SALZBURG, Austria (Interstat) — Alphadjo Cisse scored three goals, including two in the first half, and AC Milan defeated Salzburg 4-0 Thursday in a global football match. Cisse opened the scoring in the 15th minute, struck again in the 32nd and completed his hat trick in the 49th. Goncalo Ramos added the final goal in the 72nd minute. AC Milan improved to 1-0 in the competition, while Salzburg fell to 0-1. AC Milan is now 4-0-4 across all competitions, and Salzburg is 0-2-1. The visiting side controlled the match from the opening stages and never allowed Salzburg to establish sustained pressure. AC Milan’s first goal set the tone, and the second before halftime gave the visitors a comfortable cushion. Cisse’s third goal early in the second half removed any remaining doubt about the result. Salzburg, playing at home, struggled to create clear chances and was forced to chase the game after the early breakthrough. AC Milan’s defense protected the lead, and the visitors added a fourth goal late in the second half through Ramos.

Cisse was the game’s top star, finishing with three goals in 60 minutes before being substituted. His first two goals came during a dominant first half for AC Milan, and his third arrived four minutes after the restart. Ramos, who played 30 minutes, scored the fourth goal and helped close out the scoring. AC Milan’s attack also received contributions from Davide Bartesaghi, Adrien Rabiot and Omari Giraud Hutchinson, each of whom recorded an assist. Bartesaghi and Hutchinson played the full match, while Rabiot was substituted after 61 minutes. Hutchinson was shown a yellow card in the 21st minute. The assists came from multiple areas of the field as the game became more physical in the second half. Salzburg’s Zabransky was booked in the 40th minute, the only yellow card for the home side.

Salzburg made two changes in the 60th minute, bringing on Kitano and Baidoo. AC Milan responded with substitutions of its own at the same time, with Cisse and Camarda entering the substitution sequence. Rabiot was replaced in the 61st minute, and Tomori followed in the 67th. Salzburg made two more changes in the 73rd minute, with Lindstrom and Tabakovic entering. AC Milan’s Pavlovic and Salzburg’s Morgalla were involved in substitutions in the 81st minute. The match turned more contentious late when AC Milan’s Terracciano was sent off in the 83rd minute with a red card. Despite playing the final minutes with 10 men, AC Milan preserved the shutout. Salzburg could not capitalize on the numerical advantage, and the home side finished without a goal. The clean sheet capped a strong defensive effort for AC Milan, which had already built an insurmountable lead.

The result extended AC Milan’s unbeaten start across all competitions. AC Milan entered the match after a draw at Sassuolo and a home win over Lecce, and it remains without a loss this season. Salzburg, meanwhile, has struggled for consistent results. Before this match, Salzburg had drawn at Grazer AK and lost to BW Linz. The home side’s overall record now stands at 0 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw. AC Milan’s competition record is 1 win and 0 losses, while Salzburg’s competition record is 0 wins and 1 loss. AC Milan is scheduled to host Atalanta in its next match. Salzburg will look to regroup after a difficult outing in which it conceded early and could not recover.

In pregame projections, Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Salzburg 1, AC Milan 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected AC Milan with a 97.5 percent probability to win. AC Milan had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -0.5. The total score of 4 went under the over/under line of 2.75.