After a full year of Allegri's constipated anti-football where his philosophy was to play not to lose, this match was refreshing in that Milan played with intent, they were determined, and they were playing to win (well, at least for 75 minutes or so.) Despite starting lineups that made me wonder if I was in a really bad nightmare or a horror movie where I could not escape (who on earth would start Musah ahead of Modrić?) Milan pinned Torino back for much of the match, not allowing any of our mistake-prone players to lose this match for us. And after Amorim finally did bring Modrić on, along with the recently maligned Rabiot, Milan scored two quick goals to secure the 2-1 win over Torino. This is what it is like when your team is winning intentionally.
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| United by winning. |
Loftus-Cheek and the young Alphadjo Cissè teamed up to make their intentions known in just the second minute, but the shot ended up in the side netting. One of my favorite takeaways was that Amorim started 19 year-old Alpha Cissè for Milan and Abate started 19 year-old Diego Mascardi in goal for Torino. While the Italian FIGC clings to ancient men and a status quo of older, more experienced players, two young managers knew that Serie A needs to trust young talent. I was here for it, and they did not disappoint.
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| 19 year-old Cissé faces World Cup player Marcus Pederson as the 2 young managers look on. |
Mascardi was cool and calm under pressure, and made some excellent saves, while Alpha Cissè was a little overconfident and a bit undisciplined at times, he was also bold and demonstrated plenty of skills, the kinds of things fans love to see in a young player. He had a shot go over, then his corner was punched clear by Mascardi as Ramos was completely held, but a foul was called on De Winter for contact with De Winter. Yes, it is going to be one of those seasons. Again. You could tell by the 1980's Barbie style ref shirts poor Zufferli and crew had to wear, turquoise with hot pink accents. What Marotta won't do to keep them under his control.
Chukwueze, still in preseason/early season mode had perhaps the best chance of the first half in the 30th minute, but Mascardi made a great save. Cissè's header wound up in the side netting, but at the other end, Casadei threatened with a dangerous cross across the box. Luckily, there were no Torino players there, but there were also no Milan defenders there, either.
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| Alphadjo Cissè Bringing youth and excitement to both Milan and Serie A |
There was a traumatic moment when the camera showed Gerald Cardinale in the stands along with our "Director of Player Trading," our "Director of Football Intelligence," and other notable "dignitaries." I think the referee, Zufferli, and even the VAR ref, Massoleni, may have also seen the feed and been traumatized, because right about then, there was a bad foul on Chukwueze by Cacciamani involving his studs going into the Nigerian, and not only was there not a card, but also no VAR review, either. As I said, it's going to be yet another Marotta League season.
With a 0-0 scoreline at the half, play restarted with a Loftus-Cheek chance again, this time a header that went wide. Since he couldn't get on the scoreboard, I suppose he wanted some acknowledgement, so he earned yellow card for a foul on Gineitis in the 52nd, oddly the only yellow card of the whole match. Torino were getting into the game, as Giovanni Simeone nearly connected with Saúl Coco's cross from a set piece. Then Ramos sent a header over the bar for Milan at the other end.
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| Ramos also had a great debut, even if he did not get on the scoresheet. |
Amorim finally wisened up and brought on Modrić for Loftus-Cheek and Rabiot for Jashari in the 56th minute. They came on just in time to witness the huge Marotta League controversy, a very clear handball bay Vlašić in the area, were his arm was outstretched, in an unnatural position, he moved his arm toward the ball, and the ball changed direction and was deflected out. Like it was a textbook handball violation. But not even after a VAR review did Zufferli award Milan the penalty [not that he went to look at the On Field Review (OFR,) either.] I genuinely do not care whether the result is for or against us, this referee nonsense has gone on too long and has exceeded its expiration date by like 20 years.
Perhaps encouraged by getting away with no penalty, Simeone had a great shot blocked, but Torino's bravado was silenced a minute later by our 19 year-old. That's right, Alpha Cissé scored our very first goal of the season, his very first goal for Milan on his competitive debut, with an assist from Rabiot. 1-0 Milan. As much as I love Abate and feel horrible about the way Ibrahimović and Milan treated him, I was ecstatic about this goal. And so happy for Cissè, who was voted MVP by Milan fans.
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| Celebrating Cissè's first ever Milan goal and Milan's first goal of the season |
Amorim had just enough time to substitute Saelemaekers on for the young Cissè, and Bartesaghi to replace the ineffective Estupiñan before Rabiot, for whom Torino had been a Derby for him for his years at Juve, scored the second goal, this time with an assist from Chukwueze. 2-0 Milan. This was his third consecutive match scoring against Torino since arriving at Milan. You gotta love that. And, Chukwueze was given Serie A's Player of the Match award, too.
Abate made some impactful subs, which unfortunately made Milan struggle more. For example, after the goals, it took another five minutes for Milan to make a shot, when Bartesaghi put a cross in for Ramos, whose shot was saved by the young Mascardi. At the other end, Njie hit the woodwork. Maignan was there, but it was the closest they had come all match. Then Gila was down, apparently injured, which was worrisome after his preseason injury. He was subbed off and replaced by Gabbia in the 76th minute. Luckily, it was just cramps, and Gila trained normally this week.
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| Rabiot is inevitable vs. Torino. |
The combination of Abate's subs, losing Gila, and Milan getting tired led to a big of an onslaught by Torino on Milan's goal. Comuzzo sent it over. Njie's cross to Aboukhlal ended in a missed shot. It felt like a goal for Torino was coming. And in stoppage time, it did. Ché Adams, in the 93rd minute, basically did a roundhouse kick on the volley, and put the ball completely out of reach, perfectily in the top right corner. Now it was Torino 1, Milan 2. An extraordinary goal. Like I don't want to concede goals. But if we have to, they should look something like that. Incredible.
At the final whistle, there was this strange feeling, I almost didn't recognize it. More than just relief, like in recent years, I felt joy. I'm not one of those people who thinks this result means our season will be successful. I'm not one of those people who believes that Gerald flying in on a helicopter, spending extreme amounts of money on just a few players, and being more present means our season will be any better, either. Having a front row to your failed ideas does not make them any better ideas than they were before.
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| Being able to greet the fans with something to be proud of. |
But I am always happy when my team wins. And thrilled for Amorim, a manager coming to Serie A for the first time, coming into this club at this time, got his first win in his first match of the season. We all needed that. Especially when there is still the Marotta League, and an FIGC whose campaign for this weekend included kids wearing shirts that said "Let's defend the values of football," whilst they completely dismissed a blatant case of referee corruption involving Inter. Some things will literally never change.
However, I am one of those people who is so relieved to be playing better football. I never wanted Allegri to come back to Milan last year, and his playing style was only part of the reason. Imagine how traumatized I was when it actually cost us the Champions League. And imagine now, how thrilled I am to see us actually playing attacking football again. I am so very grateful that we are once again winning intentionally.
This post inspired by the music of Outkast's "Hey Ya!"
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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