Going into this match, there were a lot of expectations. After losing the Derby, Inter had dropped two points, giving Milan an unexpected opportunity to gain five points on the league leaders within eight days. Would Milan be able to insert themselves back into the title race like this? Could they pull off a win without the suspended Rabiot? Would Estupiñan be able to follow up his Derby heroics? Would Milan's defense remain strong, despite recent injuries? Would referees ruin yet another match and cause us to lose more points? Would Milan show up when it mattered most? With a 1-0 loss to Lazio away at the Stadio Olimpico, the answer to all of these questions was a resounding NO.
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| Are the team actually united? Apparently that answer is also NO. |
This was a stereotypical match vs. Lazio in that there was a lot of brutality and a decent amount of cards. But Milan were more often the brutes, being whistled for 19 fouls to Lazio's seven, despite Lazio ending up with 4 yellows and a red compared to Milan's singular yellow card. If anything, the Guida-Chiffi combo of head ref and VAR ref were perhaps a bit too lenient at times, and it seemed that Milan benefited from that leniency as much or more than Lazio.
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| Jashari was coached by Modrić and Allegri to hold the line. |
Why were Milan so physical? Well, part of it could have been the atmosphere. Despite having boycotted their management and thus all of their matches since the end of January, Lazio fans showed up 60,000 plus strong, in full voice, flags, banners, and coreografia. You remember coreografia, right? That thing Milan's Curva Sud has been banned from doing for nearly two years now? Yeah. So Lazio fans, who are "twinned" with Inter, came out of the woodwork like cockroaches just for this match in order to try to help Inter's title race. Then they'll go back to their protests. Some conviction to their cause. Needless to say, the Olimpico was a menacing din before kickoff and for the first portion of the match, and Milan players were very much affected by the atmosphere.
Lazio were also affected by the atmosphere, because, despite having more injuries, they controlled much of the first half, if not more. Sure, we saw Pavlović dribbling into the box like a seasoned winger, and Estupiñan, still pumped after his first goal last week, had a diving header that went just wide. But Lazio were far more dangerous, hitting the woodwork twice (even if one of those times would have been offside,) until Estupiñan of all people lost his man, and Isaksen scored Lazio's goal in just the 26th minute. 1-0 Lazio.
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| Are we sure Pavlović is even a defender? He's still often our best attacker. |
Empowered by both the goal and the fans, Lazio should have probably taken a lot more chances. I mean, Milan suffered nine counter attacks in the first half, more than the rest of the season, and still Lazio only had two shots on goal the whole match. But honestly, our players were lucky to not see any cards in the first half because they were so physical in shutting Lazio's plays down. Tomori received an early warning from Guida and still went on to foul the Milan ex Daniel Maldini even before the goal. Saelemaekers also fouled Zaccagni hard, and was incredibly lucky not to receive a yellow card. But Daniel Maldini had probably the only other big chance for Lazio in the first half, making a great run and taking the shot, but Maignan obviously stopped it. And then Zaccagni elbowed Tomori in the face and was also lucky to not receive a yellow card.
The second half was different. Milan regrouped and re-focused and nearly all the chances belonged to the Rossoneri. Including a Pulisic shot and subsequent rebound from Fofana, but Lazio's young goalkeeper, Motta, was up to the challenge. He was replacing Provedel, who was just injured and had to have surgery. But there were plenty of errors from Milan as well. Estupiñan earned the singular yellow card for a foul on Isaksen, a sloppy tackle that not even the most forgiving referee could ignore.
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| A shame Saelemaekers did not get to score against Lazio, it would have meant twice as much for him. |
Shortly thereafter, in the 57th, Bartesaghi replaced Estupiñan and Athekame came on for Tomori, the latter substitution which seemed a bit surprising. But Tomori had been a bit hot headed, I guess, and Athekame did provide a lot in the attack. In the 60th minute, Leão went on a run, but was dispossessed at the last minute. Isaksen fouled Bartesaghi ini the back. Motta came out and went down, but Milan could not even capitalize on a keeper-less goal.
Allegri sent Nkunku on for Fofana, and Füllkrug on for Leäo (originally, Allegri was actually planning to take Pulisic off, according to reports.) Here is where the controversy and the majority of the media's talking points since the final whistle began. Leão was very upset about being subbed off, so much so that he was wasting time shuffling off the pitch. Maignan ran all the way from goal to help escort him off the pitch faster, and Leão was not thrilled about that, but was even less thrilled when Alletri tried to hug him and offer him words of encouragement. Then he threw his jacket (wonder where he learned that from?) and kicked a water bottle. Obviously, the media ate this up like a starving animal.
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| After all Leão has done to conform for Allegri and the team, it's back to open season on him from the media. |
And it got juicier as it was reported that Leão was not only angry at Pulisic for not passing to him, but voiced his discontent in the dressing room after the match. Leão being the Italian media's favorite whipping boy, and also the player who made the display of anger/discontent, has been the topic of the media's discussion. However, in reviewing some of the footage from the match, it was very clear that Pulisic specifically and selfishly refused to pass to Leão, who was making great runs and getting into great positions.
Allegri, obviously, played the whole thing down, claiming Pulisic merely did not see Leão (which is not what the videos looked like.) After theis tantrum, when the team returned to training, Leão apologized to the group, and he and Pulisic publicly shook hands and made peace at Milanello. There are also reports that Milan have frozen the talks with Leão regarding his renewal in recent weeks, similar to what they did to Theo Hernández and Maignan. Journalist Carlo Pellegatti had this to say about how this management handles their players' renewals:
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| Either someone needs an eye exam, or there are cracks showing in the façade of team players. |
"The Rossoneri's renewal offers are like the NASDAQ, the American market for technology stocks. They rise or fall depending on the players' performances. A situation that has never happened in AC Milan's history. Four goals in the next few games and he's unsellable again? Paradoxical." Incidentally, Pellegatti also pointed out that, just like Cremonese, Tare was the only person from Milan's management at the Lazio match. He listed all of the past directors from Milan who attended every match, emphasizing the absence of the current management.
But hey, at least Daniel Maldini did not score against us, although it looked many times like he might. He was also subbed off around the same time as Leão. Seeing the Maldini name on a Lazio fills me with a white hot rage against our petty, narcissistic, little man syndrome management. They will forever be the people who treated the Maldini family beyond disrespectfully. Motta took a yellow for timewasting, and Athekame took a shot that went just wide, and there were some questions about some contact with Taylor as he kicked the ball, a potential penalty for Milan, but after a VAR review, nothing came of it. Nkunku took a chance, but Motta was there again.
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| Sure, they kept Daniel Maldini off the scoresheet, but were unable to get the result. |
Then, in the 75th minute, Athekame scored a goal. However, it was called back almost immediately for a handball. And the VAR check confirmed that the ball had touched his arms twice, actually, as he was trying to score. Very disappointing, as that goal would have given Milan a point. But, unlike certain fans of another team in Milano, Milan fans could readily accept and admit that this was a correct call, even if it was obviously disheartening.
Gila had a sweet tackle on Pulisic in the 77th. And I mention this because first of all, I'm all about a really nice tackle, even if it's against my own team. Secondly, Gila was one of the main reasons Lazio won this match, the man was everywhere, making tackles and blocks all over the place. And thirdly, many, many reports say that Igli Tare and Milan are very interested in signing him from Lazio this summer, although there are zero talks between the two clubs, and the relationship is reportedly a bit frosty.
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| Who knew Athekame would come the closest to getting us a goal? |
Modrić saw a chance saved, then Nkunku put it into the side of the net. At the same time Marušić was down, and the replays showed that he was elbowed by De Winter, but there was no card for the Milan player. Guida was not calling any elbows, and if the players had known this, perhaps some of them would be wearing protective masks after broken noses this week.
Bartesaghi and Modrić continued the siege of Lazio's goal, but to no avail. Modrić was frustrated, because his attempt was slightly hampered by the interference of Guida, actually. Which is kind of annoying, and makes you wonder if the ref had actually become a Lazio supporter. Speaking of supporters, Lazio's 60,000 fans had been virtually silenced by Milan's attack for much of the second half, while Milan's approximately 10,000 travelling supporters could easily be heard over them by this point. Well done.
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| Fofana pointing one way, De Winter kicking the other. Sums up this match. |
In the 84th, Allegri's final sub was to bring on Ricci for Saelemaekers. The latter, having played for Roma last season, was unable to score on their biggest rival. Once again, Guida offered only a warning to Bartesaghi when he fouled Cancellieri. Modrić attempted a bicycle kick that was blocked. And after another Lazio card for timewasting, as well as one for a foul on Pulisic, Jashari took a couple of chances, one just wide, and one blocked.
As soon as the six minutes of stoppage time were up, if not a little earlier, Sarri started going mad, pacing and screaming about why the clock was still running. In fact, he got himself sent off in the 97th minute for criticizing Guida, ironically delaying the final whistle even longer. Also, he refused to leave. But Guida was done with the nonsense, so just finished the match and blew the final whistle. And was Sarri fined for refusing to leave? No. Allegri would have been, as Milan are the most fined team in Serie A. But whatever. This management claim to have so many new sponsors, let them fund Serie A's slush fund.
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| Allegri can kind of cover up those way to slim cut pants, but he can't always cover up the rifts in morale. |
At the end of the match, it just felt awful. The only highlight, truly, was that the U.S. used the World Feed for the commentary, with Tom Holmes Reed doing an excellent job, in great contrast to the American commentators we are usually audibly assaulted by. Everything else just felt... disappointing? Completely deflated? All hope lost? Or was it more expected and familiar? I am not a fan of Allegri nor his style of play, and despite his heroics in the Derby, I would have started Bartesaghi over Estupiñan if the former was at all fit enough. Worse still, you have snakes like La Russa, a noted Interista and President of the Senate, bragging about sending a thank you text to Lotito. All this, while they're still crying about referees and playing victim over their precious thug, Bastoni the Reprehensible™. It's nauseating.
Could Milan afford this loss? No. Not even in the race for Champions League, let alone some people's pipe dreams of winning the Scudetto this season. Could Milan afford the drama between Leão and Pulisic? No. Now is when we need the team to be more together than ever. But be honest. Did this loss actually surprise anyone? No. Because Milan have consistently disappointed (or been robbed) all season long just when a win was needed most. With Napoli, Como, Juve, and Roma now all gaining points beneath us on the table, can we even be sure that this Milan won't fumble a top four finish? I think you know the answer.
Milan Primavera Score 31 Seconds Into Their 1-1 Draw With Bologna
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| Celebrating the perfect start. |
The Primavera had lost their previous three matches, so the 1-1 draw with Bologna Primavera at home was definitely an improvement on recent results. And the match could not have started off any better, when Domniței scored decisively just 31 seconds in from a perfect Zaramella assist. Renna's boys continued to create a number of excellent chances, but were kept in check by excellent goalkeeping from Bologna. They conceded a scrappy goal in the 55th, but Bouyer stepped up and stopped later efforts in the match to hang onto the point, which was important after recent matches. Brief highlights are available. The Primavera languish in 14th place, and will face 7th place Juventus Primavera on Saturday in a showdown in Turin.
Oddo's Milan Futuro Are Victorious with a 1-0 Win Over Oltrepó
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| Sardo is hugged after scoring his first goal and gamewinner for the Rossoneri. |
Milan Futuro are now undefeated in their last four matches after a 1-0 victory away over Oltrepó. This was Oddo's third win of four, with the draw being against the league leaders, and now they have moved up to second place in Group B. Oltrepó created a number of opportunities, but Torriani and the Futuro defense were up to the task. Milan Futuro grew in dominance in the second half, and in the second half, Sardo was able to easily slot home his first goal for Futuro from a forward ball from Sala in the 75th minute, and that goal was enough to seal the deal 1-0 Milan Futuro. Brief highlights of the match are available. They will now host 17th place Nuova Sondrio on Sunday, but will need to be careful of complacency of a team fighting relegation.
This post inspired by the music of Måneskin's "The Loneliest"
Reviewed by Elaine
on
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