Milan beat Udinese 2-0 in Serie A as Pulisic and Hutchinson score

Pulisic opens the scoring

Milan won 2-0 at Udinese on Sunday, 25 October, in the late match of the eighth Serie A round, despite a squad weakened by numerous injuries. Pulisic gave the visitors the lead in the sixth minute, timing his run past the offside line to finish after a quick free kick from Modric, with Okoye coming off his line. Udinese struggled to create clear chances in the first half, and their efforts from distance were comfortably held by Maignan. Bartesaghi came closest to a second Milan goal late in the half, but Abankwah made a sliding block on his effort.

Hutchinson doubles the lead

Milan controlled the second half, with Pulisic again the main threat after a Bartesaghi run, though his left-footed shot was saved by Okoye. The second goal came early in the second half when Jashari struck from the edge of the area, Okoye parried the effort short, and Hutchinson reached the rebound first. It was Hutchinson's first goal in Serie A. Ramos then hit the crossbar, Davis had a close-range chance that Maignan stopped, and Cisse's right-foot effort from the bench missed by a whisker. The score stayed 2-0.

Udinese's crisis deepens

Adnkronos, ANSA, AGI and Fanpage all describe Udinese's defeat as their sixth successive league loss, while il Giornale refers to a third straight defeat. The hosts remain on four points. ANSA said the result could put coach Runjaic's position in question. Fanpage reported that the club had again backed its coach but might consider changes to escape the crisis. Runjaic brought on Miller and then Zaniolo in the second half, but neither changed the course of the match.

Milan's position and next fixtures

The win moved Milan to 18 points, level with Roma. Adnkronos and AGI place Milan fourth, while il Giornale puts them second, with Inter and Lazio on 22 points at the top. Milan had come off a defeat by Bournemouth in the Europa League, and il Giornale noted that the victory followed a win over Atalanta the previous Sunday. Milan host Bologna at San Siro on Wednesday, 28 October, while Udinese travel to Parma. Fanpage singled out Ramos, Modric, Bartesaghi and Pulisic for performances well above the standard.