Serie A | Verona 0-1 Milan: Rabiot puts poor Rossoneri into second
Serie A | Verona 0-1 Milan: Rabiot puts poor Rossoneri into second The Adrien Rabiot goal proved just enough for Milan to scrape victory away to rock bottom Verona and go into second place, as Rafael Leao was again disappointing despite his assist. The Rossoneri abandoned their 4-3-3 tactical experiment after back-to-back defeats to Napoli and Udinese, so returned to 3-5-2 with under-fire Rafael Leao upfront and Matteo Gabbia back two months after surgery on a sports hernia. Hellas were rock bottom , as Daniel Mosquera and Kieron Bowie joined Suat Serdar.
on the treatment table, with Armel Bella-Kotchap and Sandi Lovric only fit for the bench. See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog. Rafael Leao tried to run onto a Christian Pulisic flick over the top in the opening 90 seconds, but Lorenzo Montipò was quick off his line to smother.
Leao and Victor Nelsson accidentally fell on Daniel Oyegoke, leaving the Verona defender with a sprained ankle and forcing an early change. VERONA, ITALY – APRIL 19: Rafael Leao of AC Milan is challenged by Lorenzo Montipo of Hellas Verona during the Serie A match between Hellas Verona FC and AC Milan at Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi on April 19, 2026 in Verona, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images) Adrian Rabiot was the most consistent attacking player for Milan in the first half, his angled drive testing Montipò after a Pulisic back-heel flick and Youssouf Fofana through ball.
Rabiot was decisive to open the scoring, as he won back possession in midfield and immediately ran forward to complete the give and go with Leao, sweeping first-time past the on-rushing Montipò. VERONA, ITALY – APRIL 19: Adrien Rabiot of AC Milan celebrates scoring his team’s first goal with teammate Rafael Leao during the Serie A match between Hellas Verona FC and AC Milan at Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi on April 19, 2026 in Verona, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images) Verona nearly equalised with the last kick of the half, as Rafik Belghali sprung the offside trap to go clear on goal, but was denied by a great one-handed Mike Maignan save.
There was some racist abuse before the second half kicked off as Maignan made his way to the goal under the Hellas ultras end, and the protocol activated. Belghali threatened again with a ferocious strike just wide from distance, but Fofana pulled up clutching the back of his thigh and was substituted along with Rafael Leao, who walked over and muttered something to Max Allegri while covering his mouth. Another Belghali attempt was deflected wide, and Maignan scrambled across to get his palm to a Ioan Vermesan daisy-cutter, the same player curling just wide with the right foot moments later.