Injury Overshadow AC Milan's 2-0 Cup Win Over Bari

Milan, August 18 (AP) — AC Milan had a bittersweet start to their season as a potential injury to winger Rafael Leão overshadowed their 2-0 victory over Serie B's Bari in the Italian Cup's opening round on Sunday. Leão, who scored with a header early in the match, appeared to injure his right calf during his celebration and had to be substituted. Christian Pulisic, the United States international, added to the scoreline shortly after halftime, finishing a move with Santiago Gimenez, who replaced Leão. New addition Luka Modric made his Milan debut at age 39, entering the game in the 66th minute. The former Ballon d'Or winner joined Milan in July after a successful stint with Real Madrid. Massimiliano Allegri, rehired as Milan's coach, was serving a two-match suspension. His ban comes from an outburst directed at referees during the 2024 Italian Cup final while he was with Juventus, leading to his dismissal from the club. Usually starting in later rounds due to their typical top-eight seeding, Milan entered the cup early this year after finishing eighth in Serie A and losing the Cup final to Bologna, who despite finishing ninth, were given the top seed. Milan is set to take on Lecce next month, with Empoli, Sassuolo, Genoa, Venezia, Como, Cagliari, Pisa, Palermo, Frosinone, and Parma also advancing. As Serie A kicks off next weekend, Milan is slated to face newly promoted Cremonese on Saturday at the San Siro. Leão's availability for the league opener remains uncertain. (AP) UNG

(Only the headline of this report may have been reworked by Editorji; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)