Reijnders bags brace as AC Milan ease past Empoli with convincing win

Playing under the lights in a misty San Siro, Paulo Fonseca's men got off to a fast start, with Alvaro Morata right in the middle of the action.

First the Spaniard was picked out in the penalty area, but he dragged his effort wide. However, he made up for that miss minutes later after Rafael Leao's shot found the path of Morata, who slotted home the opener.

Empoli struggled to get going in the first half as the hosts went ahead and doubled their lead before half-time.

The visitors failed to clear a cross and Tijjani Reijnders pounced on the loose ball to slot home the ball and give Milan a two-goal lead going into half-time.

Roberto D'Aversa made a double substitution before the restart and the away side created their first real chance of the match after 54 minutes.

The home side failed to build up from the back when Empoli struck and Youssef Maleh fired a shot towards goal, but the shot hit the crossbar.

The Rossoneri quickly regained control and scored a third goal after 69 minutes. A quick break from an Empoli attack culminated with Reijnders running from near the halfway line to the edge of the penalty area and the Dutchman finished with aplomb.

Three goals to the good and with the result behind him, Fonseca took the opportunity to rest some players ahead of the Coppa Italia match in Milan in midweek.

The Azzurri struggled to make an impact in the match, failing to register a shot on target throughout the 90 minutes.

The result marks the Rossoneri's first home win in three games as Fonseca and his men look to continue their early-season battle to build on a top-four bid.

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