Modrić’s vintage assist, Loftus-Cheek’s milestone, Pulisic’s killer finish
At 39 years and 354 days, Luka Modrić is still bending matches to his will. His free-kick delivery in Lecce was pure trouble, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek met it with a glancing header that finally cracked a stubborn game. That moment swung a tense night at the Stadio Via del Mare, where 28,227 watched a controlled, patient performance end in a 2-0 win for AC Milan.
Milan needed this, badly. A shock opening defeat to newly promoted Cremonese had put noise around the project just one week into the season. In Puglia, the visitors kept their shape, took the sting out of the crowd, and worked the set-piece edge that Modrić still provides. When the breakthrough came on 66 minutes, it felt earned rather than lucky.
Loftus-Cheek’s header mattered for more than the scoreline. It was his first Serie A goal since March 30, 2024, when he scored away to Fiorentina, and only his second headed strike in Italy’s top flight. It also arrived on the night of his 50th Serie A appearance—an English milestone at Milan that now sits behind only Fikayo Tomori in the three-points era for league games played in the shirt. A tidy bookmark for a player whose game often slips between roles: carrying the ball through traffic, attacking the box late, and, in this case, punishing a set piece.
Christian Pulisic, introduced from the bench to stretch a tiring Lecce back line, applied the kill shot in the 86th minute. The finish—slotted under the advancing goalkeeper—looked simple because his movement made it so. For Pulisic, Lecce are becoming a favorite opponent. They’re now one of only two sides in the top five European leagues he’s scored five league goals against, alongside Crystal Palace. He reads their spacing well, times his runs, and rarely needs more than a touch or two to make it count.
The scoreline also fits a longer story between these clubs. Milan have now scored at least two goals in 11 consecutive Serie A meetings with Lecce—the first time they’ve done that against any opponent. This was their fourth straight league win over Lecce too, a run they’ve managed only once before, between November 1989 and August 1993, when it reached five.
The performance had structure. Milan held 55% of the ball, pressed in lanes rather than daydreaming about it, and limited Lecce to two shots on target. That doesn’t scream domination, but it does say control. The visitors created the clearer chances—six efforts on target—and handled game stress after two VAR interventions had wiped out earlier celebrations. Those moments could have rattled a side still carrying the sting from opening day. Instead, Milan kept their rhythm.
There’s a tactical through-line here. With Modrić guiding tempo and dead balls, Milan leaned into set pieces as a pressure valve. They loaded the box with size and timed their surges. When the match slowed into a grind, the ball stopped; when the ball stopped, Modrić went to work. It’s not romantic football; it’s winning football. And it cut through a night when open-play combinations were neat without being ruthless.
Lecce dragged the game into their kind of fight for long stretches. They crowded central lanes, pushed numbers toward the ball, and tried to nick turnovers in dangerous spots. But when you’re limited to brief surges and half-chances, you need one to fall early. It didn’t. The home side’s best looks came in transition, and even those were smothered by compact defending and calm goalkeeping.
In the stands, Oscar winner Helen Mirren—wearing Lecce yellow—was an unexpected sight and an easy camera cutaway. On the pitch, the color belonged to Milan’s midfield. Modrić dictated restarts; Loftus-Cheek carried the ball with purpose; the wide players narrowed to open gaps for overlapping full-backs. The plan wasn’t flashy, but it was clear: control space, draw fouls, and turn set plays into chances.
The context matters. Milan arrived under scrutiny after the Cremonese loss, with questions swirling about cohesion, ruthlessness, and how quickly new-season ideas would stick. Three points don’t answer everything, but they change the temperature. The disallowed goals tested the group’s headspace; the response—stick to the structure, wait for the moment—will please the staff.
Loftus-Cheek’s night stands up even beyond his goal. In Italy, he’s become a useful barometer of Milan’s attack: when he’s carrying the ball forward and picking his moments to arrive in the box, the team tends to look dangerous. He’s not a classic No. 10 or a pure runner, but he often tilts a match with one smart burst. On his 50th league appearance, he also showed the value of size and timing on a dead ball, a skill that ages well.
Pulisic’s cameo, meanwhile, underlined the benefit of keeping a finisher fresh for the final 20 minutes. As legs slow, he accelerates; as lines stretch, he dives into them. It’s no coincidence his late strike came with Lecce’s back four caught between stepping up and dropping. Pulisic’s record against Lecce and Crystal Palace isn’t random—he punishes the same defensive indecision again and again.
All of this sat on Modrić’s milestone. Since Opta began tracking the metric in 2004/05, no midfielder older than Modrić had recorded a Serie A assist. That says something about longevity, sure, but also about the specific kind of excellence he brings. You don’t have to sprint past people if you put the ball where it needs to be. For Milan, that’s a cheat code in tight matches and a guide for younger teammates watching a master manage pace.
Beyond the headline numbers, the game management stood out. Milan didn’t push the tempo just to look busy. They kept the ball moving side to side, lured Lecce into contact, and trusted their rest defense to handle the counters that did break. When the final 10 minutes arrived with a one-goal lead, they didn’t retreat to the six-yard box; they went for the second and got it.
The Serie A table remains a baby picture after two rounds—Milan sit on three points from two matches, Lecce on one after an opening draw—but nights like this build muscle memory. Win away. Keep the ball. Don’t panic after VAR drama. Take what the game gives you. In August and September, method matters more than swagger.
For Lecce, there are positives even without the result. The defensive shape handled long phases of pressure without collapsing, and they forced two lengthy video reviews with their hard running and commitment to second balls. The gap was in the final third: too few runners across the front post, not enough bodies arriving late at the edge of the box, and limited quality on the last pass when Milan’s block was set.
Still, Lecce’s identity—compact, energetic, opportunistic—will cause problems for teams that don’t manage space as well as Milan did. The schedule won’t always throw Modrić’s delivery or Pulisic’s timing at them. And holding a side of this caliber to 55% possession, not 65 or 70, speaks to their ability to disrupt rhythm.
As for Milan, you can see the early-season blueprint forming. Use the set piece as a weapon. Trust the wide players to sprint behind tired legs late. Let the midfield steer tempo, not just chase it. And when fireworks are canceled by VAR, don’t let the fuse burn down the rest of the night.
What the numbers say
Sometimes the stat pack tells the story just fine. This one does.
- Result: Lecce 0-2 Milan at the Stadio Ettore Giardiniero – Via del Mare.
- Attendance: 28,227, with Oscar winner Helen Mirren spotted in Lecce yellow.
- Possession: Milan 55%, Lecce 45% — enough control to dictate tempo without sitting on the ball for show.
- Shots on target: Milan 6, Lecce 2 — better chance quality and volume for the visitors.
- VAR drama: Two Milan goals ruled out after video review before the breakthrough finally stuck.
- Scorers: Ruben Loftus-Cheek (66’) with a glancing header from a Modrić free kick; Christian Pulisic (86’) with a composed one-on-one finish.
- Milestone assist: Modrić became the oldest midfielder to assist in Serie A since Opta began tracking in 2004/05 (39 years, 354 days).
- Loftus-Cheek landmark: 50th Serie A appearance; his first league goal since March 30, 2024, and only his second headed goal in Serie A.
- English records at Milan (three-points era): Only Fikayo Tomori (131) has more Serie A appearances than Loftus-Cheek among English players for the club.
- Pulisic’s habit: Lecce are one of only two clubs in the big five European leagues he has scored five league goals against, alongside Crystal Palace.
- Head-to-head trends: Milan have scored at least two goals in 11 straight Serie A games vs Lecce; this is their fourth consecutive league win over Lecce, a run matched only once before (1989–1993, when it reached five).
- Table check: Two games in — Milan up to three points, Lecce on one.
Strip the numbers back and you get a simple picture: Milan controlled the match without needing a flood of possession, trusted their set-piece edge, and let a late substitute finish the job. After week one’s sting, week two brought clarity. That’s the kind of step that travels well.
