Home » AC Milan 0-1 Barcelona – Friendly Highlights

AC Milan 0-1 Barcelona – Friendly Highlights

AC Milan ended the USA tour with a defeat to Barcelona as Ansu Fati scored the only goal to see off the Italian side.

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AC Milan 0-1 Barcelona

It was not a great pre-season tour for the Rossoneri as they ended in defeat with all three games.

Serie A giant’s manager Stefano Pioli fielded a strong XI, with the only change being that Alessandro Florenzi started replacing Davide Calabria, who had been injured.

Here's how we line up 📋👇 #ACMTour #MilanBarcelona #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/Cdc3HCZ55M

— AC Milan (@acmilan) August 2, 2023

Milan started quite sloppy as Catalan side Barcelona had the majority of possession. The La Liga 2022/23 champions were in control and were the better side.

New signing Christian Pulisic almost gifted Barca a goal with his careless pass; fortunately for Milan, the shot from Jules Kounde found the post before Fikayo Tomori made a sensational block on the follow-up.

Milan had the chances with Tijjani Reijnders’s shot which was saved before Rafael Leao made a trademark run, but seeing his outside-of-the-boot effort saved first real chance came after 18 minutes and was the result of quick movements.

Both sides’ fans must wait until the second half to see the deadlock broken.

The first dangerous chance of the second half also resulted in the game’s first and eventually the only goal.

Ansu Fati received the ball on the right flank and relatively easily beat Alessandro Florenzi, cutting inside before sending an excellent finish past Mike Maignan.

In the 76th minute, Milan had their most significant chance of the game as new boy Reijnders managed to steal the ball from Sergino Dest. He picked out Rafael Leao on the left flank, and the Portuguese winger returned the favor, but the Dutchman completely mishit his shot from a great position.

Alexis Saelemaekers came on in place of Fikayo Tomtoi with four minutes to go, and Milan did have a few half-chances to find the equalizer and take the game to penalties. However, Barcelona defended well and deservedly came away with the win in the end.

What’s next for Milan

It was Milan’s final game of the pre-season tour in the United States, and unfortunately, it ended negatively. The Rossoneri have four friendlies remaining in Italy before their season opener against Bologna.

There is much work to do before the new season if Milan wish to get back to the title race and compete at other elite competitions.