Despite a rare quiet shift from Christian Pulisic, AC Milan is through to the semifinal of the Coppa Italia after a 3-1 win against AS Roma. Tammy Abraham starred against the club who loaned him to Milan, bagging a brace in the first half to put the hosts in control of the match early.
Joao Felix also scored after subbing on for Pulisic in the 59th minute, opening his Milan account just two days after joining the club on a deadline day loan from Chelsea.
Abraham’s goals snapped a 315-minute scoreless streak, dating back to his Super Cup goal against Inter on Jan. 6. Abraham joined Milan late in the summer window after their season had already kicked off, but has scored just twice in 18 Serie A appearances. Wednesday’s performance was a reminder of what the striker can do at his best, having earned the most recent of his 11 England caps in 2022.
Pulisic wasn’t wasteful in possession, completing 19 of his 21 pass attempts in just under an hour of play. His best involvement came in the 26th minute, as he curled a deft cross that found Fikayo Tomori in point-blank range of goal. However, the center back’s header skied over the bar, keeping the scoreline at 1-0. The USMNT attacker also attempted one shot from just outside the box in the 11th minute, only for it to be blocked by a Roma defender. To date, Pulisic has scored 12 goals and added 7 assists across 2,092 minutes in all competitions.
Fellow United States international Yunus Musah also started for Milan, his sixth straight appearance in Sérgio Conceição’s teamsheet. The 22-year-old midfielder played 89 minutes, placing one speculative shot on target from the far right corner of the box and completing 28 of his 34 pass attempts. Musah was also vital in Milan’s progressive sequences, succeeding in four of his five dribble attempts and completing both of his long passes.
The result comes at a crucial time for Milan, who have slipped to eighth in the Serie A table and fell into the playoff round on the final day of the Champions League league phase with a loss at Dinamo Zagreb. The next couple of weeks could prove crucial to Conceição’s job security, with a two-leg Champions League tie against Feyenoord — currently fifth in the Eredivisie — nestled amidst Serie A fixtures away at Empoli (16th in Serie A), home against Hellas Verona (13th) and away at Torino (11th).
For a team with perennial title ambitions, sitting 19 points behind leading Napoli is hardly a comfortable standing after 22 games. Milan has accrued 35 points to date, putting them four points behind sixth-ranked Fiorentina for the final European qualification spot and seven points behind fourth-place Lazio for the final Champions League entry position.
Milan’s run in the Coppa Italia won’t resume until April 2, when both semifinal matches are held. They’ll face the winner of Inter and Lazio, who don’t play their quarterfinal fixture until February 25.
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