AC Milan defeated Stade Rennais 3-0 at home in the first leg of their Europa League playoff match, with goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek (2) and Rafael Leão (3).
Even though they lost because of a poor defense, Milan, who qualified for the Europa League by placing third in their Champions League group, will still have a significant lead going into the second leg next week.
Loftus-Cheek headed in Alessandro Florenzi’s cross to give Milan the lead in the 32nd minute. Two minutes later, he responded with a diving header after Steve Mandanda, the senior custodian for the French team, parried a shot.
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Milan dominated the match at San Siro, with Leão playing a brilliant one-two with Theo Hernández to make it 3-0 in the 52nd minute.
Qarabag of Azerbaijan surprised everyone by winning 4-2 away at Braga in Portugal, increasing their chances of making it to the round of 16.
In the other late kickoff matches, Benfica defeated Toulouse 2-1 thanks to two penalties converted by Argentine attacker Angel di Maria, while Lens’s match against Freiburg, Germany, at home finished in a draw.
