AC Milan earned a hard-fought 3-2 victory over 10-man Slovan Bratislava at the Stadion Tehelne Pole, extending their winning streak to three matches in the Champions League. After a stunning 3-1 win over defending champions Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, Paolo Fonseca’s side picked up another crucial three points, lifting them to ninth place in the table.
Christian Pulisic, the former Chelsea attacker, opened the scoring in the 21st minute, calmly slotting past goalkeeper Dominik Takac. However, the Slovakian side responded swiftly, equalizing just three minutes later. Tigran Barseghyan capitalized on a sloppy Milan giveaway, delicately chipping the ball over the advancing Mike Maignan to make it 1-1.
Milan regained the lead in the second half after Rafael Leao was introduced at the break. In the 68th minute, Leao linked up brilliantly with his teammates to slice through the Bratislava defense and put Milan back in front. Shortly after, Tammy Abraham doubled Milan’s advantage, taking full advantage of a backpass blunder by David Strelec to score the third goal.
Despite being down to 10 men, Slovan Bratislava fought valiantly, with Nino Marcelli scoring an 88th-minute goal to set up a nervy finish. However, any hope of a dramatic equalizer was extinguished when Marko Tolic was shown a second yellow card in the space of a minute, first for a reckless foul and then for dissent, leaving his side to finish the game with 10 men.
