Sunday night, Allegri's Milan exploded with two first half goals, then conceded a red card and a penalty to go down to ten men with more than 30 minutes left. Conte's Napoli converted the penalty, but were otherwise unable to break down Milan's defense no matter how hard they tried. The final score was Milan 2, Napoli 1.This was an epic matchup between the Serie A titleholders and league leaders going into this match and last season's underperforming eighth place team, who came into this match in third place, but left as the new top of the table team. And the best part was that Milan were cheered on for the entire match by their beloved Curva Sud, who broke their season long silence to create the atmospheric sound the San Siro is known for. After such an intense and epic match, the only question is: Are you not entertained?
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| Pulisic with the assist then the goal, he is inevitable. |
Saelemaekers opened the scoring with just two minutes and twenty-three seconds on the clock, the fastest Serie A goal thus far this season, and the fastest Milan goal since Theo's goal vs. Venezia last season, according to OptaPaolo. It was a goal "made in America," or at least created by Captain America, as Pulisic raced down the left flank and sent the perfect cross in for the Belgian. 1-0 Milan. A brilliant start. Are you not entertained?
As expected, though, there was a fierce answer from Napoli. In the 11th minute, Napoli took two shots - first one from Gutiérrez, then one from McTominay, both forcing Maignan into great saves. Maignan would end the night with six official saves, he was crucial for this one. At the other end, Pulisic, who was playing with superhuman abilities on this night, then sent a fantastic pass forward for Fofana, who raced forward, 1v1 with Meret, but his shot just skimmed the top of the crossbar. I know he just scored against Udinese, but Fofana seems like a rifle whose sights just need to be adjusted, and he will be devastating to opposition teams.
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| Saelemaekers reflecting the love of the fans after such an early goal to put Milan ahead. |
In a hint of what was to come, but perhaps a bit of grace from referee Chiffi and the VAR team, Estupiñan fouled Di Lorenzo just outside the box, yet no call. Shortly thereafter, Pavlović, perhaps inspired by his new Balkan Buddy, Modrić, turned into a playmaker, dribbling forward and weaving in and out of defenders, then sending in the cross that Fofana then tapped toward Pulisic, who is inevitable. The superhuman Pulisic made a mockery of Napoli's backup defense for the second time on the night, and scored. 2-0 Milan. Now he had a goal and an assist. Are you not entertained?
After attempting to claw Santi Gimenez's face off in the 14th minute, Juan Jesus elbowed him in the face twice in the 33rd minute, again earning a free kick for Milan. While Gimenez was recovering, the camera panned to Allegri, who was deep in conversation with Pulisic. He was probably lecturing him for scoring a second goal, explaining that we are only meant to win by 1-0. Always. In the 37th minute, McTominay was fouled by Tomori in the box. Napoli definitely wanted the penalty, but after a VAR check, it seems there was not enough contact to warrant overruling Chiffi's decision on the pitch not to give it in the first place.
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| Our captain coming up big for us again and again. |
Saelemaekers sent a rocket on target in the 39th minute, forcing Meret to parry it away with a reflex save. At the other end, De Bruyne sent a beautiful ball in to Di Lorenzo, but Maignan was both alert and prepared, and managed to grab the ball instead. The always dangerous Anguissa sent another header wide, then back to the other end, Modrić sent a beautiful ball in, but Estupiñan was not up to the task of both reaching it and striking it home (and was possibly offside as well.) An intense first half came to a close with Milan up 2-0.
The second half, Napoli showed up. Right away, Maignan had to punch away a Politano free kick. Then it looked like the superhuman Pulisic hacked down McTominay and took the ball from him, but the replay shows that McTominay actually planted his foot wrong or kind of tangled his legs up trying to shield the ball from Pulisic and went down, while Pulisic merely dribbled away. McTominay was down for a while, but came back with a vengeance.
