The match everyone was watching to see which Milan would
show up for did not disappoint. Four goals, five yellow cards, a red card, and
plenty of action, it was certainly not boring. And while there were great moments
like El Shaarawy breaking his goalless streak, there were plenty of question
marks about the squad, their performance, Inzaghi, his eyesight, and our
chances of making it back “home” to European competition. I think Milan have
opted to take the long way home.
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| Il Faraone strikes true to break his drought |
El Shaarawy started the match off with a stunningly
beautiful goal in the 10th minute. 1-0 Milan. He hadn’t scored in Serie A since
February of 2013, and I was nearly moved to tears with his joy in having broken
his drought. And he did it while Conte was in the stands watching, too. So I
would like to invite Conte to attend all of Milan’s games, as De Sciglio also
played better than he has been this season. Their desire to play for Italy
seems to have benefitted Milan, I’m happy for both Milan and Italy.
From there, the Bonera show really took over. In the 27th,
he received his token yellow for a dumb foul. (Mexes, not to be outdone, also
very much earned one in the 36th.) In stoppage time of the first half, Okaka
scored for Sampdoria while Bonera was “marking” him. 1-1 all. Not to say that
anyone else necessarily would have done better, only that most of our conceded
goals this year have Bonera as the common denominator.
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| Everyone is happy when El Shaarawy scores like that |
In the 51st, Sampdoria scored again, this time it was Eder’s
quick reflexes on a rebound from an Obiang shot that hit the post. 2-1
Sampdoria. There were some questions as to whether or not Eder was offside, but
he wasn’t. According to FIFA’s definition of offside, he would have been had he
been “playing a ball that rebounds to him off a post or crossbar, having
previously been in an offside position.” But when Obiang took the shot, he was
kept onside by Honda, so the ref and his team got it right by allowing the
goal. Incidentally, the play was from a corner. Again.
Thank goodness Djamel Mesbah still has Milan in his heart,
or maybe aspires to return to the club someday. It was his handling of the ball
in the box in the 64th that gave Milan a penalty. So in the 65th, Menez stepped
up and converted it, even if Deschamps was not there to watch him. 2-2 all.
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| Great penalty, now can you go back to passing to your teammates, please? |
Things got extra friendly and the cards started flying, with
De Sciglio earning his in the 75th and De Jong earning his in the 81st. (Maybe
he’s looking to earn another day off to go to Disneyland?) But the crowning
moment was when Captain Bonera, in his 400th professional match, was awarded a
second yellow and thus sent off in the 85th. (insert ironic golf clap here.)
Milan played the last few minutes on ten men, but I see it as a Bonera-free
derby, and that is a beautiful thing to me. Unfortunately, Inzaghi saw it as
Bonera having a good match, so we may want to schedule an eye exam for him very
soon.
I really don’t like hating on someone I love, but Inzaghi is
breaking my heart here. Lining up Bonera at left back in the first place was
bad enough, but his subs were too little and too late and very questionable. He
brought Torres on for Honda in the 59th, then Poli on for Menez in the 87th.
Finally, van Ginkel stood on the sidelines the entire stoppage time and never even got to come on. So much for his appearances clause in his loan deal. I keep trying to remember
that Inzaghi needs a learning curve, but at the same time, it’s hard to afford him
that after all we’ve been through in recent years.
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| Quickly falling out of favor with the fans who love him so much |
There were positives. Lopez played quite well overall, making
some really great saves, particularly when you consider that Samp got 19 shots
off, with eight of those being on target. Mexes made 26 steals in the match and
only launched one Boateng-like shot into space. Also, he wasn’t wearing the
braids, so that’s always a plus. Rami was also a beast, he and Mexes do play
well together. Still, hoping Alex recovers quickly. Milan played so much better
than they did vs. Palermo. The draw was perhaps fair, considering we were playing away. Although I think
Sampdoria perhaps deserved the win, they outplayed us at least a little.
I’m so happy for il
Faraone, and obviously hope the goal restores his confidence, because he
was awesome today. However, this was not a Milan side that convinced us that the
Palermo performance was a one-off. It is still a team that is growing, still a
team that needs some more talent in several places. Despite people being
excited by early performances this season, I fear that Milan have chosen to
take the long way home.
This match inspired by the music of Supertramp’s
“Take the Long Way Home”
Stay
tuned for an all new Milan Obsession Podcast!