Milan Primavera got their season off the right way when they hosted Torino Primavera on Monday. Despite going up twice, Torino kept equalizing. Even going down to ten men with five minutes left could not stop Renna's boys, they fought back late in stoppage time for the 3-2 victory over Torino and took all three points.
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| Edoardo Zanaga celebrates scoring the 2nd goal vs. Torino. |
Once again, Milan Primavera's team are younger on average than many of the other Primavera sides, including Torino's U-20 side. But Edoardo Tartaglia did not let that stop him from opening the scoring by sliding a goal into the net the 22nd minute, assisted by Francesco Domniței. Also noteworthy was Maiga-Hamadoun Cissè's yellow card in the 40th minute. Milan's goalkeeper, Alessio Catalano, promoted from the U18 side, had a couple of great saves to finish off the first half, but it ended 1-0 for Milan.
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| Tartaglia celebrates scoring the opening goal vs. Torino Primavera. |
However, Torino came alive in the second half, and it was only a little over ten minutes before Tonica scored the equalizer with a header from a set piece. The match was tightly contested until the 75th minute, when new signing Edoardo Zanaga, having subbed on for Lorenzo Colombo in the 67th minute, scored a fantastic goal that even made Renna smile to give Milan the lead again. 2-1 Milan Primavera.
Unfortunately, five minutes later, in the 80th minute, Ferraris brought Torino Primavera level again, 2-2 all. Another five tense minutes, and Renna subbed Cristian Dotta on for Matteo Geroli and Riccardo Grassini on for Mattia Zaramella. Shortly after that, disaster struck, as Maiga-Hamadoun Cissè went down in the box. Rather than being given a penalty, the referee showed him a yellow card for simulation. And he was the only player on a yellow card at that point, so it became a red card. He was sent off, and Milan Primavera were on ten men.
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| Zanaga strikes to put Milan Primavera in the lead again. |
With only minutes left, it looked like Renna's boys were going to start the season much like they had so many times last season, by splitting the points after having been ahead twice. Then, in the 92nd minute, Yanis Massaoudi, having signed his first professional contract this summer and been promoted directly from the U17 team, sent a great ball forward for Cristiano Dotta, who made no mistake in a 1v1 with the goalkeeper and slotted it home for the win. 3-2 Milan Primavera.
The final whistle blew not long afterward, and the Milan players, captained by Andrea Culotta, exploded with excitement. It was an intense match against a tough team, and their celebrations were deserved. Brief highlights of the match are available. It did not hurt that the Amorim and the first team had gone to Turin and defeated Torino's first team 2-1 the night before, either. This victory is also a nice way to start the season, considering Milan Primavera ended their season with a 1-1 draw with Torino Primavera last May.
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| Cristiano Dotta celebrates scoring the winning goal against Torino Primavera. |
This is Renna and his staff's second season with Milan Primavera after leading the team to a disappointing 11th place finish last season, and they had been training with Milan Futuro and the U18 teams this summer. They will be away to Cesena Primavera on Sunday.
Note: For the past two years, the Primavera and Milan Futuro recaps have been posted as part of the first team posts here, but this year (hopefully) they will be separate posts for easier navigation.
This post inspired by the music of Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now"
Serie A Week 2
Milan vs. Venezia
Friday, August 28 • 20:45 CEST (2:45pm EDT)
In the U.S., this match can be streamed in Spanish on Telemundo or Peacock,
Milan Futuro vs. ACD Sant'Angelo 1907
Sunday, August 30 • 15:00 CEST (10:00am EDT)
This match is not being televised in the U.S.
Cesena Primavera vs. Milan Primavera
Sunday, August 30 • 16:45 CEST (10:45am EDT)
This match is not being televised in the U.S.
Reviewed by Elaine
on
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