AC Milan Suffer 2-0 Defeat to Benfica in Europa League Opener - Tempo.co English

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Dodi Lukebakio and Jakub Kaminski condemned AC Milan to a disappointing start in this season's Europa League campaign, handing them a 0-2 defeat at the San Siro on Thursday morning (WIB).

AC Milan actually dominated proceedings and created several chances. However, Benfica's tight defense and counter-attacking threat made it difficult for the hosts to find the net.

Benfica took the lead in the 16th minute through Lukebakio. The Belgian player unleashed a long-range shot that found the bottom-left corner of Mike Maignan's goal.

Benfica nearly doubled their lead eight minutes later, but Heorhiy Sudakov's shot struck the Milan goalpost.

The hosts then had a golden opportunity through Filippo Terracciano, but Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin denied the effort.

Benfica threatened again through Jakub Kaminski, but his attempt was blocked by Samuel Chukwueze.

In the second half, Milan increased the pressure. Koni De Winter threatened the Benfica goal but failed to score.

Instead, Milan conceded again in the 54th minute. Kaminski got his name on the scoresheet, capitalizing on a pass from Souffian El Karouani to put Benfica 2-0 ahead.

Milan tried to reduce the deficit. Christian Pulisic had a chance in the 62nd minute with a left-footed shot, but Trubin made another save.

Pulisic had another opportunity after penetrating the Benfica defense, but Trubin once again thwarted him.

AC Milan (3-4-3): Mike Maignan; Filippo Terracciano (Gila 46'), Koni De Winter, Strahinja Pavlovic; Samuel Chukwueze, Ardon Jashari (Rabiot 73'), Yunus Musah, Davide Bartesaghi (Saelemaekers 57'); Omari Hutchinson (Pulisic 46'), Goncalo Ramos, Alphadjo Cisse (Moreira 57').

Benfica (4-2-3-1): Anatoliy Trubin; Daniel Banjaqui, Alessandro Circati, Tomas Araujo, Souffian El Karouani (Dahl 88'); Joao Palhinha, Fredrik Aursnes (Barreiro 70'); Dodi Lukebakio, Heorhiy Sudakov (Prestianni 70'), Jakub Kaminski (Schjelderup 80'); Jhon Duran (Pavlidis 80').