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| Gamechanger – but not in the way one would hope to be. |
The 54th minute was when the match changed. While both McTominay and Anguissa went up for the same ball, with McTominay heading it on target, forcing Maignan to dive and save it, Estupiñan was marking Di Lorenzo on the opposite side of the box where Maignan pushed the ball out. In desperation, Estupiñan decided to mark the Napoli player with some extra love by pulling him down as he was attempting to go for the ball. Initially, Chiffi awarded a penalty to Napoli and gave only a yellow card to the Milan player. But after a full three minute long VAR review and a look at the monitor himself, Chiffi came back and changed the card to a straight red for Estupiñan. Milan were on 10 men. (Are you not entertained?)
Unfortunately, after the red card, it was Pulisic who was sacrificed. I hated this, it looked like Pulisic could have singlehandedly finished taking Napoli down the way he was playing. But there had been reports that he was not 100% before the match, so I hope that was the reason. Anyway, he was replaced by Bartesaghi, who has been really proving himself on the left, and was one of the stronger players on Tuesday vs. Lecce. Of course, there was still the matter of the penalty kick. And nothing, not even Maignan, could stop a De Bruyne penalty, so Napoli pulled one back in the 60th minute after Estupiñan's error. Milan 2, Napoli 1.
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| Bartesaghi stepping up, especially when it's important. |
Saelemaekers had a nasty knee-to knee collision with McTominay in the 63rd minute that was worrying. But after a bit of treatment, he did try to continue. Five minutes later, however, Allegri sent Athekame in to replace him, and also sent Leão on for Santi Gimenez. Napoli continued to lay siege to Milan's goal, with McTominay forcing another save from Maignan in the 71st minute. Bartesaghi made a nice block in the 74th, one of several on the night. I think he is better defensively than Estupiñan, actually, though he is still young.
Tomori looked to have pulled something, so in the 79th minute, Allegri subbed him off, sending De Winter on to replace him. Two worrying player exits in about ten minutes. He also sent Loftus-Cheek on for Fofana, as it was clear we needed both size and muscles to withstand the final minutes of Napoli's assault. Keep in mind that Milan did not have a single shot in the second half. All six of their shots, with only three on target, were made in the first half, which makes the win even more amazing. In contrast, Napoli took 19 shots, even if only seven were on target.
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| The stuff memes are made of. |
There was a meme-worthy moment in the 84th minute, though. Leão made a break for it, and no fewer than seven Napoli players went to cover him. One vs. seven. It is the funniest image I can remember in a while from a Milan match. Also, he nearly beat them all, too. I don't blame them for being so hypervigilant defensively. They probably have not forgotten his annihilation of their defense in the Champions League two years ago that led to Giroud's goal. Are you not entertained?
Things were getting spicy in the penalty area as Napoli made attempt after attempt to break through Milan's defense. There is an image that sums up Milan's efforts, with De Winter, Gabbia, and Rabiot literally putting their bodies on the line to block an attempt from Elmas. Pavlović and Lucca were getting physical in the box, and when Pavlović took Lucca down, there was no foul called, yet when Lucca took Pavlović down ten minutes later, Milan was awarded a free kick. That's why you don't mess with Pavlović.
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| Literally putting your body on the line. |
The volume of the Curva Sud's singing intensified. Maignan made another great save on Noa Lang. Then Rabiot fouled Lobotka and was shown a yellow card. Neres sent a deadly shot in that was heading for the top left corner, out of Maignan's reach, but the 5'8" (172 cm) Modrić managed to jump and deflect the ball with his head just enough so the ball hit the corner of the woodwork instead. Things were already so intense, then there was seven minutes of stoppage time between VAR checks and injuries. And in the 97th minute, Maignan made one last super save on a Neres shot.
Modrić kicked the ball, then heard the final whistle blow, and fell to his knees, roaring with the passion of someone who just won a major trophy. Milan had won the battle. The man who had won everything cared that much about a single Serie A match, and it was so beautiful to see this level of passion. When asked later how he stays motivated, Modrić said that he just really loves football. It is honestly so inspiring to see someone at his level with such pure passion for the game. Are you not entertained?
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| This level of passion at this point in his career is so refreshing, |
Personally, I am not 100% certain that they would have pulled this win off after the red card had it not been for the return of the voices of the Curva Sud. They began by singing individual chants for each player ahead of the match, and they never stopped singing the whole time. Tuesday marks one year since the arrest of the Ultras in the Double Curva investigation, and it has been a long and painful year without the full support of the Curva. They will be allowed to have flags, banners, and pennants at our next home match, and hopefully, soon, they will be able to bring back their legendary coreografia to the San Siro as well.
