .
Milan began the match energetically, dominating possession, and it appeared that they would score at some point. However, Cagliari, after enduring the initial pressure, managed to surprise the visitors by scoring around the 30-minute mark. Zito Luvumbo seized the opportunity in the box, unleashing a powerful shot into the net’s top corner, leaving Milan stunned.
Despite falling behind, Milan remained undeterred, relentlessly pushing forward, which eventually paid off with two goals before half-time. The first goal came when Christian Pulisic’s cross was parried by Boris Radunović, falling to Noah Okafor, who calmly slotted the ball past the goalkeeper.
Milan then took the lead in the 45th minute, with Radunović partially to blame for parrying the ball into a Milan player’s path, and Fikayo Tomori was in the right place at the right time to give his team the lead. Cagliari emerged determined at the start of the second half, with Luvumbo causing trouble for Milan’s defense.
However, Milan dealt a significant blow to Cagliari’s hopes in the 60th minute when two former Chelsea players combined for a brilliant goal. Pulisic once again led the charge, driving towards the box and finding Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who calmly slotted the ball into the bottom left corner from outside the area, providing Milan with a comfortable cushion.
Loftus-Cheek’s goal dashed any hopes of a Cagliari comeback, and as a result, Stefano Pioli’s team faced no real threat of dropping points. Cagliari, at the bottom of the table with only two points from their first six matches, struggled to mount a comeback. With this result, Milan moved up to second place, level on points with International, albeit having played one more game. After finishing far behind champions Napoli last season, they appear to be in contention for the Scudetto this time around