Sampdoria and AC Milan faced off for matchday 37 of the Serie A TIM. At the Luigi Ferraris, the Rossoneri extended their invincibility to 11 games and beat their opponents by 4-1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with two goals, Hakan Calhanoglu, and Rafael Leao guaranteed the three points to the visitors. Kristoffer Askildsen diminished for the hosts.
The first half had barely begun and the deadlock was already broken. At the 4th minute, Ante Rebic put the ball perfectly onto Ibrahimovic’s head and the Swedish striker didn’t miss the chance to open the scoring.
After that, the visitors had some other chances to increase their lead, but goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone kept both Theo Hernandez and Davide Calabria out. On the other hand, Milan’s keeper Gianluigi Donnaruma didn’t work much, seeing the hosts miss the few opportunities they created.
The beginning of the second half was not that different from the first, as already at the 52nd minute, the Rossoneri were already finding the back of the net again. This time, Calabria picked Calhanoglu out and the number 10 increased the visitors’ lead.
With 2-0 on the scoring, it seemed that Milan started feeling a little more comfortable inside the pitch, so it didn’t take long until the scored the third. 6 minutes later, Calhanoglu’s wicked delivery found Ibrahimovic and the number 21 put the ball into the back of the net, scoring his second goal of the day and showing how important he has been to Milan since his return to the club.
The hosts had a perfect chance to find a lifeline when the referee awarded them a penalty, to which Gonzalo Maroni stepped up, but Donnarumma was able to save the shot. It didn’t totally make a difference in the end, as in the 87th minute, Akildsen tried from 20 yards out and scored a stunner, with no chances to the Italian keeper.
However, it was already too late to a possible comeback, and, making things worse, the visitors still scored their 4th goal at the injury time. At 90+2, Rafael Leao killed off the game after receiving from Bonaventura.
With the 4-1 victory, AC Milan keep their good sequence, reaching 63 points in 6th place. On the other hand, Sampdoria remained in 15th place, with the same 41 points, and have no risk of relegation.