FILE PHOTO: Jul 31, 2024; Chicago, IL, USA; AC Milan forward Samuel Chukwueze (21) looks on against Real Madrid during the second half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo
(Reuters) -Ten-man AC Milan held on to secure a 1-0 home win over Udinese on Saturday with an early goal from Samuel Chukwueze after midfielder Tijjani Reijnders was sent off in the rainy Serie A clash.
Paulo Fonseca and his side were fortunate to have secured the win as Udinese had two goals disallowed, from Kingsley Ehizibue and another from Christian Kabasele, due to the narrowest of offside calls.
Milan are third in the league standings with 14 points, equal with Inter Milan in second and two behind leaders Napoli.
Chukwueze broke the deadlock after 13 minutes, finishing a team move with a first-time shot into the bottom far corner after an assist from Christian Pulisic.
Despite Milan's dominance in the first 29 minutes, the momentum changed when Reijnders was shown a straight red card after colliding with Udinese midfielder Sandi Lovric, who was through on goal.
Ehizibue thought he secured an equaliser for Udinese in the final moments of the first half, but the goal was disallowed.
The visitors pushed to exploit their numerical advantage in the second half to get the equaliser while Milan aimed to conclude the match with swift counter-attacks, with both sides creating chances.
Milan nearly doubled their lead near the end when Pulisic's shot from inside the box was saved by Udinese's goalkeeper Maduka Okoye, but Tammy Abraham could not position himself in time to tap in the rebound.
To make matters worse for the English striker, he appeared to have injured his shoulder in the subsequent fall and had to be substituted five minutes after coming on.
In the closing minutes, Udinese applied significant pressure and found the net through Kabasele deep into stoppage time. However, after an extensive VAR review, the goal was disallowed for offside.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in GdanskEditing by Christian Radnedge and Pritha Sarkar)
