Rade Krunic should’ve been sent off when sparking a brawl, then missed the decisive penalty in the shoot-out, as Milan drew 0-0 with Valencia and lost the Trofeo Taronja.
The Rossoneri were at the Mestalla this evening for the pre-season Trofeo Taronja, also known as the Trofeo Naranja.
Samu Castillejo scuffed a good opportunity created by Brahim Diaz, but Mike Maignan had to make the first save on Denis Cheryshev following a counter-attack.
The Brahim Diaz curler was plucked out of the air and then the Spaniard set up Fode Ballo-Toure to skim the crossbar from a tricky angle.
Rafael Leao scored with an angled drive, which was disallowed for a non-existent offside.
Ciprian Tatarusanu was in goal after the restart and had his gloves stung by Thierry Correia following a defensive error, but 20-year-old Giorgi Mamardashvili made a magnificent reaction save on Brahim Diaz after a smart Leao pull-back from the by-line and denied Theo Hernandez from the tightest of angles.
Olivier Giroud and Ante Rebic failed to make the most of promising attacks, but the game descended into a brawl at the 82nd minute when Krunic went studs-up on Jose Gaya’s shin, the Valencia man reacted by butting heads with him and the Milanista responded with a slap. Because it was a ‘friendly’ game, the referee only opted to book Krunic.
It ended 0-0, so the 49th edition of this trophy was decided on penalties. Krunic was the only one to make a mistake, drilling wide of the target.
Valencia 0-0 Milan
Penalties: Manu Vallejo (V, goal), Giroud (M, goal), Maxi Gomez (V, goal), Calabria (M, goal), Guedes (V, goal), Krunic (M, miss), Esquerdo (V, goal), Rebic (M, goal), Hugo Villamon (V, goal)
Valencia: Mamardashvili, Thierry Correia, Gabriel Paulista (Diakhaby 87), Hugo, Gaya (Vazquez 87), Alderete, Jason (Esquerdo 71), Burlamaqui (Ruben Sobrino 71), Guedes, Cheryshev (Manu Vallejo 81), Maxi Gomez
Milan: Maignan (Tatarusanu 46); Conti (Calabria 61), Tomori (Kalulu 46), Romagnoli (Gabbia 46), Ballo-Touré (Theo Hernandez 61); Tonali (Krunic 46), Pobega (Di Gesù 90); Castillejo, Brahim Diaz (Rebic 61), Maldini (Saelemaekers 46); Leao (Giroud 61)