UCL: Chukwueze starts as wasteful Milan fail to punish Newcastle

UCL: Chukwueze starts as wasteful Milan fail to punish Newcastle

Faruq Ibrahim 19:57 - 19.09.2023

Samuel Chukwueze got his first start for AC Milan in their Champions League group stage draw against Newcastle.

AC Milan failed to substantiate their dominance against Newcastle with a goal, as both teams shared the spoils in a thoroughly entertaining goalless draw.

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Super Eagles forward Samuel Chukwueze got the nod to start for the first time in his Milan career, and although he looked bright, he, like the rest of the Rossoneri frontline, was without his shooting boots as they allowed the Magpies walk away from the San Siro unscathed and with a point in the bag.

how it happened 

Milan, seven-time champions and last season’s semi-finalist were up against a Newcastle side that are featuring in the competition for the first time in two decades; suffice to say the vast difference in UCL mileage was evident, as the Rossoneri were utterly dominant.

Coming off a 5-2 thrashing in the derby against Inter, Stefano Pioli shuffled the deck, bringing on Tommaso Pogbega and Chukwueze in place of Tijjani Reijnders and Christian Pullisic.

Both teams sized each other up from kick-off, but the hosts soon played their way into dominance, creating chance after chance.

Olivier Giroud side-netted a cross from Theo Hernandez, Rafeel Leao failed to sort his feet out a couple of times in the box, and Samuel Chukwueze skied a point-blank header. This was the tale of the Milan frontline on the day.

Newcastle came up for air at intervals with transitions, but the Rossoneri backline handled them expertly, limiting them to one shot on target the whole game compared to Milan’s nine.

Both managers made substitutions as they attempted to influence proceedings, but neither the flow of the game nor the scoreline changed.

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