Soccer Football - Champions League - AC Milan v Club Brugge - San Siro, Milan, Italy - October 22, 2024 AC Milan's Francesco Camarda celebrates scoring a goal that was later disallowed REUTERS/Claudia Greco
MILAN (Reuters) -AC Milan secured their first points in the Champions League this season with a 3-1 home win over Belgian champions Club Brugge on Tuesday as Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders scored twice in the second half.
The seven-time European champions had been one of eight sides winless after two games, having lost 1-0 at Bayer Leverkusen earlier this month and 3-1 at home to Liverpool in the competition opener.
Christian Pulisic put Milan ahead in the 34th minute, scoring directly from a corner kick, before Brugge were reduced to 10 men in the 40th when midfielder Raphael Onyedika was sent off for a foul on Reijnders following a lengthy VAR check.
Kyriani Sabbe levelled for last season's Conference League semi-finalists Brugge after the break with a low strike into the far corner.
Reijnders restored the lead for the hosts in the 61st minute with a simple first-time finish from near the penalty spot, before sealing the win with a similar effort 10 minutes later.
It was a shaky start for Milan against a Brugge side who started off aggressively and had two goal attempts inside three minutes, and goalkeeper Mike Maignan was put to work early to block Christos Tzolis's strike from inside the box.
Tzolis continued causing problems for the hosts and he had another brilliant chance five minutes later, with Maignan once more denying the shot before Joel Ordonez hit the bar from a distance after a corner.
But Milan grew into the game and Brugge keeper Simon Mignolet pulled off a great save to deny Pulisic in Milan's first attempt on target before the half-hour mark.
He was, however, helpless minutes later when the U.S. midfielder sent a stunning curled corner kick right past the goal line.
Pulisic remains Milan's top scorer this season, with five goals in Serie A and two in the Champions League.
A depleted Brugge hit back after the break and equalised through halftime substitute Sabbe, who was set up across the box by fellow substitute Hugo Vetlesen.
But the hosts profited from their numerical advantage and Reijnders put them back up after the hour mark, netting a neat back pass from Noah Okafor before Samuel Chukwueze teed him up for another goal with an equally great pass.
The Dutch midfielder scored his first goals of the season across all competitions before 16-year-old Francesco Camarda thought he had added a fourth with a header but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Milan, who last year were eliminated in the group stage, next travel to champions Real Madrid on Nov. 5.
Brugge, who won 1-0 at Austria's Sturm Graz after losing 3-0 at home to Borussia Dortmund in their two opening fixtures, host Aston Villa on Nov. 6.
(Reporting by Anita Kobylinska in GdanskEditing by Toby Davis and Clare Fallon)
