If our Milan players are Superheroes, then Sassuolo is definitely still our Kryptonite. Unless it is a Trofeo TIM Tournament or a Scudetto-winning match, the Reggio Emilian side always manage to hurt us, if not take all three points. Sunday was no different, when Rabiot put us ahead, they still managed to equalize, with the match ending Sassuolo 1, Milan 1. I suppose there is some sort of win in Berardi being deployed and not scoring on us, but I don't really think anyone from Milan felt like there was any kind of win after losing Gabbia to injury and dropping two points. Once again, our Kryptonite team had us neutralized.
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| They could not stop Rabiot's missile launch, but they neutralized it. |
The most harrowing part of this match happened in just the 17th minute, when Gabbia went down with what looked like a hamstring injury. He was stretchered off in great pain, which is always awful to watch, especially for such a tough player like him. After tests, the Italian diagnosis is "lesione del muscolo flessore della coscia sinistra, con parziale interssamento tendineo," which is difficult to get a straight English translation without a native Italian speaker familiar with sports injuries, but I think it may be a tear in his quadriceps with some kind of damage to the tendon as well.
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| Absolutely heart-wrenching. Heal quickly, Gabbia! |
Needless to say, he will have another consultation soon, which will determine whether surgery is necessary, or if a more conservative treatment will work. Either way, he is out at least until 2027, along with Saelemaekers, who had a successful surgery on his ankle on Tuesday in Amsterdam. He is expected to be out for around five months, so could possibly return mid-March if all goes well. Both players are fan favorites for their heart and grinta, so are big losses for feels as well as their skills on the pitch.
De Winter was subbed on to replace Gabbia, but everything after that point just felt jaded by what was clearly a bad injury. Sassuolo were holding their own and even creating some chances, when in the 24th minute, Pulisic fell on top of Leysen, whose leg was bent awkwardly, and immediately called for the medics. As it turns out, he tore his ACL, so will also be out for a very lengthy time. It was only the 26th minute, and both sides had lost a defender to serious injury. Not at all the kind of match anyone wants.
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| Leysen's injury probably weighed heavy on this guy's shoulders the rest of the match, too. |
And it's not like the violence stopped there (not that Fourneau took note of any of it unless it was against Sassuolo, though.) For example, in the 27th minute, Van der Brempt dangerously slammed into Moreira's back (no card, obviously.) And Gila had his foot stepped on, again, no punishment for Sassuolo. Berardi also fouled Moreira hard, he was down (worryingly so,) but again, not even a raised eyebrow from Fourneau.
But a yellow card finally did emerge on a tactical foul on Berardi by Estupiñan I mean, sure, Estupiñan is now legally required to get a yellow card in every match, I think. But only breaking out cards for advantage plays and not using them when players are endangered is just irresponsible. And that was a continuous theme throughout the match, where he showed Milan a total of four yellow cards to Sassuolo's one, while there was a blatant red card that should have been given to Laurienté that wasn't even carded or VAR reviewed at all.
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| Estupiñan's performance was surprisingly mostly on point, but I cannot say the same for the ref. |
It was toward the end of the first half, though, that Milan found their attacking mindset again. In the 32nd minute, Rabiot sent a dangerous header over from a Moreira set piece. Then Ramos had a shot in the 32nd minute that forced Murić into a save, and less than a minute later, a header that forced an even bigger save, with the Sassuolo goalkeeper forced to push it over.
De Winter earned a yellow card for a foul on Laurienté in stoppage time, then Moreira had a shot saved after a great cross from Estupiñan, of all people. In the sixth minute of stoppage time, Pavlović had a downward header saved, demonstrating why he joked that Amorim should put him up front when he recently was awarded Rossoneri goal for 2025-26.
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| Pavlović, our forward who also identifies as a defender. |
The second half started with a short Modrić free kick give-and-go that saw him send a nice, curling shot from distance, but Murić did not struggle to grab it. Then came a double referee controversy in the 52nd minute which left both Fourneau and VAR refs Santoro and his assistant Maraviglia looking like Rocchi's pets rather than competent referees.
The most obvious call was a brutal Laurienté foul on Gila just inside the box. After knocking knees as he tried to run into the box, Laurienté went studs up on the inside of Gila's leg. Fourneau did blow his whistle for a foul, but no yellow card, not even after a VAR review. Meanwhile, after the fact, referee experts said it absolutely should have been a red card for Laurienté.
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| Gila was a monster in this match, he had all the fans behind him. |
The other incident was at the other end, with Ramos in the area, Duje Ćaleta-Car took Ramos down from behind, which should have been a penalty for Milan. There is some ambiguity on this call, which is basically left up to the head ref on the pitch, who obviously gave nothing. But he also did not go to the monitor for an On Field Review (OFR) for either incident.
Which is shocking after seeing what referee Bonacina was called to the monitor for in the Inter-Parma match by VAR refs Paterna and assistant Massimi on Saturday. And he, of course, gave Inter the penalty, which was converted, and made it a 2-0 match instead of just a 1-0 match. Like the stomp on Gila earlier was worse and more intentional than that, and Fourneau did nothing about that, either. The foul on Ramos was also far more of a foul than this one, also given an OFR and a penalty awarded to Inter a couple of years ago. But it must just be a coincidence that the refs always go to the monitor for one club, right?
