In the 25th round of the 2023-2024 Serie A season in the early hours of February 19, AC Milan lost 2-4 away to Monza. The defeat in this game was not only due to the unexpected factor of the penalty given to the opponent by Jiafu and the red card of Jovic, but also the Rossoneri's overestimation of the ability of this rotating lineup to face Monza.
After the start of the game, AC Milan, who started the rotation, were very imposing in attack. In the fourth minute, Chukwueze dribbled into the box on the right and played an inverted triangle pass, Bennacer played the ball to Te'o, who shot wide from outside the box. In the 20th minute, Chukwueze shot too wide from outside the box and the ball was confiscated by Di Gregorio. After withstanding AC Milan's opening attack, Monza began to launch a counter-attack, and in the 43rd minute, Gafu tripped Dani Motta in the box, and the referee blew for a penalty, which Pechner converted, and AC Milan fell behind 0-1. In first-half stoppage time, Monza counter-attacked, Colpani controlled the ball on the right and passed the ball to Dani Motta in the middle, Dani Motta dribbled the ball in the box to dodge space and scored with his feet, and at half-time, AC Milan trailed Monza 0-2.
As the game entered the second half, AC Milan were the first to bring on Rafael Leao, Christian Pulisic and Rheinders. In the 49th minute, Jovic violently hit Izzo in the front, and the referee sent Jovic off with a red card after reviewing it through VAR, and AC Milan had one less player on the field. In the 64th minute, Florenzi crossed at 45 degrees from the right side, Pulisic headed back, Giroud scored from the cushion, and the score became 1-2! In the 88th minute, AC Milan continued to attack, and Pulisic scored with a long-range shot from the right side of the penalty area, and the score became 2-2.
In the 89th minute, Bondo received a pass from Daniel Maldini in front of the box and scored from outside the box with a long-range shot, and AC Milan fell behind 2-3. In the 94th minute, Monza counter-attacked, Colombo received a pass from Pechna and fired the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal in the penalty area. In the end, AC Milan lost 4-2 away to Monza.
After a midweek Europa League knockout play-off, AC Milan rotated their starting line-up against mid-table Monza. AC Milan's rotating starting line-up maintained the attacking momentum in the first 20 minutes, and after Monza adapted to AC Milan's attack, the two sides entered a stalemate, and the penalty given by Jiafu to the opponent, AC Milan conceded two goals in the half, and also broke the original plan of the Rossoneri.
Jovic's irrational act of violence in the second half was sent off with a red card, which was also a surprise for AC Milan. Although, the main players such as Rafael Leao, Olivier Giroud and Christian Pulisic were replaced, and it was Pulisic who scored a near-equaliser. However, Monza took advantage of AC Milan's eagerness to win, scoring two more goals on the counter-attack to beat the Rossoneri.