After a really rough month without a win, Milan came back with a vengeance against poor, relegation-threatened Cagliari. Like Mina's shirt that Giroud tore less than ten minutes into the match, Milan took out their aggression by dominating possession and came out on top with a 5-1 win over Cagliari in front of the still silent Curva Sud at the San Siro. And while the Curva had put up a large banner for the duration of the match that indicated that Milan were "unsatisfied," it must have been confusing to the casual viewer, who saw Serie A's second place team shred their opposition with five goals, which could have easily been more. That's what you call silencing the fans.
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| Celebrating with or without the fans. |
Pioli started with a watered down lineup, leaving starters Theo Hernández, Rafa Leão, Calabria, and Tomori on the bench. So the first half was not quite as dominant, but they still troubled Scuffet, the Cagliari goalkeeper, as well as their defense.
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| Bennacer's first goal of the season, dedicated to his mother for Mother's Day. |
Unfortunately, Bennacer, who was wearing the captain's armband, was shown a yellow card, as was Gabbia. Even less fortunate is that Gabbia was the one player in danger of suspension, so he will miss Saturday's match away to Torino. That seemed to be enough to spark the fire, though, as just two minutes after that, Chukwueze crossed the ball to Bennacer, who struck it with enough power to send it past everyone and into the back of the net. His first goal of the season. 1-0 Milan at halftime.
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| Sportiello was actually called into action, making five saves, including a brilliant double save. |
At halftime, Pioli decided to release the big guns, and he brought on Tomori, Rafa Leão, and Okafor for the carded Gabbia, an injured Chukwueze, and the fierce Giroud respectively. Immediately, Leão made a statement of intent by whipping the ball in on the half volley and hitting the crossbar. And while Sportiello made a save at the other end, one of five, actually, the goals began to flow.
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| The goalscorer and the provider. You love to see it. |
First was Pulisic, with the beautiful assist by Leão in the 59th minute. VAR reviewed it to ensure it was onside. 2-0 Milan. Sportiello made a massive double save in the 62nd minute, only for his defense to completely let him down a minute later and leave him one vs. one with Nández, who ended up scoring Cagliari's singular goal. Now it was 2-1 Milan. Theo time.
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| Amidst his celebrations, Reijnders dedicates his goal to his mother, as well. |
Florenzi was replaced by Theo Hernández in the 68th minute. About five minutes later, Reijnders, after a pass from the aforementioned Theo, scored a rocket from distance that was absolutely spectacular. 3-1 Milan. Players were dedicating the goals to their mothers for Mother's Day, whose last names they were wearing on the backs of their jerseys.
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| It's a bad day as the opposition when Leão has beaten everyone and is waltzing into your goal. |
Leão finally got his goal in the 83rd minute, after Bennacer sent him a sweet through ball, he just dribbled past everyone, including the keeper, to slot it into an empty net. 4-1 Milan. As if that wasn't good enough, Pobega got to make his return after his long injury in the 84th minute, replacing Bennacer. And the final goal was a second one for Pulisic, from an assist by Okafor in the 87th minute. Mina attempted a goal line clearance, but the ball went over the line, which, thanks to GLT, referee Sozza immediately knew. 5-1 Milan.
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| Pulisic with the brace, wearing his mother's name, and giving credit where credit's due. |
A completely dominant performance in front of a bunch of fans protesting for the third week in a row, wanting some "clarity." But this time, even without their support, Milan were able to find the fire within and Pioli was able to defeat his former manager, Ranieri. A win without too much trouble, raising even more questions as to why on earth the Curva were protesting. A brilliant match in all aspects, including silencing the fans.
This post inspired by the music of Joost's "Europapa"
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| Primavera Women are Champions of Italy! |
Reviewed by Elaine
on
11:59 PM
Rating:
