Friday was dedicated to the mothers... kinda, and our boys showed up for their mommas in a big way. After going down a goal courtesy of Orsolini, his 15th of the season in all competitions, Conceição once again made all the right subs and Milan scored three goals to secure all three points. Not only was this win crucial for confidence ahead of our Coppa Italia Final with Bologna on Wednesday in Rome, but results went our way this round, and the 3-1 win over Bologna pushed us up into eighth place in the league, too. The guys got to show their love for their mothers with a feel-good, important victory in a way that only a bunch of mommas boys can.
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| Just a bunch of mommas boys with their mommas. |
Of course, not all the news was good. In the seventh minute, Tomori's head collided with Dallinga's body, and he went down and needed treatment. He eventually got up and tried to play again, but five minutes later, he was down again. After additional treatment, he had to be subbed off, and Thiaw replaced him. Concerns about a head injury would mean that concussion protocol could possibly put him at risk for Wednesday's Coppa Italia Final.
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| While Pobega tried to harm our players, João Félix was busy showing off for his mom. |
The rest of the first half was eventful as well, with plenty of chances created for both sides. Jović had a shot saved, Pulisic's shot was blocked, João Félix had a great shot that was deflected just wide. Jović had a chance that was so close, but Skorupski saved it. At the other end, Domínguez had a shot forcing Maignan into a great save, and then Orsolini had a chance that was blocked by Gabbia.
There was also drama, with Álex Jiménez pushing Domínguez in the 30th minute. Bologna also lost a player to injury, Erlić, in the 31st minute. Lykogiannis thought he was catching Maignan off his line, but Maignan saved it anyway. In the 37th, Lucumi was shown a yellow card for interfering when he disagreed with the ref's call on a throw-in. Bologna wanted a handball on João Félix in the 40th, but Marinelli also said no to that. Orsolini came close in the 42nd minute, heading his shot into the side netting. But then he sent his next chance into the stands, and Pobega sent one over the crossbar as well.
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| Santi Gimenez was ready for this. |
If the first half was eventful, the second half was a thriller. Orsolini scored another trademark wondergoal in the 49th to give his team the lead, 1-0 Bologna. Pulisic had his shot blocked, and Skorupski grabbed a dangerous ball from a corner. Then, in a truly ironic moment, Loftus-Cheek was shown a yellow card for a foul on Pobega. The irony being that Pobega could have been shown a yellow card any one of four or five different times before that 60th minute foul on him. Yet, as the commentator Patrick Kendrick put it, he was able to "commit fouls with impunity."
After Theo had a great shot that was saved, Conceição made some important substitutions. He replaced Jović with Santi Gimenez, Pavlović was replaced with Walker, and Álex Jiménez, who had also been mixing it up with Castro, was replaced with Chukwueze before he could get himself into trouble. João Félix earned himself a yellow card for a challenge when he went sliding into Lucumi and just couldn't stop his momentum. Santi Gimenez went down in the box in the 71st. He did the right amount of protesting... enough to try to persuade the referee, but not enough to get carded. It did not work, however, as the contact was not a penalty offense.
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| Pulisic would end up with a goal and an assist, that is something to jump for joy about. |
He must have decided that was fine, he would just score from the run of play, because after Chukwueze crossed the ball into the box, it hit a defender, and Pulisic was there to send it over to Santi Gimenez who would not be denied this goal. 1-1 all. He also scored two minutes later, but it was disallowed as he was a little too eager and was offseide.
In the 77th, João Félix was fouled hard by Castro, who was not shown a card, apparently because he played the ball? I never know why some refs will give yellows in that situation and others not, because it is strange how our players always seem to get carded for that type of foul, even having played the ball. Conceição has been working on building Musah's confidence up after pulling him off in the first half vs. Fiorentina when things were not going well for Milan. So in the 78th minute, he replaced Loftus-Cheek with Musah.
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| Chukwueze had a mach to make his momma proud of. |
A minute later, Chukwueze crossed the ball in again, João Félix kicked it and it seemed to nutmeg Beukema, deflecting it once again into the path of Pulisic, only this time, it was his turn to score. 2-1 Milan. He immediately dedicated the goal to his mom, who was there at the stadium. At the other end, Walker made an excellent tackle on Domínguez. Walker made a number of important blocks after coming on.
