A hefty challenge from Rodriguez sends Budimir crashing to the ground, and now Crotone have been presented with a final opportunity to score a consolation goal. It's unleashed by Barberis, but his swinging effort is tipped over the top of the crossbar by Donnarumma.
90' +3
No, they can't. Calhanoglu steps up and shoots but can only fire his curling effort straight into the hands of Cordaz in the middle of the goal.
90' +2
Cabrera tangles with Borini and drags him to the ground, leaving the referee with no choice but to award Milan a free-kick in a very dangerous position 25 yards away from goal. Can they make it count with what could end up being the final chance of the game?
90'
N. Dussenne gets yellow.
Silva tries to wriggle free of Dussenne as both he and Kessie break away on a swift counter-attack, but the defender cynically grabs hold of the Portuguese striker and picks up a yellow card as a result.
89'
And now Budimir goes close! It's been a torrid night for Crotone, but Budimir hasn't stopped running all evening. He's finally presented with a good chance to test Donnarumma, but his thumping half-volley bounces just a yard or so wide of the near post.
88'
Suso sends a wonderful lobbed ball over the top of the Crotone back line and into the path of Silva. The Portuguese brings the ball down quickly, spins and then shoots, but his effort flies into the side-netting. He's getting closer...
87'
Another great save by Cordaz! Milan could, and arguably should, be at least 5-0 up, but Cordaz has pulled off a string of good saves to deny the visitors any more goals. This time it's Silva who can't get the better of the goalkeeper and fires a thumping volley into his legs in the middle of the goal.
85'
Suso hasn't been quite as prolific since the break, but he's nonetheless impressed whenever he's managed to get onto the ball. This time he's unable to find a way into the box, however, as he's put under pressure and runs out of room.
83'
Calhanoglu goes down off the ball and looks to be struggling with cramp, forcing him off for a few moments as he receives medical treatment. It's 10 against 10 for a minute or so as the Turkey international tries to make a recovery, and he's eventually able to rejoin the action as his team pushes forward.
81'
Calhanoglu does well to dart down the right flank before poking a pass into the hosts' box and towards the onrushing figure of Mauri, but it's slightly overhit by the midfielder and Cordaz is able to watch the ball roll behind for a goal-kick.
Minute
Description
79'
Mauri immediately gets himself involved in the thick of the action as he links up with Silva inside the Crotone penalty area. He then unleashes a rocket of a shot straight at Cordaz, who saves the effort well and pushes it away from danger.
78'
J. Mauri enters the game and replaces M. Locatelli.
Milan have made one last switch, with Jose Mauri coming on to replace Locatelli.
77'
Budimir breaks forward again as he muscles his way through the middle of the Milan back line, but this time his run towards the visitors' box is slightly mistimed and the linesman's flag is quickly raised.
75'
Yet another attempted Milan attacking move is just about dealt with by the hosts, allowing them to counter quickly. Budimir initially does well to push his way into the penalty area, but he runs over the ball and denies himself the opportunity to get a shot away.
73'
Excellent save by Cordaz! Borini does well to skip into the left-hand side of the home side's box, but there are no team-mates around him and he has to settle for a corner. The set-piece is whipped into the middle of the penalty area and finds Silva, who looks set to find the back of the net but has his headed effort brilliantly stopped by Cordaz.
71'
M. Izco enters the game and replaces A. Stoian.
Crotone have made a third and final substitution, with Mariano Izco coming on to replace Stoian.
70'
Barberis' cross in from the right wing is a poor one, but Crotone do well to keep the danger alive. The ball then manages to fall to Leandro Cabrera in front of goal, but the Uruguayan fires a wild effort high over the top of the crossbar and into the crowd.
69'
L. Bonucci gets yellow.
Bonucci flies into a challenge and catches Faraoni a second or so too late, resulting in a free-kick for the home side in a promising position and a yellow card for the Milan centre-back.
Milan quickly win the ball back and work it over to Silva on the left-hand side of the Crotone penalty area. The Portuguese striker takes a quick touch and shoots, but his rushed effort is a wild one and sails well wide of the goal.
68'
I. Abate enters the game and replaces A. Conti.
Milan have made a second alteration, with Conti making way for Ignazio Abate.
