Milan dominated right from the off, peppering the Spezia goal throughout the first half and keeping Bartłomiej Drągowski busy. Rafael Leâo in particular was proving to be his busy self down the left wing, and consistently causing chaos for the visitors’ defence. His mazy run started off a chain of shots, with the first being an effort from Fikayo Tomori which the Polish goalkeeper saved, before Rade Krunić’s shot smacked the crossbar and Brahim Díaz saw his header thwarted by the Spezia goalkeeper.
But the visitors’ resolve was finally broken midway through the half, when Ismaël Bennacer slipped Theo Hernández through on goal the marauding left back slotted his shot in, though a VAR review took place after replays showed it was being checked for a possible offside. After a lengthy delay of five minutes, the goal stood, and Milan continued to create chance after chance all the way up to HT. They nearly took a two-goal lead in stoppage-time, after Leâo hit the bar and then Krunič saw his shot on the rebound palmed away by Drągowski.
Spezia came out an improved outfit in the second half, putting pressure on the hosts and their pressure paid dividends as the man on Milan-loanee, Daniel Maldini, son of Rossoneri legend Paolo, quite literally put a dagger into his parent-club with a sublime curling effort from the edge of the box to restore parity. Stefano Piolo’s side thought they restored their lead just minutes later, when Sando Tonali’s stunning curling shot from outside the box nestled in the top corner, but a lengthy VAR review ruled out the goal for a foul in the build-up.
The disallowed goal prompted a triple-substitution from Pioli, and one of those to come on, Olivier Giroud, scored an 89th minute volley to seal all three points in dramatic fashion. The Frenchman was then controversially sent off for his wild celebrations after taking his shirt off, following an earlier booking. As vital as any that came before it for the defending champions, this win keeps pressure on Napoli, who won earlier in the day against Atalanta.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Sandro Tonali (AC Milan)