Santi Gimenez was relentless, but his effort was blocked, while at the other end, Maignan but his body on the line, coming out and smothering a dangerous ball and sliding into Aebischer, both ending up on the ground. Five minutes later, Maignan would make another big save on Cambiaghi, while Marinelli had to manage some "more mischief in the penalty area," with Castro earning a yellow card for pushing João Félix down.
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| The verified lifelong Milanista points to the crest, as if we needed to know. |
A clip of the passionate Florenzi and Conceição wildly celebrating together on the sidelines after the third goal has gone viral, demonstrating that no one was taking this win for granted. Despite the doom and gloom news cycle surrounding his time at the club, Conceição's Serie A winning percentage is up to 52.6%, and Milan have scored 32 goals in Serie A as well, more than any other team. Notably, Milan have also earned 22 points from losing situations, aka comebacks, second most of any team in the top five European leagues. With all the difficulties imposed by management, including changing managers and five players in and out in January, as well as avoiding all the Fonseca-imposed dropped points and drama, it is difficult not to wonder where Milan would be had the Club simply hired Conceição last summer.
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| Our former Captain got a little closure after a career at Milan. |
Speaking of those changes, not only did Pobega try to break all the Milan players without repercussions, our former captain Calabria was an unused sub for Bologna. When he left in tears in January, he was not even given a chance to say goodbye to the fans after 18 years at the club. As the Curva are currently banned from all flags, banners, and coreo, by local authorities, they were unable to honor him in their usual way, and since he did not take the pitch, they could not show him their love with applause, either. So, after the match, and the touching images of him warmly hugging everyone (including Conceição,) Calabria approached the Curva Sud to say goodbye. They gave him a warm reception, which visibly moved him. Even though his team lost, at least he finally got to say a small farewell.
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| Baby Pavlović with his mom looks like he was born ready to defend. |
And speaking of the Curva Sud, all this winning seems to have won back the support of the Curva Sud, who have been singing every match again since the Derby in the first leg of the Coppa Italia Semifinal at the beginning of April. But the ones who have supported them all along are their families, especially their mothers. The club had their mothers send the players special messages, then the players spoke about their mothers for Mother's Day, too. And if you missed it, you need to see Conceição's emotional tribute to mothers as well. But I think fans are most excited about the tribute the players gave to their mothers on the pitch, a win that proved they were a bunch of mommas boys.
Milan Futuro Win the First Leg of the Playouts 1-0 vs. SPAL
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| Sandri celebrates scoring a penalty that could help save the team from relegation |
Saturday was the first of two legs of a last-chance scenario for Milan Futuro to save their Serie C status. In a very difficult match vs. SPAL, they managed to earn a penalty and convert it for the 1-0 victory over SPAL. That precious goal means a draw or a win away to SPAL this coming Saturday will secure Futuro's Serie C safety for next season. The goal was a penalty converted by Sandri in the 34th minute, and it was obvious just how much it meant to them after a season of so few successes. Highlights of the match are available on the Serie C YouTube channel. In addition to home advantage in the second leg, should the aggregate score be tied at the end of 120 minutes, SPAL will win the Playout and the spot in Serie A due to their higher place finish on the league table, so Milan Futuro will need to remain focused and work hard to keep their winning advantage on Saturday.
Milan Primavera Miss an Opportunity with a 2-1 Loss to Torino
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| Missing out on this golden opportunity feels kind of like that. |
Guidi's Milan Primavera side had a big chance to return to the top six and a chance in the Scudetto playoffs on Sunday, but a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Torino saw that chance wasted. After Verona Primavera had drawn with Juventus, a win vs. Torino Primavera would have seen Milan back in the race for the championship, but now they will have to both win next week in their final match of the season and also hope that Verona drop all three points.
After an evenly matched first half, Milan conceded two goals in two minutes early in the second half. After that, it was a battle to try to come back. When Milan were awarded a penalty in the 81st minute, Bonomi made no mistake. But it was not enough, and now their fate is no longer completely in their hands as they face Genoa on Saturday in their final matchday. Brief highlights of the match are available.
This post inspired by the music of LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out"
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Campionato Primavera 1 Week 38
Reviewed by Elaine
on
5:30 AM
Rating:
