Just like the first leg, Slavia Praha were hampered by an early red card, as Milan booked their Europa League quarter-final ticket with a Rafael Leao stunner in this 3-1 win.
2023/2024 UEFA Europa League
1-3
Match Report
The Rossoneri won the first leg 4-2, but El Hadji Diouf was sent off after just 26 minutes and therefore suspended here too along with Alessandro Florenzi. Christos Zafeiris, Petr Sevcik, Lukas Masopust and Ivan Schranz were not 100 per cent fit.
Mike Maignan had a heavy first touch in the opening minutes and just got it clear before colliding with Tomas Vlceck, leaving him with a knock to the right knee. He went down twice in pain from the injury, getting strapped up.
Maignan stayed on and had to be at full stretch for a sensational reaction save with the right foot to deny Mojmir Chytil at the near post. However, that just made the injury worse and he did eventually make way for Marco Sportiello.
During that substitution, the referee was called to the VAR monitor for a Tomas Holes stamp on Davide Calabria’s ankle. Just like the first leg, the Czech side went down to 10 men in the opening half-hour.
Theo Hernandez had to make a very tricky tackle on Lukas Provod in the penalty area and Christian Pulisic was denied one-on-one by Jindrich Stanek.
The goalkeeper made an even better save moments later when Rafael Leao sprung the offside trap on the Yunus Musah through ball.
Milan took the lead when Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao combined down the left, laid off for Pulisic to cut inside the defender on his left foot and steer low into the net from 14 yards.
Moments later it was 2-0, as Theo Hernandez completed a give and go with Leao to pull across from the by-line, where Ruben Loftus-Cheek just had to tap into the roof of the net from a couple of yards.
Fikayo Tomori was booked and will be suspended in the Europa League, but Rafael Leao made his mark in first half stoppages with a spectacular right-foot rocket into the far top corner from outside the box.
Olivier Giroud should’ve added a fourth after the restart, but turned a cute finish wide when clear on goal.
Play was halted for a few minutes due to objects being thrown from the stands.
Instead, Slavia Praha got a consolation late on, as Zafeiris found substitute Matej Jurasek to bend it into the far bottom corner with the left foot.
Giroud again went close in stoppages, only for the diving header to be parried.
Line-ups
Slavia Praha XI: Tomas Holes, Jindrich Stanek, Lukas Provod, Oscar, David Doudera, Igoh Ogbu, Ondrej Zmrzly, Conrad Wallem, Tomas Vlcek, David Zima, Mojmir Chytil
Subs: Ivan Schranz, Mick van Buren, Ales Mandous, Petr Sevcik, Vaclav Jurecka, Michal Tomic, Muhamed Tijani, Jan Sirotnik, Matej Jurasek, Christos Zafeiris, Mikulas Konecny, Dominik Pech
Milan XI: Giroud, Maignan, Loftus-Cheek, Calabria, Tomori, Theo, Pulisic, Gabbia, Yacine Adli, Leao, Yunus Musah
Subs: Kjaer, Sportiello, Jovic, Bennacer, Samuel Chukwueze, Noah Okafor, Tijjani Reijnders, Malick Thiaw, Kalulu, Filippo Terracciano, Lapo Nava