Things move fast in football and no sooner had AC Milan reached the UEFA Champions League quarter finals at the expense of Tottenham Hotspur last week, they found themselves hosting relegation threatened Salernitana with the Rossoneri locked in a five-way joust for the remaining three top-four spots in Serie A. Seemingly confidence was restored after the glamour of a European away day in the English capital amid a difficult season but for 45 minutes at least, Milan looked laboured and ineffectual against a Salernitana side scrapping for their lives at the wrong end of the table.
Many expected goal-shy Milan to install their talisman Zlatan Ibrahimović up front for his first start of the season but Stefano Pioli kept faith with Giroud and the Frenchman repaid his manager in kind. Despite not scoring for the last five consecutive fixtures, Giroud had Milan’s first and only real chance when on 28 minutes he speculatively attempted an audacious overhead kick from a corner which whistled just over the bar. It was a warning of the acrobatic variety and just before half-time, Giroud held off his marker to flick in a header from Ismaël Bennacer’s inswinging corner.
Salernitana’s Serie A status unequivocally rests on the shoulders of star forward Dia. The Frenchman was presented with a gilt-edged chance in the first half but he failed to capitalise on Theo Hernandez’s mistake and Mike Maignan was expertly able to dispossess the forward as he raced through. When his second chance arrived, on 61 minutes, Dia made no mistake, finishing well from six yards out after the ball was rolled across the box.
Pioli sent on his proverbial cavalry in the form of Ibrahimović and Divock Origi and although the dynamic duo offered more threat than Rafael Leão, the Salernitana defence held firm to deny Milan a crucial three points in the race for Champions League football next season.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Boulaye Dia (Salernitana)
