Milan claim a vital 2-0 victory over Benevento to return to the top of Serie A, despite spending 60 minutes down to 10 men. The away side started confidently and quickly asserted themselves when Kessie scored from the spot after a foul on Rebic. However, Tonali’s poor challenge on Ionati 30 minutes in completely altered the game. From there, Milan had to withstand plenty of pressure from the hosts, but Leao’s stunning chip alleviated their fears in the second half. Benevento continued to pile the pressure on after this, but squandered many promising openings as Milan held on for a precious win.
The result means that Milan move back into top spot, while Benevento remain in 10th.
That's all for now though, goodbye!
Cronaca
Formazioni
Statistiche
90'+4'
FULL TIME: Benevento 0-2 Milan19:53
90'+3'
Barba's high cross provokes a scramble in the Milan box, but the away side throw bodies in front of every shot to cling onto their clean sheet.19:52
90'+2'
Four minutes of stoppage time are added. 19:50
90'
Another chance for the hosts! Lapadula jinks inside before angling a cross towards Sau at the back post, but Conti stretches to poke it away for a corner at the last moment!19:50
88'
Inches wide from Schiattarella! Benevento's misfortune continues as Schiattarella curls a deft effort from 20 yards, that agonisingly rolls wide of the far post!19:47
86'
Benevento seem to have lost hope of getting back into the game now as Milan confidently look to secure their victory.19:45
84'
Kessie hits the post! Milan go close to getting a third, as Leao races away on the break before cutting it back to Kessie inside the box, where the midfielder hits a composed, side-footed effort against the inside of the post!19:43
82'
Milan are managing this game well now - they're fouling Benevento at every opportunity to deny them momentum and opportunities. 19:39
81'
Insigne makes way for Sau in attack.01:10
81'
Caprari is replaced by Di Serio following a frustrating day in front of goal - including a missed penalty.19:41
81'
Milan's second change sees Calabria depart for Conti. 19:41
81'
Kjaer makes way for Kalulu in defence as Milan make a double substitution. 19:40
80'
Leao joins Dalot in the book, after holding Schiattarella back to slow down the game.19:39
78'
Dalot is shown a yellow card, after cynically dragging Lapadula down on the halfway line to prevent a counter. 19:37
77'
Leao almost makes it three! Kessie leads a counter-attack by running through the heart of the pitch, before drawing in the defence and laying it off to Leao who has a shot beaten away from a tight angle by Montipo!19:36
75'
Benevento still have a chance to get back into this one, but after producing 19 shots to Milan's eight, they'll be wondering how they found themselves two goals down in the first place. 19:33
74'
Insigne desperately angles a curling effort from 25 yards, but it swings well over the bar.19:35
73'
Calhanoglu hits the post! Milan break away and almost get a third, as Calhanoglu drills a clever, low effort from 25 yards that beats Montipo before striking the base of the post and bouncing away!19:31
72'
Lapadula produces his second shot in as many minutes, as he unleashes a thunderous drive from 20 yards that Donnarumma pushes to safety.19:29
71'
Rebic is replaced by Castillejo as Milan search for an injection of energy in attack.19:30
70'
Chance for Lapadula! Insigne cuts inside and swings in a devious cross that Lapadula awkwardly volleys wide from eight yards out!19:27
68'
Moncini races towards the byline, but his cut back is just behind Lapadula and Milan clear. 19:27
66'
Another move for the hosts ends in frustration as Schiattarella's throughball is too strong for Insigne and it runs out of play. 19:26
64'
Well, that miss from Caprari sums up Benevento's day. They've played well, but they haven't been able to capitalise on their opportunities to punish Milan. 19:23
62'
Tuia is replaced by Foulon for the hosts.19:22
61'
Caprari misses the penalty! The attacker takes responsibility for the spot kick after winning it himself, and he steps up and screws his effort wide of the left corner!19:21
59'
Penalty to the hosts! Benevento have a chance to get a goal back as Caprari is clumsily hauled down by Krunic 12 yards from goal!19:20
57'
Milan are sitting much deeper now as they attempt to fend the hosts off, before hitting them with quick counter-attacks. 19:17
55'
Lapadula knocks down Insigne's cross for Moncini, but the forward's shot is blocked away for a corner.19:14
54'
Chance for Ionita! Benevento are piling on the pressure in search of an equaliser and they go close again as Ionita's powerful volley from 12 yards is blocked brilliantly away by Calabria! 19:17
53'
Well, this has been an incredibly frustrating start to the half for Benevento. At 1-0 they had a real chance at recovering in this game, but a two-goal deficit will be difficult to reel in now.19:13
51'
Chance for Insigne! Benevento should have one back as Improta's cross from the byline is diverted narrowly wide from close range by Insigne!19:12
49'
When Rebic played Leao through on goal he must have thought a simple finish would follow! But Leao took the ball wide of the box before beating Montipo with a delightful lob!19:11
49'
LEAO! 2-0 MILAN! The away side hit Benevento with a rapid counter-attack, as Rebic charges past the halfway line before slipping Leao through on goal! The attacker approaches Montipo and knocks it around the goalkeeper, who forces him into a tight angle. However, Leao responds by cutting inside and angling a wonderful lob over the goalkeeper and in!
