Conquering Cagliari, AC Milan To Coppa Italia Quarter-finals

JAKARTA - AC Milan played brilliantly by beating Cagliari 4-1 in the last 16 of the Coppa Italia at the San Siro Stadium, Wednesday, January 3, 204 in the morning WIB. This brilliant victory brought Milan qualified for the quarter-finals to meet Atalanta or Sassuolo.

Milan coach Stefano Pioli has again silenced his critics. In the midst of rumors of his dismissal, Pioli still showed good performance.

Milan managed to maintain a position in the Coppa Italia by advancing to the quarter-finals. In that round, Milan waited for Atalanta or Sassuolo's opponent.

Milan also showed consistency. In the previous match in the Italian Serie A competition, the Rossoneri won 1-0 over Sassuolo. This victory keeps Milan in the top three of the standings.

Not only that, Milan also still survives in European competitions. Despite failing in the Champions League, Milan was able to appear in the Europa League and qualify for the last 16 to compete with Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen.

However, Milan's brilliant achievement is still not enough for the club's urgent tifosi to dismiss Pioli. The failure in the Champions League and the difficulty of pursuing one city rivals, Inter Milan, who topped the standings, became a red report card so there was a reason to fire the coach.

Likewise, Pioli's strategy is considered not suitable for Milan's character. The pressure is reported to have received support from some club officials.

However, Pioli was not affected by the issue. Evidently, he remained focused and brought Milan to the Coppa Italia quarter-finals.

In that match, Pioli overhauled the squad by rotating the players. Those who have been sitting on benches like Jan-Carlo Simic and Alex Jimenez made their senior team debuts.

Likewise, goalkeeper Mike Maignan was rested. His position was replaced by veteran goalkeeper Antonio Mirante.

Mirante is also the one who immediately thwarted Andrea Petagna's golden opportunity. His reflexive move prevented Milan from conceding in the early minutes of the match.

Milan began to rise to control the game. The host attack against opponents who were threatened with relegation because they were ranked 18th finally paid off through striker Luka Jovic in the 29th minute.

The goal started with Theo Hernandez's action, who brought the ball from the left sector of the Cagliari defense. He then released a pass that Jovic greeted.

The former Fiorentina forward had passed two opposing centre-backs before unleashing a shot past goalkeeper Boris Radunovic's legs.

The goal gap made Cagliari try to get up and keep up with Milan's game. As a result, Milan then solidified their lead.

Again, Jovic, who broke into the opponent's goal, also scored a brace in the 40th minute. And for the second time, Hernandez gave an assist. The score 2-0 for Milan lasted until the end of the first half.

Entering the second half, Milan did not lower the tempo of the game. They continued to press Cagliari's defense to increase their advantage.

Not long ago, Milan, who was already unstoppable, got a third goal. Young player Chaka Traore managed to break into Radunovic's goal after using the rebound ball in the 50th minute.

A goal that feels special because this 19-year-old player also broke into the opponent's goal in his senior team debut.

After winning 3-0, Milan no longer insisted on playing attacking. Cagliari also took advantage of the situation by pressing the home defense.

Petagna got another chance when there was a corner kick. Only his header that welcomed the ball from this corner kick still bounced.

But Mirante's goal was finally conceded. Brazilian defender Paolo Azzi successfully scored with Cagliari's counter-attack in the 87th minute.

Only, Milan continued to advance. When the match entered injury time, the hosts added goals.

This time, Rafael Leao, who used Christian Pulisic's pass, broke into the opponent's goal and changed the score to 4-1. The score did not change until the end of the match.