67'
Silva holds up the ball nicely on the edge of the hosts' box before spinning and finding Kessie. The midfielder then tries to fire a rocket of a shot towards the roof of the net, but it's closed down quickly and deflects high over the crossbar.
66'
A dangerous cross into the box from Conti almost manages to pick out Silva in front of goal, but Martella is there to poke the ball out for a corner. Another good ball is then swung in from the set-piece, but, once again, Crotone do well to deal with it.
64'
Kessie storms down the right flank as he manages to carve out a pocket of space for himself. He then tries to chip a deft cross into the middle of the box, but it's poorly hit and sails comfortably behind for a goal-kick.
62'
André Silva enters the game and replaces P. Cutrone.
Andre Silva has come on to replace Cutrone and make his Serie A debut. Many Rossoneri fans will have been expecting him to start, but Cutrone did an excellent job in his place.
61'
Borini cuts inside and does well to beat two Crotone players on his way into the penalty area. He then pokes a deft pass back to Hakan Calhanoglu, but the Turkey international's first touch is poor and lets him down at the vital moment.
59'
M. Locatelli gets yellow.
Crotone try to break away quickly through Nalini, but the forward is immediately clattered into by Locatelli before rolling into Budimir, who is also sent crashing to the ground. As a result, Locatelli is quickly carded by the referee.
57'
Cutrone looks set to penetrate the Crotone penalty area after initially getting the better of the hosts' disjointed back line, but Davide Faraoni recovers well and pokes the ball away from the striker before he can shoot.
56'
A. Nalini enters the game and replaces M. Rohdén.
Crotone have made their second change of the evening, with Andrea Nalini coming on to replace Rohden.
55'
There's a brief break in play after Leonardo Bonucci goes down inside the Milan penalty area. He's claiming he was hit in the face by a flailing arm from Budimir, but the referee doesn't seem particularly interested in the centre-back's protests.
54'
Another slightly hefty challenge by Kessie results in a second chance for Crotone to whip a dangerous ball into the box. The cross in by Andrea Barberis is a good one but the Milan defence are just about able to deal with the danger under plenty of pressure.
52'
Marcus Rohden, who has been presented with very few chances to push forward, breaks down the left wing and does well to force Kessie into fouling him just outside of the Milan penalty area. The set-piece is whpped into the middle of the box and towards Budimir, but Andrea Conti is there to clear the danger at the vital moment.
50'
Cutrone darts into the left-hand side of the Crotone penalty area and tries to lift a little dink over Cordaz. The angle is slightly too tight, however, and the young striker can only hit his shot wide of the near post.
48'
Donnarumma is forced into making an early save after space opens up for Crotone over on the right flank, and the goalkeeper does well to push away the effort at full stretch.
46'
We're underway once again!
45' +3
Cutrone makes a clever run into the penalty area as he tries to latch onto a poked through-ball forward from Suso, but it's slightly overhit by the Spaniard and can only find the hands of Cordaz.
45' +1
More wonderful play by Suso sees him sprint into the hosts' box and towards the near post. He easily evades several tackles and then fires another dangerous cross into the heart of the penalty area, but it narrowly misses a team-mate in front of goal and fails to result in a fourth goal for Milan.
45'
The fourth official has indicated that there will be four minutes of added time.
44'
Suso creates havoc inside the Crotone penalty area once again as he embarks on a lovely, darting run towarsd the byline. He then fizzes a pass across the face of goal, but Mandragora is just about able to get a foot on the ball to stop it from reaching a white shirt.
43'
The lights are back on and the game gets underway once again. Crotone immediately try to push forward with a lofted pass into the penalty area, but Donnarumma is there to easily deal with the danger.
41'
One of the floodlights has gone out, forcing the referee into bringing the players off the pitch for a brief break whilst it's repaired. Crotone will probably welcome the break, as they certainly look as if they need a breather after being put under so much pressure by Milan.
39'
Borini goes inches away from making it 4-0! A lofted pass is fired into the Crotone box and towards Cutrone, who goes down under a challenge from Mandragora but doesn't win a penalty. The ball then bounces over to Borini, who quickly shoots and sends his effort just a yard or so over the top of the crossbar.
37'
Suso is clattered into from behind by Rolando Mandragora, resulting in a free-kick for Milan. It's sent hort and eventually worked back to the Spaniard, who gets the better of his marker on the edge of the box before firing a wild shot high and wide of the goal.