Benevento were extremely competitive in that first half and look set to cause Milan plenty of problems in the second 45. They've equalled Milan's tally of six shots, while also enjoying 55% possession. 19:06
46'
Benevento replace a midfielder in Hetemaj with a forward in Moncini as they look to strike back in the second period. 19:15
46'
Milan get the second half underway.19:04
Milan looked nervous after going down to 10 men, and the hosts will back themselves to recover in this game if they can maintain that pressure. 18:55
Milan take a narrow 1-0 lead into the break after a thrilling first half against Benevento. The away side started brightly and their early pressure told when Rebic was fouled inside the box, allowing Kessie to give them the lead from the spot. From there, it looked as though Milan would only extend their lead; but the game turned on its head when Tonali was sent off for a high challenge on Ionita 30 minutes in. Since then, Benevento have thrown everything at the away side, but going into the interval it remains 1-0.18:54
45'+4'
HALF TIME: Benevento 0-1 Milan18:50
45'+3'
Brilliant save from Donnarumma! Hetemaj's long diagonal pass connects with Caprari inside the box, presenting the attacker with a huge chance! But the goalkeeper rushes out to close him down, before blocking Caprari's close range shot away from harm!18:49
45'+1'
Three minutes of stoppage time are added.18:47
45'
Insigne engineers a little space to shoot inside the box, but his effort deflects off Kjaer and into the arms of Donnarumma.18:45
44'
Insigne curls a speculative effort five yards over the bar, from the edge of the box.18:43
43'
Well, the last 10 minutes have been frenetic! Milan have surrendered their strong start with Tonali's red card and now it's going to be an extremely difficult task to try and hold onto their slender lead. 18:43
41'
Calhanoglu is booked for a late challenge on Hetemaj.18:41
40'
Milan win a corner and Leao's near post flick-on is met by Romagnoli, who can only divert the chance well wide!18:45
39'
Letizia makes way with Improta taking his place. 18:40
38'
Letizia pulls up off the ball and it seems as though he'll need to be replaced due to injury.18:40
37'
Big save from Donnarumma! Letizia smashes a powerful shot from 25 yards, forcing the goalkeeper into an acrobatic save to keep it out!18:41
36'
Diaz is replaced by Krunic as Milan attempt to tighten up their midfield after going down to 10 men.18:37
35'
Milan are going to have to survive a spell of pressure now, as Donnarumma anxiously parries away Caprari's cross.18:40
33'
Tonali is sent off! The Milan midfielder catches Ionita with a late, high lunge that connects with the midfielder's knee. He's initially shown a yellow card, but a check with VAR ensures that the punishment is upgraded to a red!18:34
32'
Schiattarella is shown a yellow card after harassing the referee to give Tonali a red card for his foul on Ionita.18:33
31'
Tonali is shown a yellow card for a dangerous foul on Ionita. This seemed to be quite a lenient decision though; Tonali did make contact with Ionita's knee with his studs. And after a check with VAR, the referee watches the replays and decides to give a red card instead!18:39
30'
Calhanoglu wins a free-kick 30 yards from goal, but his resulting shot is curled straight into the wall.18:29
28'
Kessie's challenge on Lapadula deflects into the path of Caprari and for a moment it looks as though the attacker is clean through! However, he quickly goes down after a trip by Calabria, but the referee again waves play on - much to the annoyance of the hosts. 18:28
26'
Benevento have been impressive since going behind. They've refused to collapse under Milan's pressure and they've even threatened a few times in attack - mainly through Insigne's work down the right flank.18:26
24'
Benevento will need striker, Lapadula, to shake off his recent poor form if they're to find a way to get back into this game. Lapadula made his Serie A debut with Milan, scoring eight goals in 27 matches in 2016/17; he is goalless in his last eight league appearances after having scored in five of the previous eight.18:23
22'
Leao races away on the counter-attack and beats Letizia on the edge of the box, before blasting a wild effort well over.18:21
21'
Insigne hits the post! Dalot's headed clearance falls to Insigne on the edge of the box and the attacker responds by hitting a sweet half-volley that slams off the inside of the post and away to safety!18:21
19'
Well, this is the ideal start for Milan! They've really imposed themselves on Benevento and - with the early goal - they look set to control this game now.18:19
17'
Benevento try and hit back immediately, but Schiattarella's corner is firmly cleared at the near post. 18:18
15'
KESSIE! 1-0 MILAN! Kessie steps up confidently and sends Montipo the wrong way, striking his penalty high into the top left corner!
