Soccer Football - Serie A - AC Milan v Venezia - San Siro, Milan, Italy - September 14, 2024 AC Milan's Theo Hernandez celebrates scoring their first goal with Matteo Gabbia and teammates REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo
MILAN (Reuters) -Four goals before the half-hour mark helped AC Milan to thrash Venezia 4-0 for a resounding Serie A home win on Saturday.
Milan had a disappointing start to the season, with two draws and a loss, but they delivered an impressive performance on Saturday to secure their first win of the campaign.
Theo Hernandez gave Milan the lead just two minutes in with a shot from a tight angle which deflected off Venezia keeper Jesse Joronen's legs and into the net.
The hosts doubled their lead 14 minutes later when a low corner reached Youssouf Fofana, who flicked it past the near post and into the net.
Things got worse for Venezia when Joronen brought down Tammy Abraham after spilling the ball in the box, allowing Christian Pulisic to convert the penalty in the 25th minute.
Four minutes later, it was Abraham's turn to convert from the penalty spot after a VAR review confirmed Joel Schingtiennes' foul on Rafael Leao.
OLD RECORD
It was the first time since October 1958 that Milan scored four goals within the opening 30 minutes of a Serie A match, a feat they last achieved against Alessandria.
This was also the first time Venezia had conceded four goals so quickly in a match since 1949, when they were defeated by Inter Milan.
Venezia thought they had pulled one back in the 72nd minute when Francesco Zampano scored, but the goal was ruled out after a VAR review revealed Hans Nicolussi Caviglia’s reckless challenge on Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the build-up. Caviglia was shown his second yellow card within six minutes and was dismissed.
"It’s the start of hopefully some good momentum from us," Pulisic told Sky Sports Italia.
"It’s a good win, but we have some important games coming up and hopefully it’s just the start."
Milan will next face Liverpool at home in the Champions League on Tuesday before an away derby clash against Inter on Sept. 22.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
