AC Milan 0-1 Udinese: Roberto Pereyra penalty gives strugglers shock Serie A win at San Siro

Udinese stunned AC Milan 1-0 at San Siro, picking up their first win of the season thanks to Roberto Pereyra’s second-half penalty and consigning Stefano Pioli’s side to a fourth winless game.

Udinese had the better of the chances in a lacklustre first-half, and it was the visitors who went closest to opening the scoring after the break too. And the lead did finally come for Udinese when Festy Ebosele was adjudged to have been fouled in the box, and Pereyra, who had missed an earlier golden chance, slotted home from the spot.

Milan huffed and puffed, having most of the possession but lacking much in the way of cutting edge, but the equaliser just wouldn’t come, with Marco Silvestri performing well in the Udinese goal.

And the whistles from the stands at full-time told a story as Udinese celebrated a famous win – their first against Milan at the ground in seven years.

The visitors came into this game without a win to their name after ten matches in Serie A, but were well worth their result at San Siro. They defended resolutely and provided consistent counter-attacking threat through the two lively wing-backs – Ebosele and Jordan Zemura.

But this game was as much about the under-performance of the home side as it was Udinese’s excellence.

Milan’s winless run now stretches to four games as their early-season momentum unravels. It’s hard to pinpoint precisely what has gone wrong, but there was a visible lack of intensity for much of the 90 at San Siro, and a real absence of cutting edge.

A double change at half-time was at least an attempt to breathe life into the match, but it failed to have the desired impact and the whistles from the stands at full-time told a story.

Milan need to shape up and fast, with a key Champions League match against Newcastle not far away.

The young Irish wing-back was superb throughout down the right, providing pace and threat throughout.

The dual threat of the 21-year-old down one side and Zemura down the other proved tricky for Milan to handle defensively.

But Ebosele also deserves credit for the excellent role he played in helping contain Rafael Leao, with the Milan star looking increasingly frustrated as his evening went on.

Milan: Maignan 8; Calabria 6, Tomori 7, Thiaw 7, Florenz 7i; Musah 6, Krunic 4, Reijnders 5, Rafael Leao 7; Giroud 4, Jovic 3. Subs: Adil 5, Okafor 5, Loftus-Cheek 6, Romero 6

Udinese: Silvestri 9; Perez 7, Bijol 7, Kabasele 7; Ebosele 7, Samardzic 8, Walace 7, Payero 7, Zemura 9; Pereyra 8; Success 7. Subs: Lovric 6, Thauvin 7, Lucca 7, Kamara 6, Ferreira 6

Ebosele cuts into the box and goes down, with the referee pointing to the spot. Was that a foul? Maybe? The VAR official take a look, but the penalty decision is upheld and Udinese have a great chance to take the lead from the spot.

Pereyra sends Maignan the wrong way and Udinese have the lead at San Siro. It’s been deserved too.

AC Milan have suffered back-to-back Serie A defeats for the first time since 2019.

This was Udinese’s first win away at Milan since 2016, and only their second victory in the last 17 away matches against the Rossoneri.