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| Everyone wants a piece of Ramos, but the least Fourneau could have done was go to the monitor. |
I'm not here to complain about red cards or penalties not given, though. I'm here to advocate for the safety of our players. I support refs who let some things go, but that must be done without bias, and within safety limitations. Given just these two incidents alone, the fact that Sassuolo ended on 11 men and only one yellow card tells you how dangerous this match was for Milan players. That's just not okay. The entire point of discipline is player safety. And if you miss something, VAR is there to make sure the ref can go back and discipline a player so it doesn't happen again.
Back to the match, Maignan made a sliding tackle type clearance on Ádžić in the 59th minute, he is so badass. And Ramos, not getting many balls sent to him inside the box, attempted a shot from distance that went wide. At the other end, Doig sent a shot over. But finally, in the 63rd minute, Rabiot took a pass from Modrić and just slammed it into the back of the net like a rocket. 1-0 Milan. That man doesn't do tap-ins.
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| Don't get in the way of Rabiot. |
At the other end, the Viking Thorstvedt took a powerful shot that Maignan managed to save, the rebound went out to Laurienté, who sent it back in for the Viking, who tried a point blank shot, which Maignan smothered. But a couple of minutes later, from a Laurienté corner, Maignan was not as lucky, and his team did not provide him the necessary coverage, as Odenthal sent the equalizer under Maignan's flying body and into the back of the net. 1-1 all.
Chukwueke hgad a 1v1 chance with Murić after a cross from Pulisic, but the Sassuolo goalkeeper saved that. Then, in the 78th minute, Amorim finally introduced some substitutes, sending Jashari on for Musah and Alphadjo Cissè on for Pulisic. Cissè had been managed by former Milan player and the now Sassuolo manager, Aquilani, at Catanzaro last season, so he knew what the young player was capable of.
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| Was Aquilani just stalking Cissè? |
Next was Hutchinson on for Chukwueke in the 85th, but none of the subs were able to find the winner. In the 87th, Ramos was shown a yellow card for something–I think it was kicking the ball after the whistle? Obviously, that was super dangerous, so... Milan had their third yellow of the night. Thorstvedt thought he had scored Sassuolo's second goal of the night in the 88th minute, but for once, Fourneau had actually whistled a foul, as Bowie had fouled Ramos leading up to the goal, so it did not count.
As we entered stoppage time, both teams were desperate for the winner, and Pavlović earned a yellow card for a foul on Bowie in the 91st minute. Pavlović did foul him, but had a few words with Fourneau, maybe some of the same words I was tweeting out, that the four cards for Milan seemed very disproportionate, given the physicality that we had witnessed. Bowie's smirk and shoulder bump into Pavlović right next to the referee was something we'd normally see from an Inter player, too.
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| This guy is also a beast, the only way they could stop him was to foul him. |
In the 94th minute, Fourneau actually showed a yellow card to a Sassuolo player. Maybe he, like some other Italians, is prejudiced against Vikings, or maybe he finally figured out that Thorstvedt's foul on Moreira was actually dangerous play. Either way, it was as surprising as it was important. Berardi nearly got an assist in the last seconds of the match, as his ball in saw Thorstvedt take one last strike, forcing Maignan into one last good save. But at the final whistle, it was still 1-1 all.
Something I'm failing to understand is why Amorim cannot just start his best 11 and put the game away early, allowing the players to continue to battle/defend for the rest of the match. Forgive the reference for those who are not as open to talking about sex, but Amorim's ideas about his lineups remind me of most guys' idea of what they think women want during sex: just prolong their orgasm longer. But what men don't understand is that longer sex is not always better. Tormenting us while you are just trying to delay your own pleasure does not equal pleasure for us. It's actually more like watching the first half of Amorim's matches, and often has the same, frustrating results, too.
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| We all know that Modrić can go the distance, just start him, Amorim. |
Except for Lecce. When he actually did start Modrić instead of Musah, and it was like great sex. We went ahead early, kept the lead, then scored two more goals, with a performance that was even more enjoyable than the scoreline. Even he admitted he did not want to make the same mistakes as he had at Manchester United, and that they had played more freely, etc. So if it was so good for all of us, why go back to the torture and lack of results? Everyone wants to score, all we want is good sex football. Why hold back and risk not winning when you can give us 90 minutes of pleasure and also three points?
It was brilliant to hear the traveling Milan fans in full voice the whole match. With the entire away stand sold out well ahead of the match, the fans made it seem like a home game for our players with their support, and neutralized Sassuolo's fans in the rest of the stadium. Now, if only our ignorant owner wasn't busy politicizing our club, distracting from the actual football, and making enemies of fans and neutrals alike. But between the devastating injuries on both sides, and the very questionable refereeing from Fourneau, this did not feel like a point gained at all. It definitely felt like two points lost, like Milan had been more than neutralized.
Milan Futuro vs. Piacenza
Thursday, October 15 • 18:45 CEST (12:45pm EDT)
Saturday, October 17 • 11:00 CEST (5am EDT)
This match is not being televised in the U.S.
Chievo Verona vs. Milan Futuro
Sunday, Ocotber 18 • 15:00 CEST (9am EDT)
Sunday, October 18 • 18:00 CEST (12noon EDT)
Reviewed by Elaine
on
Rating:
