AC Milan's Giacomo Bonaventura Dedicates Pescara Win to Those Affected by the Italian Earthquake

AC Milan's Giacomo Bonaventura has dedicated his winning goal against Pescara to those affected by the recent earthquake that struck central Italy.

The midfielder's cheeky free kick, which went under the opposition wall, was enough to separate the sides in Milan's narrow 1-0 victory that keeps them in third place in Serie A, but still five points off of leaders Juventus. 

Following the match, the goalscorer was quick to send his best wishes to those caught up in the earthquake and dedicated his winner to them. The midfielder is from the nearby Marche region that also felt the tremors from the weekend's earthquake, which is believed to be the strongest recorded since 1980. 

​Bonaventura told ​ESPN: "I dedicate this goal to the people who are suffering because of the earthquake.

"I know what it is because I am from those parts. I send a big hug and I know that we will do something concrete as a team to help them."

"I'm happy for the victory. We suffered but the important thing was to win," he said. "Montella always asks me to do some kind of work and I'll put in the maximum effort. I'm happy, let's enjoy this third place."

Despite Bonaventura's heartfelt words, AC Milan boss Vincenzo Montella was quick to focus on the midfielder and praise him for his clever free kick; but whilst his side picked up another three points, the manager also played down the importance of the team's victory, as they still remain someway off leaders Juventus.

He said: "A few days ago we were practising defending on dead ball situations and Keisuke Honda, who was acting as the opponent in this scenario, conned us with that trick. Evidently Bonaventura remembered it.

"These three points are worth just as much as the three we got against Juventus. We could've killed it off earlier, but I liked the performance. Pescara play very good football and deserve our compliments."