AC Milan continued their brilliant start to the Serie A season with a 2-1 win over Roma at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday.
The Rossoneri took the lead through a moment of magic from Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the first half, as his free-kick from just outside the box found the bottom corner to break the deadlock.
READ MORE: Milan player ratings vs Roma: Ibrahimovic, Kjaer lead Rossoneri to win
While both sides had their chances, Franck Kessie doubled our lead with a brilliantly composed penalty just before the hour mark, and while Stephan El Shaarawy did pull one back for the hosts late on, we were able to hold out for all three points and continue our march as we look to compete for the Scudetto this season.
Winning habit rolls on
That’s now 10 wins out of 11 in Serie A so far this season for Milan, and all the while we’ve continuously been missing key players.
Stefano Pioli has instilled a winning mentality into this squad, and we have a clear identity and style that allows others to fit in and know their role.
The season is still long and so it’s far too early to start thinking about titles, but this is the standard and pace that needs to be set to be competing come May.
Kjaer celebrates extension with typical performance
As per the club’s official site, the Danish stalwart put pen to paper on a contract extension this past week to ensure he stays with us until 2024.
He celebrated that new deal in style with a typically tenacious and imposing performance in the heart of the Milan defence, as he led by example and marshalled the backline well.
While it was disappointing that we couldn’t hold out for a clean sheet, Kjaer was a leading figure in this win with a solid display at the back.
Kessie getting back to best
It’s been a tricky season for Kessie thus far, as an injury he sustained in the lead-up to the new campaign set him back and ensured he struggled early on.
Combined with ongoing talk over his future given his current contract expires next year, it led to uncertainty and inconsistency in his performances on the pitch.
A dominant and physically imposing Kessie in the heart of the Milan midfield makes a huge difference to our play, and it was good to see him put in a much-improved display on Sunday.
Ibrahimovic is eternal
Despite now being 40 years of age, Zlatan Ibrahimovic continues to produce.
While he had a brilliant effort chalked off for offside, he showed that even at this stage of his career, he knows how to and is still physically capable of, producing moments that win crucial games.
His free-kick was a superb strike, and coupled with his leadership and ability to lead the line by offering us a focal point up top, he is continuing to lead this charge Milan are on this season.
Time to transfer domestic form into Europe
It’s been a superb start to the domestic campaign, but Milan are still without a point in our Champions League group.
Our hopes of advancing to the knockout stages are hanging by a thread, and ultimately at this stage three games in, we’re in the position of having to now win all our remaining games to have a chance of going through.
It starts against Porto on Wednesday, and it’s hoped that after having nothing to show for our efforts despite deserving more in the opening two games, we show that same relentless and ruthlessness we’ve shown in Serie A in Europe too to keep our hopes alive.
