Two goals down at halftime and outplayed for 45 minutes, AC Milan sent on three substitutes at the break and watched one of them turn the match completely on its head. Diego Moreira, introduced alongside Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah, netted at the 65th and 67th minutes to cancel out goals from Matteo Cancellieri and Tijjani Noslin and earn Ruben Amorim’s side a 2-2 draw in Rome. According to fotmob.com, it was Moreira’s double off the bench that drove Milan’s comeback, with Pulisic, making his Milan return per nbcsports.com, contributing the assist for the first of those two goals.
Key Moments
- 10′, Lazio drew first blood when Matteo Cancellieri finished from close range, assisted by Mattia Zaccagni, to give the hosts an early lead at the Stadio Olimpico.
- 39′, Tijjani Noslin doubled Lazio’s advantage before halftime, converting without a registered assist to send Gennaro Gattuso’s side into the break in full control.
- 46′, Ruben Amorim made a decisive triple substitution at the interval, bringing on Christian Pulisic, Diego Moreira and Yunus Musah for Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Pervis Estupinian and Luka Modric respectively.
- 65′, Diego Moreira pulled one back for Milan, converting from a Christian Pulisic assist to make it 2-1 and bring the visitors right back into the contest.
- 67′, Two minutes later, Moreira struck again, this time set up by Adrien Rabiot, to level at 2-2 and complete a stunning individual turnaround from the substitute forward.
Tactical Breakdown
Milan dominated possession throughout the 90 minutes, finishing with 66% of the ball and completing 571 of 629 passes at a 91% accuracy rate. Yet that dominance was largely illusory in the first half, where Lazio’s compact 4-3-3 denied Milan any clear lines into the box. The visitors managed just an xG of 1.09 for the entire match, a number that tells the story of a team that moved the ball well but struggled to convert pressure into genuine danger until the substitutions arrived.
The triple change at halftime was the defining tactical moment. Amorim’s decision to withdraw Loftus-Cheek, Estupinian and Modric all at once, shifting the energy and tempo of Milan’s attack entirely, paid off within 20 minutes. Moreira’s directness and Pulisic’s ability to find pockets between Lazio’s lines gave Milan something different. The two goals in the 65th and 67th minutes came from exactly the kind of quick, incisive combinations that had been absent before the break.
Lazio looked well-organized and dangerous on the counter in the first half, generating an xG of 2.05 with seven of their eight shots coming from inside the box. Cancellieri and Noslin, both withdrawn at the 58th minute, caused Milan’s back line problems all evening. Once Gattuso made his own substitutions, Lazio lost that cutting edge and never seriously threatened to restore their lead. The defensive structure, which had been solid enough to hold a 2-0 lead, buckled without the energy of its two forward starters.
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Verdict
Lazio remain top of Serie A on 10 points after four matches, their unbeaten start preserved even if the three points that had looked certain at halftime ultimately slipped away. Milan sit fourth on eight points, and Amorim will take encouragement from the character shown in the second half, even if a point from the Olimpico feels like less than it might have been had his side not been so passive before the interval. The draw keeps both clubs in the Champions League qualification places, with the gap between them now just two points.