35'
A Milan corner is sent short before Suso eventually fires a cross into the penalty area, but it's just about dealt with at the near post and fails to find a white shirt in front of goal.
33'
Borini picks up a loose ball on the edge of the Crotone box and quickly shoots, but his effort is immediately closed down and deflects behind for a corner that fails to result in a chance on goal.
31'
An attempted Crotone attacking move breaks down, allowing Milan to fly forward on a swift counter-attack. It's worked around nicely before Manuel Locatelli shoots from 25 yards out, but his bouncing effort is poorly hit and fails to trouble Cordaz in the middle of the goal.
29'
Suso causes more problems for the Crotone defence as he plays a quick one-two and darts into the penalty area, but he can't then pick out a team-mate with his downward header and sends it straight into the hands of Cordaz.
27'
A mistimed challenge presents Milan with a chance to test Cordaz once again. Suso steps up and shoots from 35 yards out, but his rocket of a shot flies straight into the wall camped in front of him.
25'
Crotone try to push forward from the restart as they desperately try to find a way back into the game, but Milan have plenty of bodies back to deal with the danger before Suso picks up the ball over on the right wing.
23'
Suso has scored a goal for AC Milan! Assist by P. Cutrone.
Cutrone's run towards the byline was a really well-timed one, but the Crotone defenders completely fell asleep and allowed him to get the better of them far too easily.
GOAL! Milan are running riot! Cutrone makes a great run into the Crotone box to latch onto a lovely ball forward from Kessie. He then spins and finds Suso, who quickly slots an excellent shot into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.
22'
Suso almost makes it 3-0! Really nice play by Milan sets up the Spaniard to get a shot away from the edge of the penalty area, but his first-time, swinging effort is well met by Cordaz in the middle of the goal.
20'
Great save by Gianluigi Donnarumma! Budimir does well to pick up the ball inside the Milan box before spinning and shooting, but his thumping effort is well pushed away by Donnarumma and fails to result in a goal for the home side.
18'
P. Cutrone has scored a goal for AC Milan! Assist by Suso.
That was really great play by Suso, who already looks to be Milan's best player. He's made life a misery for the Crotone back line, and that looks set to continue for the rest of the night.
GOAL! It's 2-0 to Milan! Suso causes all sorts of problems over on the right-hand side of the Crotone penalty area as he dances his way towards the byline. He then chips a beautiful ball to the near post, where Cutrone darts in front of his marker and beats Cordaz with a close-range bullet header.
17'
Big chance for Ante Budimir! Crotone win themselves their first corner of the evening, and it's swung right onto the head of Budimir. He rises high and meets the ball brilliantly, but, despite being completely unmarked, he can't hit the target with his header and sends it high over the crossbar.
16'
Huge let off for Crotone! A low Rodriguez cross is fired into the middle of the home side's box and should be easily dealt with by Bruno Martella. The defender comfortably mistimes his attempted clearance, however, and knocks the ball behind to Cutrone, who tries to shoot but is flagged offside before he can.
14'
Suso, who has started really brightly, picks out Fabio Borini with a lovely through-ball into the heart of the hosts' penalty area. The Italian meets the ball well, spins and shoots, but Cordaz is there to save the stinging shot at the near post.
13'
Ricardo Rodriguez gets himself into a good position deep down the left flank after linking up well with Suso. He then swings a deep cross into the box, but it's slightly overhit and comfortably met by Adrian Stoian on the edge of the penalty area.
11'
A bit of space opens up for Crotone over on the right flank and allows the hosts to push forward on their first attacking move of the game, but Milan are easily able to deal with the danger and shepherd the ball out for a throw-in.
9'
P. Cutrone gets yellow.
The referee's cards are out once again, but this time it's just a yellow card for Cutrone, who flew into a challenge midway inside the Crotone half of the pitch. The hosts' players didn't look at all happy with that heavy tackle!
8'
N. Dussenne enters the game and replaces M. Trotta.
Marcello Trotta has unforunately been sacrificed for Noe Dussenne, who has come on to offer a bit more defensive stability for the home side.
6'
Penalty goal scored by F. Kessié for AC Milan!
GOAL! Franck Kessie keeps his cool as he steps up and fires a great strike past Alex Cordaz and into the left-hand corner of the net. Dream start for Milan!