Penalty to Milan! Rebic presses an errant pass inside the box and he gets there moments before Tuia who collides with the attacker, prompting the referee to award a simple penalty!18:15
13'
Dalot lets fly from 25 yards but it sails well over the bar. 18:13
12'
Caprari tumbles under pressure from Calabria inside the box, but replays show that the defender clearly won the ball and that the referee was right to wave play on. 18:12
10'
Chance for Leao! The striker receives a pass from Calhanoglu inside the box, but under little pressure, he skews his angled shot wide of the far post from 12 yards!18:10
8'
Ionita attempts to slip a deft throughball into Lapadula in the box, but it's just too powerful and runs out of play. 18:09
6'
Milan have started with real intent! They're pressed Benevento all the way into their own box, and in possession they've quickly surged into attacking positions. The hosts, meanwhile, just need to try and withstand this early pressure.18:07
4'
Diaz goes close! Diaz advances ominously towards the edge of the box, forcing the home defenders to back away, allowing the attacker to crack off a vicious off from 25 yards that flashes just over the bar!18:04
2'
Tonali makes an adventurous early run down the right flank, but Barba manages to muscle him out of play.18:02
1'
Benevento get the first half underway.18:00
The players are emerging from the tunnel and kick off is just seconds away!17:59
Milan are unbeaten in their last 14 Serie A away matches (W10 D4), their longest run since April 2004. In 2020, they only lost one league match on the road, only in 1992 and 1964 have they done better.17:57
Milan, meanwhile, make four changes: Kalulu, Theo Hernandez, Alexis Saelemaekers and Krunic all drop out, with Kjaer, Dalot, Kessie and Diaz coming in.17:50
Benevento make just one change to the side that beat Udinese last time out; Improta drops out with Hetemaj taking his place.17:48
SUBS: Marco Frigerio, Daniel Maldini, Pierre Kalulu Kyatengwa, Mateo Musacchio, Leo Duarte, Antonio Donnarumma, Lorenzo Colombo, Samu Castillejo, Andrea Conti, Ciprian Tatarusanu, Jens Hauge, Rade Krunic.17:46
MILAN (4-2-3-1): Gianluigi Donnarumma; Davide Calabria, Simon Kjaer, Alessio Romagnoli, Diogo Dalot; Sandro Tonali, Franck Kessie; Brahim Diaz, Hakan Calhanoglu, Ante Rebic; Rafeal Leao.17:46
SUBS: Daam Foulon, Christian Pastina, Bryan Dabo, Igor Lucatelli, Giuseppe Di Serio, Marco Sau, Abdallah Basit, Riccardo Improta, Nicolo Manfredini, Lorenzo Del Pinto, Andres Tello, Gabriele Moncini.17:38
Milan, meanwhile, will be desperate to secure three points and return to first place in the table – rivals Inter are two points ahead of them following their win earlier today.17:31
Hello and welcome to live commentary of this Serie A fixture between Benevento and Milan. The hosts enter this one in 10th and they’ll be looking to continue to defy expectations by winning against title challengers today.17:30
Benevento - Milan is a match of 15 day of the season Serie A 2020/2021. The match will be 3 january at 15:00 in the stadium Ciro Vigorito in Benevento. Referee of Benevento - Milan will be Fabrizio Pasqua with the help of Alessandro Giallatini e Giacomo Paganessi. At VAR there will be Aleandro Di Paolo.
Currently Benevento is 10° in the standings with 18 points (thanks of 5 wins, 3 draws and 7 defeats); while Milan is 1° in the standings with 37 points (thanks of 11 wins, 4 pareggi and 0 sconfitte). Benevento scored 17 goals and conceded 25; Milan scored 34 goals and conceded 16.
At home Benevento scored 8 points (2 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses). Away Milan scored 19 points (6 wins, 1 draw and 0 losses). Benevento in the last three matches of the season challenged Genoa, Udinese and Mil obtaining 6 points thanks to 2 wins, 0 draws and 1 loss. Milan in the last three matches of the season challenged Genoa, Sassuolo and Lazio obtaining 7 points thanks to 2 wins, 1 draw and 0 losses. In the last match Benevento was against Milan losing 0-2 while Milan was against Lazio winning 3-2. The best scorer of the team coached by Filippo Inzaghi is Gianluca Caprari with 4 goals while the best scorer of the team coached by Stefano Pioli is Zlatan Ibrahimovic with 10 goals.
Benevento and Milan competed 2 times in the league. In the previous matches Benevento won 1 time, Milan never won while the number of draw is only one.
These are the statistics of the two teams in the matches played in the season:
Where to see Benevento-Milan You can see the live match Benevento-Milan here on Virgilio Sport starting 15:00 CET of 3 january. Discover who will broadcast live Benevento - Milan between Sky and Dazn.
