Chukwueze Beats Okoye to  Lifts AC Milan to Third in Italy

*Boniface’s winner ends Leverkusen’s two-game winless streak in Germany

Duro Ikhazuagbe  with agency report

Samuel Chukwueze returned from an injury copped on international duty with the Super Eagles to score the only goal of the evening as AC Milan defeated Udinese 1-0 yesterday.

The goal ruined the day for another Nigerian international, Maduka Okoye, who was in goal for Udinese at San Siro in Milan.

Chukwueze was cleared just on Friday to return to action but became the head corner stone for the Rossoneri. He latched on a short pass from Christian Pulisic to fire the ball beyond the reach of goalkeeper Okoye to give his side the lead inside 12 minutes.

Udinese had to wait until the half-hour mark to make a difference, although it came at a cost for Milan. Tijjani Reijnders was shown a straight red card by referee Daniele Chiffi for denying Sandi Lovric a clear goalscoring opportunity – marking the Rossoneri’s third sending off this season.

Udinese however failed to capitalise on the one  man advantage, squandering several chances before the break, including a Kingsley Ehizibue header ruled out for offside, as the hosts held firm to take the lead into half time break

An end-to-end affair materialised following the break, and Kosta Runjaić’s outfit held the upper hand in possession and chances after Milan’s early sending-off.

The German manager introduced four fresh faces post the hour mark. However, a change of strategy barely bothered the Rossoneri, as Udinese struggled to string chances together, although substitute Jurgen Ekkelenkamp nearly threatened Mike Maignan with a snap shot over the crossbar.

Pulisic then forced Maduka Okoye into a brilliant one-handed save from point-blank range, before the keeper denied Ruben Loftus-Cheek at the near post.

For Milan to hold out as long as they did despite their disadvantage, a victory seemed deserved at the end, but not before they escaped a late scare after a VAR review denied Udinese an equaliser.

Chukwueze expectedly scooped the Man of the Match award as Milan jumped to third place on the Serie A table with 14 points from eight games.

Elsewhere in Europe, Victor Boniface redeemed himself from missing a penalty with a goal scored in regulation time against Eintracht Frankfurt to end Bayer Leverkusen’s two-match winless streak.

On the back of a disappointing Bundesliga mini-spell, Leverkusenwere gifted an opportunity to take the lead early doors when Amine Adli drew a foul from Junior Dina Ebimbe to earn the hosts a penalty. 

However, the usually-reliable Victor Boniface was unable to convert, with Kevin Trapp making a strong save.

Boniface however made amends for his penalty miss when he headed home after a defensive mix-up saw Trapp deflect the ball into the path of the Leverkusen striker.

It was a goal that means none of the last 20 meetings between the two sides have finished in a draw, with Leverkusen getting their title defence back on track ahead of another week of European action.