A second-half strike from Tijjani Reijnders was enough to secure a 1-0 win for AC Milan at struggling Verona on Friday, providing some much-needed festive cheer for the team despite ongoing fan protests.
The Netherlands midfielder fired home his eighth goal of the season in the 56th minute, taking advantage of a neat pass from Youssouf Fofana to break the deadlock.
The victory saw Milan move up to seventh in Serie A with 26 points, still five adrift of the Champions League spots and 11 behind leaders Atalanta, who host Empoli on Sunday.
However, Milan’s performance this season has been disappointing for many fans, who voiced their displeasure loudly throughout the first half of the match. Chants calling for Milan’s owner Gerry Cardinale to “sell and go” and demanding the players to “show some balls” filled the stands at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi.
Milan’s chairman, Paolo Scaroni, responded to the fan protests, reaffirming that RedBird Capital Partners, the club’s owners, remain committed for the long-term. This came after the announcement of a refinancing deal involving a loan from previous owners, Elliott Management.
Milan were already missing several key players, including Christian Pulisic and Alvaro Morata, and suffered another blow when Rafael Leao was forced off with a hamstring injury in the first half.
Leao was replaced by Theo Hernandez, who was notably dropped to the bench despite reports that manager Paulo Fonseca’s job might be under threat. Fonseca stressed that Hernandez’s omission was not due to attitude issues.
For Verona, the narrow loss leaves them in a perilous position, just one point and place above the relegation zone. Coach Paolo Zanetti will be hoping his team can find a way to turn their fortunes around.
