Serie A | Pisa 1-2 Milan: Modric to the rescue after Fullkrug and Rabiot errors

Milan scraped a 2-1 victory away to Pisa, despite Niclas Fullkrug missing a penalty and the late Adrien Rabiot red card, as Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Luka Modric were on target.

The Rossoneri had a game in hand, as the Week 24 fixture with Como was rescheduled to February 18 so San Siro could be used for the Winter Olympics opening ceremony. Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic were only fit for the bench, with Alexis Saelemaekers and Santiago Gimenez still out of action. Pisa made their debut under new coach Oscar Hiljemark in last week’s 0-0 draw with Verona. Marius Marin was suspended, with Simone Scuffet, Adrian Semper, Raul Albiol, Daniel Denoon and Isak Vural injured, so third-choice goalkeeper Nicolas had his first Serie A appearance since October 2020.

When these teams met in October 2025, Zachary Athekame snatched a last-gasp 2-2 draw at San Siro, and this was Milan’s first visit to Pisa for 35 years.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Nicolas was rusty and struggled to punch away a Luka Modric free kick, but Pisa had the first real chance when Filip Stojlkovic sprung the offside trap on Stefano Moreo’s through ball, forcing Mike Maignan to rush off his line to parry one-on-one.

Milan took the lead at their first genuine scoring opportunity, as Athekame floated in a cross from the right and found Loftus-Cheek for a free header into the ground from seven yards.

Niclas Fullkrug replaced the ineffective Christopher Nkunku at half-time, and within 60 seconds had knocked the ball down with his arm for Adrien Rabiot’s half-volley, so the goal did not count.

Strahinja Pavlovic ran onto the Davide Bartesaghi pass and was brought down by Loyola for a penalty. Substitute Fullkrug stepped up and drilled it onto the upright, wasting a golden opportunity to double the Rossoneri’s lead.

Stojlkovic blasted over after Samuel Iling-Junior robbed Matteo Gabbia, while Athekame’s effort was charged down after a corner.

The penalty miss gave Pisa hope, and they capitalised on it, as Stojlkovic rolled across from the left for Moreo, with Pavlovic accidentally knocking it into the path of Felipe Loyola, who bent his right-foot finish into the far bottom corner from 12 yards.

Rafael Leao came on and his first touch let him down on a cross from the right, then Fullkrug turned wide of the near post from Samuele Ricci’s assist.

Milan managed to restore their advantage with a great move from Modric, who completed a give and go with Ricci to dribble into the box and dink the finish past Nicolas with the outside of the right boot from seven yards. It was the Croatian veteran’s second Serie A career goal.

It wasn’t over, as Rabiot brought down Piccini on the outside edge of the area and was booked, meaning he’d be suspended for the midweek round with Como. However, the midfielder continued his protests and received a second yellow card, so will also miss the Derby della Madonnina against Inter next week.

Pisa 1-2 Milan

Loftus-Cheek 39 (M), Loyola 71 (P), Modric 85 (M)

Missed penalty: Fullkrug 56 (M)

Sent off: Rabiot 92 (M)