There was another thing that made this one special. Sunday was the International Day of the Deaf, and Milan concluded a week long series of initiatives to promote awareness and inclusivity for those who are hard of hearing. At the beginning of the match, on the big screen, videos of the starting lineup introducing themselves with their name signs were played. In sign language, a name sign us when each person creates sign that "uniquely identifies a person, usually linked to a physical characteristic, quality, or peculiarity, but also to their surname or favorite goal celebration." Their signs were created in Italian Sign Language (LIS,) so I am not sure what all of them mean, but Gabbia, which means "cage" in Italian, used the sign for "cage" as his name sign, for example.
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| The enthusiasm toward the fans increases as the volume of their chants does also. |
In the battle between Allegri and Conte, there have been nine Serie A meetings. Now the score is five wins for Conte, two draws, and finally a second win for Allegri after all these years. People are raving about Allegri, but let's be fair, having Modrić, and also Rabiot is also crucial to this fifth straight win and only three goals conceded all season to date. Having Pulisic playing like a man possessed, and having achieved more defensive stability with a much more balanced and defensive midfield, Milan are certainly trending upward. Whether or not we will be able to maintain this level of performances and more importantly, success, remains to be seen. But a match like this begs the question: Are you not entertained?
Milan Futuro Score 3 Unanswered Goals vs. Scanzorosciate
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| With an ego like father, like son, Maximilian Ibrahimović celebrates unlocking the match. |
After a lackluster and scoreless first half, Milan Futuro came alive with three goals to take all three points and move to second place in Group B. The 3-0 win over Scanzorosciate put them only two points behind leaders Folgare Caratese. Notably, there were two sons of former Milan players on the bench for Oddo for this one: Maximilian Ibrahimović and Denzel Viana Seedorf, who usually plays with Milan U18. This was his first call up for Futuro.
The first half saw only a few chances created by Milan Futuro, and also Torriani forced into making a few saves as well. But Oddo's substitutions would make the difference in the second half. Branca, Magrassi, and Maximilian Ibrahimović were all subbed on between the 58th and 62nd minutes, then Borsani, who came on in the 72nd minute, and all would play a part in the goals.
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| Diego Sia celebrates his goal with Branca, who provided the assist. |
First was the penalty. While Magrassi's penalty was initially saved, Ibrahimović was there to take the rebound, and he did not miss. Four minutes later, Branca put a cross in for Diego Sia, who buried it for the second goal. Finally, Magrassi set up Borsani, who scored his first goal for Futuro in style. Torriani managed to keep the clean sheet as Oddo's boys took all three points. Brief highlights are available.
Milan Futuro also participated in the club's various activities in relation to the International Day of the Deaf which was marked on Sunday, with a few of the Futuro players asked to try to guess football-related signs in Italian Sign Language (LIS.) Milan Futuro will have a chance to continue their unbeaten run on Saturday, as they face Virtus Ciserano Bergamo, and the following Wednesday, they will play their next round of the Coppa Italia Serie D.
Milan Primavera Continue Away Form with 1-0 Victory Over Cremonese
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| Ossola with the winner away to Cremonese. |
Renna's Primavera have won every away match this season, and that did not change in Cremona. A single goal from Ossola secured the 1-0 victory over Cremonese on Saturday. Despite Cremonese Primavera being near the bottom of the table, the match was an intense battle, with Milan creating a number of good chances, but Bouyer also forced into action in goal as well. Ossola's goal came in the 19th minute, who both opened the scoring and won the match for Milan Primavera. Brief highlights are available.
This puts Milan Primavera on 10 points, which is equal to Bologna, Verona, and Sassuolo. However, Bologna and Verona both have favorable goal differentials, so Milan Primavera sit in eighth place. But continuing to get results could help them jump up the table quickly. Their next match is Saturday vs. Monza at home, who are only one point behind them, sitting in tenth place.