Cremonese Shock AC Milan with 2-1 Victory at San Siro

Cremonese made a stunning return to Serie A by beating AC Milan 2-1 at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Saturday. Federico Bonazzoli’s brilliance sealed the win.

Milan 1–2 Cremonese Serie A, Round 1 – San Siro, Milan Attendance: 75,923

Scorers: - 0–1 Federico Baschirotto (Cremonese) at 28′ - 1–1 Strahinja Pavlović (Milan) at 45′+1 - 1–2 Federico Bonazzoli (Cremonese) at 61′

Eight minutes after AC Milan’s goal was disallowed, Alessio Zerbin sent a cross to Federico Baschirotto. He headed it past Mike Maignan, giving Cremonese a 1-0 lead in the 28th minute. The Rossoneri equalized just before halftime. Pervis Estupiñán sent in a great cross, and Strahinja Pavlović, charging in, finished it to make it 1–1.

In the second half, Milan controlled the game, taking 24 shots compared to Cremonese’s four. Their expected goals (xG) stood at 1.66, while the visitors had just 0.30. Still, goalkeeper Emil Audero kept denying Luka Modrić, Christian Pulisic, and Youssouf Fofana. In the 61st minute, Cremonese ended Milan’s defense. Federico Bonazzoli scored with a stunning bicycle kick. He connected perfectly with Giuseppe Pezzella’s pass to secure the win.

“ “It’s a dream start for us. “Beating Milan here like this shows our belief and quality,” said Bonazzoli after the match.

Cremonese’s win breaks their opening-day curse in Serie A. They had lost their first match for eight straight seasons. This victory puts pressure on Milan’s manager, Massimiliano Allegri, after last season’s failure to qualify for Europe.

Lineups

AC Milan (4-3-3): - Maignan - Gabbia - Pavlović - Tomori - Estupiñán - Fofana - Modrić - Loftus-Cheek - Saelemaekers - Pulisic - Giménez Cremonese (3-5-2): - Audero - Bianchetti - Bonazzoli (sub) - Baschirotto - Zerbin - Pezzella - Payero - Grassi (sub) - Jiménez - Collocolo - Sanabria

Key Statistics

Cremonese travels to Lecce next weekend. At the same time, Milan gets ready for a home game against Udinese.