5'
F. Ceccherini goes off after a red card!
RED CARD! After spending an age reviewing the incident, the referee eventually changes his mind and shows Ceccherini a red card before finally awarding a penalty. What a crazy start to the game!
3'
Early drama! Patrick Cutrone darts into the Crotone penalty area on a great run and looks set to fire Milan into the lead, but he ends up going down under a challenge from Federico Ceccherini and poking a tame shot just inches wide of the far post. The referee immediately shows the defender a yellow card, but instead of awarding a penalty he decides to go to the VAR. Both sets of players look incredibly confused!
1'
We're off! Milan get us underway, attacking from left to right.
The fourth official has indicated that there will be three minutes of added time.
Good evening and welcome to our live text commentary of today’s Serie A game between Crotone and AC Milan at the Studio Ezio Scida.
Today marks the start of a new era for Milan, who head into tonight’s game looking to lay down an early marker to appease their expectant and excited supporters. After spending over £200m this summer, the Rossoneri fans (and, just as importantly, the club’s new owners) will be expecting nothing less than a positive performance, and three points against a side that narrowly avoided relegation really is a must.
In reality, it could end up taking this new-look Milan side several games to gel, but they’ve impressed so far during the limited competitive fixtures they’ve been involved in. CSU Craiova were comfortably swept aside in the third qualifying round of the Europa League before Vincenzo Montella’s men mercilessly thumped Shkendija 6-0 in the first leg of the play-offs on Thursday, setting them up nicely for tonight's test.
Hosting Milan on the opening day of the season is never an easy task, but Crotone will just be feeling pleased to be here after having to endure a nervy fight for survival that went right to the wire. The Pitagorici sat in the relegation zone heading into the final day of last season, but a truly remarkable escape was completed with a 3-1 win against Lazio that kept them in Serie A by the narrowest of margins.
In many ways, Milan’s struggles last season were on show in April’s corresponding fixture. A well-drilled Crotone side, unbeaten in four games on their way to safety, held the Rossoneri at bay in what was a lacklustre and disappointing 1-1 draw for the visitors. Montella and his men will be hoping to avoid a repeat performance as they go in search of an opening day victory.
There’s just over 15 minutes left to go until kick-off, so let’s have a look at how the two teams will be lining up this evening…
Milan XI (4-3-3): Gianluigi Donnarumma; Conti, Bonucci, Musacchio, Rodriguez; Kessie, Locatelli, Calhanoglu; Suso, Cutrone, Borini.
Milan substitutes: Calabria, Mauri, Silva, Zapata, Montolivo, Abate, Storari, Antonelli, Antonio Donnarumma.
Davide Nicola has decided to make two changes to the Crotone side that started last weekend’s Coppa Italia win against Piacenza, with Rolando Mandragora and Marcello Trotta coming into the starting line-up to replace Mariano Izco and Aleksandar Tonev, respectively.
Meanwhile, Milan boss Vincenzo Montella has made four alterations to the team that featured in their last outing, with Cristian Zapata, Luca Antonelli, Riccardo Montolivo and Andre Silva making way for Mateo Musacchio, Ricardo Rodriguez, Manuel Locatelli and Patrick Cutrone.
The two sides are making their way out onto the pitch, with just a few minutes to go until kick-off.
HALF-TIME: CROTONE 0-3 MILAN
The game is as good as over already, and all three points look certain to head back to Milan after what was a crazy opening five-minute period. Crotone were always going to struggle against their big spending opponents, but Ceccherini's early red card made an already difficult situation a nigh on impossible task. Since then, the Rossoneri have run riot, with Suso looking particularly brilliant all over the pitch.
The two teams are making their way back out on to the pitch ahead of the start of the second half. Neither side have made any substitutions during the half-time break.
FULL-TIME: CROTONE 0-3 MILAN
Milan came to the Stadio Ezio Scida hoping for a positive performance, and, thanks to an early red card, that's exactly what they were able to produce. The Rossoneri are able to head home with three points under their belts thanks to a strong performance from all involved, but Crotone will be feeling incredibly angry at the nature of Ceccherini's sending off.
The hosts were always going to find it difficult today, and they'll have a better chance of getting some points on the board when they host newly promoted Hellas Verona in seven days' time. Milan, meanwhile, will be looking for another win against Cagliari in their next Serie A game, but first they must take on Shkendija in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
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