English midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek scored twice as AC Milan beat Rennes in the first leg of their Europa League knockout round play-off tie.
The 28-year-old headed in their opener from Alessandro Florenzi’s cross.
And he added a second with a stooping header before Rafael Leao netted Milan’s third with a fine finish.
Loftus-Cheek has scored five goals in his past five games for Milan, after only netting twice in his first 21 games following his move from Chelsea.
Elsewhere, Azerbaijan’s Qarabag picked up a surprise 4-2 win in Portugal over Braga. French midfielder Abdellah Zoubir scored twice for the visitors.
Angel di Maria scored two penalties, including a 98th-minute winner, as Benfica beat Toulouse 2-1. Lens and Freiburg played out a goalless draw.
Earlier in the day, Romelu Lukaku scored as Roma drew 1-1 at Feyenoord.
Line-ups
AC Milan
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 16Maignan
- 42FlorenziSubstituted forTerraccianoat 75′minutes
- 24KjærSubstituted forThiawat 62′minutes
- 46Gabbia
- 19Hernández
- 80Musah
- 14Reijnders
- 11PulisicSubstituted forAdliat 81′minutes
- 8Loftus-CheekSubstituted forBennacerat 75′minutes
- 10Rafael LeãoSubstituted forOkaforat 62′minutes
- 9Giroud
Substitutes
- 4Bennacer
- 7Adli
- 15Jovic
- 17Okafor
- 28Thiaw
- 38Terracciano
- 57Sportiello
- 81Eletu
- 83Mirante
- 84Nsiala-Makengo
- 95Bartesaghi
Rennes
Formation 4-4-2
- 30Mandanda
- 17DouéSubstituted forSeiduat 67′minutes
- 23Omari
- 5Theate
- 3TruffertSubstituted forNagidaat 75′minutesBooked at 87minsSubstituted forat 90+4′minutes
- 14Bourigeaud
- 8SantamarÃa
- 6MatusiwaSubstituted forBlasat 75′minutes
- 33DouéSubstituted forSalahat 76′minutes
- 9KalimuendoSubstituted forGouiriat 67′minutes
- 7Terrier
Substitutes
- 1Gallon
- 10Gouiri
- 11Blas
- 15Wooh
- 16Belocian
- 34Salah
- 36Seidu
- 38Cissé
- 39Lambourde
- 40Lembet
- 43Nagida
- 99Yildirim
Live Text
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Match ends, AC Milan 3, Rennes 0.
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Second Half ends, AC Milan 3, Rennes 0.
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Aboubakar Nagida went off injured after Rennes had used all subs.
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Malick Thiaw (AC Milan) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Amine Gouiri (Rennes).
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Attempt missed. Ismaël Bennacer (AC Milan) left footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high from a direct free kick.
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Delay over. They are ready to continue.
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Delay in match because of an injury Aboubakar Nagida (Rennes).
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Aboubakar Nagida (Rennes) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Tijjani Reijnders (AC Milan) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Aboubakar Nagida (Rennes).
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Attempt missed. Théo Hernández (AC Milan) left footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high.
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Substitution, AC Milan. Yacine Adli replaces Christian Pulisic.
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Attempt missed. Baptiste SantamarÃa (Rennes) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Ibrahim Salah.
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Attempt missed. Amine Gouiri (Rennes) header from the left side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Ludovic Blas with a cross.
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Hand ball by Ismaël Bennacer (AC Milan).
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Substitution, Rennes. Ibrahim Salah replaces Désiré Doué.
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Substitution, Rennes. Ludovic Blas replaces Azor Matusiwa.
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Substitution, AC Milan. Filippo Terracciano replaces Alessandro Florenzi.
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Substitution, Rennes. Aboubakar Nagida replaces Adrien Truffert.
