By David Parsons
Former Swansea City striker Tammy Abraham scored the goal that earned AC Milan a thrilling 2-1 Champions League win over Red Star Belgrade at the San Siro on Wednesday.
Abraham’s strike made it four wins in a row for the Italian side.
The English forward – who played the 2017-18 season on loan at the Swans and scored eight goals in 39 appearances in all competitions – was Milan’s hero.
His 87th-minute winner was a cruel blow to the Serbian visitors, who came back from a goal down and were pushing for a well-deserved winner when Abraham – currently on loan from Roma – struck to lift Milan up to 12th spot on 12 points.
Red Star are 31st with three points.
Tammy Abraham wins it late for Milan ⏱️#UCL pic.twitter.com/wqJX5Pa6Ti
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 11, 2024
With the top eight teams qualifying automatically for the round of 16, Milan were looking to keep in touch with the leading pack but Red Star went close to drawing first blood with an Andrija Maksimovic volley that hit the crossbar in the 18th minute.
That jarred the home side into action but they had to re-jig their plans when Ruben Loftus-Cheek had to be replaced by Samuel Chukwueze due to injury and they were forced into another change when Alvaro Morata was hurt, with Abraham coming on in his place.
Rafael Leao got the opener for the home side in the 42nd minute, superbly controlling a long ball from Youssouf Fofana before using his second touch to clip the ball into the top corner.
Nemanja Radonjic, who scored twice when his side came from behind to beat Stuttgart 5-1, equalised in the 67th minute, collecting the ball outside the box and unleashing a blistering shot that flew past the despairing dive of Mike Maignan.
Red Star almost went ahead when Mirko Ivanic dragged a shot wide before Abraham snatched the winner in the 87th minute, the striker making the most of chaos in the penalty box after a set piece to lash the ball into the net.
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Milan coach Paulo Fonseca was pleased with the victory but expressed frustration at how his side played against a team that had lost four of their previous five games in this year’s competition.
“I am someone who is not satisfied with the result alone. I am satisfied with this result, that’s the most important thing, we won, we are in a good position, but I am tired of fighting against these things. I am not satisfied with the team’s performance,” he told broadcaster Sky Sports.
“The problem is that our team is a roller coaster. Today we are fine, tomorrow I don’t know. It always seems like it’s heads or tails (with us),” he added.
