AC Milan 3-1 Club Brugge: Five things we learned

After two consecutive defeats to open the Champions League season, AC Milan had no room for error against Club Brugge as wins against the weaker teams are needed to boost their qualification hopes.

However, the Belgian champions were the better team at the start of the game and created a few chances early on that Mike Maignan had to thwart. In the 34th minute, Christian Pulisic increased his tally and reassured the home crowd with a direct corner.

Brugge then received a red card a few minutes later when Raphael Onyedika tackled Tijjani Reijnders and it was expected that Milan would have no problems finishing the game. But in the 51st minute the guests equalized, and they probably deserved it.

Things improved after Paulo Fonseca made changes: Noah Okafor and Samuel Chukwueze set up Reijnders shortly after he came on. Finally, Francesco Camarda came on for a record-breaking debut and VAR denied him a historic goal. Below are five observations about the game itself.

1. The eagle flies down

As already mentioned, the Belgian champions actually started the game better and created some good chances, especially through summer signing Tzoli, but Maignan once again proved his worth and fended off everything that came his way.

The Frenchman delivered another brilliant performance, keeping his team in the game when it mattered most, leading the defense well and using good footwork to help ease the pressure in the build-up phase like he did against Udinese.

Maignan appears to have found the continuity he didn't quite find last season and is changing the game between the Rossoneri's posts. According to Sofascore, he made four saves, made one high throw, completed 30 of 30 passes and four of four long balls attempted.

2. Unprecedented shape

Pulisic made an impact again, scoring the first goal of the game, albeit with a bit of luck, and then continued to work hard in both phases of the game. That being said, there's probably an element of reward in consistently taking set pieces into good areas, and that's what came with the Olimpico goal.

On the second goal, his movement opened up just enough space for Reijnders to put Milan in the lead, and when the American moved into the middle after Chukwueze came on, we saw he was even more effective as he was more direct than Ruben Loftus-Cheek and makes better runs.

Playing Pulisic in a more central role also had a positive effect on Chukwueze, who thrived on the right flank and, unlike the American, is more direct when it comes to tackling his man at pace and charging into the penalty area.

Overall, it was a great game from the American, who continues to get on the scoresheet no matter what role he plays, and the changes made will certainly give the coach some food for thought for the future.

3. Left side story

Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez have already had their fair share of ups and downs in the 2024-25 season, and it's only October. Against Brugge, however, it was expected that the goals would come from the left side The reality was more frustrating.

It has to be said that Leao was far from bad and Seys really struggled to cope with him on the right side for Brugge. The Portuguese completed nine dribbles in the game, but when asked to lift his head to ensure a final result was achieved from good positions, he never did so.

In contrast to Leao, Theo did a good job defensively – except for the equaliser, where he seemed a little overwhelmed – and he covered the cross well in terms of his work rate. But here too you get the impression that he is not yet at his full potential and that he can still achieve a lot more, especially after having to sit out against Udinese.

Whether it's a sign of Milan being less reliant on the left side in general – something that could be seen as a positive – is debatable, but 'Theao' are still the team's two best players and they need to be they show more often. They are currently in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

4. Super Subs

To his credit, Fonseca continues to prove that he is not afraid to subtract his stars and he did so again when he substituted Leao for Okafor after the equaliser, while also subbing Chukwueze for Loftus-Cheek.

The fans' initial reaction was probably to question this decision as Leao ended up having some good runs in the first half, but all questions were answered within a minute of the substitution when Okafor stormed past his man and provided an assist .

The Swiss striker brought the lack of intensity, but also the directness and, above all, the composure to raise his head and find a man in the penalty area. That led to a goal in no time, so Fonseca deserves kudos for making the timely switch.

If that substitution was good, Chukwueze's was even better, with Nigeria's Reijnders providing an almost identical assist from the opposition after an even better run. It must be tempting to try Chukwueze-Pulisic-Okafor.

5. The glove fits

Reijnders started a bit slowly, but then came into play. In the first half he was mainly active in defense, but after the red card he became more and more involved in the attacking phase, which we have seen time and again for both Milan and the Dutch national team.

As expected, he found himself in a very good position, scoring two goals and helping his team win. The question arises as to why Loftus-Cheek wasn't moved back into the doubleheader with Youssouf Fofana to give the former AZ Alkmaar player more freedom to move forward.

The two goals against Club Brugge already represent half of last season's tally of four goals. It should also be noted that last year Reijnders missed chances either due to a lack of conviction or a lack of precision in situations very similar to those of yesterday's two goals.

Given what he has become almost the complete package and an unbeatable player for both Stefano Pioli and now Fonseca. Adding more goals to his arsenal would be the final necessary step.