Milan-Cagliari Preview: Poetic Justice

Cagliari was Massimiliano Allegri's first Serie A team, where he won his first Panchina d'oro (Golden Bench) award. He came to Milan the first time straight from Cagliari, so it is only fitting that we should be facing Cagliari in our last match with everything on the line. I don't think fans are happy that he's left it to the final day, with four teams vying for two Champions League spots, and literally any two of them could grab them. But it is kind of the pinnacle of Allegri's corto muso philosophy. Always winning "by a nose," always gambling to just pull it off instead of comfortably winning. And for those who willed Allegri here because he was a "guarantee" for Champions League qualification, having to get through 90 more minutes of his anti-football in hopes of grabbing one of the final two Champions League spots is a bit of poetic justice.

Losing either of these players because of Allegri's tactics would only be poetic justice for our rivals.

Genoa 1, Milan 2: Miracle at the Marassi

Milan won. When they absolutely had no other choice but to get three points to salvage their entire season, they did it. And they did it in one of the most hostile stadiums, too, where home fans caused a full five minutes stoppage in the match with smoke from flares. A statement 2-1 win over Genoa to make their case for Champions League qualification. Just when we thought they were down, they proved we were not out. After months of an attack that has been painfully toothless, the team gathered themselves together, believed in themselves, and created a miracle at the Marassi.

The team showed just how tight-knit they are by pulling off a miracle at the Marassi.

Genoa-Milan Preview: Shipwrecked

In true Serie A fashion, all Serie A matches for week 37 where there was something to play for were not just scheduled simultaneously, but also (finally) scheduled for lunchtime. You know, the hottest time of day? This is when Milan will face the port city of Genoa at the Marassi. With a team that are mentally and physically tattered and torn, missing three more players to suspension, the prospect is quite grim. Add to that the keg of gun powder that is Milan's current management, and this match is a disaster waiting to happen. Even if they somehow pull off the win, it will not be easy. No matter the final result, at the end of 90 minutes, fans will likely be feeling shipwrecked.

Even our stalwart defense is breaking.

Milan 2, Atalanta 3: On the Brink

As expected, there was something that held far more interest than the match, something that eclipsed even the club's misguided tribute to mothers once again on Mother's Day. I speak, of course, of the fans protesting Furlani. Not just Furlani, but everyone at the Club, from the top of management on down. No one was spared. And when the team on the pitch crumbled once again, thousands of fans even walked out on them as well. Atalanta's 3-2 win over Milan is a very generous scoreline to Milan, who capitulated early and for 80 long, painful minutes. And yet their loss, the risk of not playing Champions League, was not even the worst thing that happened this week. That's what happens when your club is on the brink.

To be fair, they asked nicer last year.

Milan-Atalanta Preview: Furlani Fury

Milan are hosting their Lombardy rivals Atalanta, who have often caused more than trouble for the Rossoneri (at least with Gasperini at the helm.) However, Milan fans, like the Eye of Sauron, have turned their anger to a tiny little man who was crowned CEO of AC Milan three and a half years ago, despite having zero experience as a CEO or in football at all. For example, there is a petition demanding he is fired that has over 40,000 signatures as of this writing. And Cardinale... imagine buying a club for €1.2 billion and putting some investment portfolio hobbit in charge of your investment? And yet, after getting Maldini fired, being on the opposite side of every rift in management, and destroying the sporting sector, trading players in and out like the stock market, requiring the sale of a big player to be sold every June just to balance the books, rumors are that the people who actually know football are on their way out, no communication, and this little traitorous rat-faced weasel is reportedly staying for good. But the fans will not allow that to happen quietly. So, while there will be a football match Sunday night, fans are far more focused on sharing their Furlani fury.

How Milan fans feel right now.

Sassuolo 2, Milan 0: Self-annihilation

They say that if you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always gotten. For Allegri, that includes specializing in losing to Sassuolo. But Allegri likes to prove them wrong by actually making things progressively worse using the same tired, ineffective, and dreaded tactics. This 2-0 loss to Sassuolo was preventable, but so have most of our dropped points been this season. As he has always done, Allegri has stifled and choked our attack and is simultaneously deflating morale in the squad with his stubborn tactics, despite having some of the highest quality players Milan has had in years. It's all part of his special form of self-annihilation.

Despite beginning with the most united spirits, they managed to collectively destroy this match.

Sassuolo-Milan Preview: Complacency Hangover

Milan travel to Sassuolo Sunday afternoon to face our Kryptonite team, which are, coincidentally green. And with perfect timing, Berardi, who has scored the most against Milan, will be back from suspension to face us. Coming off of a disappointing stretch where Milan lost four matches after going 24 unbeaten, Milan need to win enough of our final four matches to ensure we play in the Champions League next season. And although the Mapei is where we won our Scudetto four years ago, and we have not lost there since 2016, Milan have. not been playing convincing football. After the scoreless draw with Juventus last week, Milan will need to be wary of a complacency hangover.

Let's win this for Modrić.

Milan 0, Juventus 0: The Price of Mediocrity

For years, Italians talked about enticing American investors, about the "American business model" in sports, thinking it was so glamorous. And for years, I have tried to warn them. In this fourth year of Gerald & Friends' ownership, I think most people are finally understanding what I was trying to say. And with another 0-0 draw with Juve, two more dropped points in our pursuit of a Champions League qualification spot, the message is very clear. However, just in case people missed it, the Curva Sud were there to remind everyone, as they created a €139 formation in protest of the €139 price tag for the tickets for this match. The quality of football has gone down, the price of tickets have gone up, and the San Siro has become more of a tourist destination for the wealthier foreigners than it is a fortress for passionate Milan fans. And that, my friends, is the price of mediocrity.

The price of mediocre football, a Curva robbed of their colors, and a stadium of tourists