Pulisic Punishes Udinese as Milan's Set-Piece Edge Settles a Lopsided Night

Milan left the Bluenergy Stadium with a 1-0 win over Udinese, and the decisive moment arrived inside six minutes. Christian Pulisic finished from a set piece, Luka Modrić supplied the assist, and the away side never looked like surrendering the lead. The scoreline stayed tight; the performance did not.

Udinese lined up in a 3-4-2-1, Milan in a 4-4-1-1. The shapes framed a night of almost total away control. Milan held 78% of the ball to Udinese's 22%, completed 113 passes to Udinese's 20, and pushed 25 passes into the opposition half against Udinese's five. The hosts managed a single shot across the match, one on target, and one corner. Milan's two shots and one on target were enough because the one that mattered came from the dead ball.

The expected-goals numbers tell the story of how Milan manufactured the win. Milan's total xG was 0.60; 0.54 of that came from set plays. Open play produced just 0.06. Udinese, meanwhile, generated 0.02 xG in total, all of it from open play, with nothing from set pieces. The game's only big chance belonged to Milan, and Pulisic's finish carried an xG value of 0.54 — essentially the entire set-piece threat converted into the only goal.

That is the shape of a match where the away side's control was so complete that the winning margin came down to one rehearsed moment. Udinese's 54% pass accuracy and 20 accurate passes underline how little they were allowed to build. Milan's 82% accuracy and 113 completed passes kept the ball moving away from danger and toward the next set-piece opportunity.

Pulisic's goal was the headline act, but Modrić's assist is the detail that explains it. The veteran midfielder's delivery found the American, and the set-piece routine did the rest. Among the players the brief flagged, Hassane Kamara registered 0.02 xG and Davide Bartesaghi 0.06 — the two Udinese names with measurable attacking output, both from open play, neither enough to trouble Milan's lead. Ardon Jashari's night carried no xG value in the data.

Duels were split 9-9, and fouls were level at 2-2, with no yellow cards shown. Those numbers suggest a match short on physical flashpoints and long on Milan's territorial grip. Udinese's one shot on target was the sum of their attacking return; Milan's one shot on target was the goal.

Milan take three points from a ground where the scoreline flatters the contest. The 0-1 final sits alongside a 0.02-0.60 xG split, a 22-78 possession split, and a 0-1 big-chance count. The set-piece column — 0.00 for Udinese, 0.54 for Milan — is where the match was won. For Udinese, the night produced one shot, one corner, and no route back once Pulisic struck in the sixth minute.