Santiago Gimenez came from the bank to deliver a game-changing display and scored twice to Milan for a crucial 3-1 victory over Bologna on Friday.
The victory in San Siro not only keeps the slender top-four hope of the Rossoneri alive, but also sets the stage for a seductive Coppa Italia final on Wednesday.
After a predominantly quiet first half, Riccardo Orolini took the lead only four minutes after the break, moving a fast team by cutting in from the right and drilling a powerful low shot in the bottom corner to put Bologna in front.
Milan teased a fightback in the second half, with Theo Hernandez who forced Lukasz Skorupski in an essential rescue with a wandering effort from the edge of the area.
But it was replacement Gimenez who set San Siro on fire in the 73rd minute and held on to a diverted cross of Christian Pulisic. Unmarked in the box, the Mexican international slid home with cool precision and shot through the legs of Skorupski.
Pulisic then completed the Turnaround for Milan only six minutes later and took advantage of the blocked shot by Joao Felix that fell in his path to find the bottom corner again.
Mike Maignan was called in action to save a sensational 90th minute to protect Milan's lead and quickly dive to the ground to dive the shot of Parry Nicolo Cambiaghi.
Gimenez sealed both the victory and a great performance with a stop-time goal from the box.
The victory increases Milan to eighth in the Serie A at 60 points, three behind the fourth placed Juventus, who are confronted with the sixth place Lazio (both on 63 points) on Saturday. In the meantime, Bologna suffered a blow to their top-four hope because they are now seventh with 62 points.
Friday's collision also served as an exciting rehearsal for the Coppa Italia final of next week, where the two parties will meet again in the Olimpico Stadio.
El Bebote and Puli complete the comeback #milanbologna #sempremilanbrogd by @Bitpanda_global pic.twitter.com/ubwkilnrxh
– AC Milan (@acmilan) 9 May 2025
Data Debrief: The Comeback Kings of Italy do it again
Milan was put on the foot foot early in the second half and they fought brilliantly to guarantee the victory. In fact, only Atletico Madrid (23) has received more points this season of losing position than Milan among teams in Europe's Big Five Leagues this season (22, level with Liverpool).
Sergio Conukicao has now won three games in a row for the second time in the Serie A, after he had done this earlier in September last year.
The Rossoneri also rediscovering their scoring touch, with seven goals in their last three league games. Against Bologna they surpassed comfortably over their opponents in expected goals, which generated 1.64 expected goals (XG) to Bologna's 0.63.
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