At
kickoff, it was quite clear which team was more focused. And also who had done
their homework since our
meeting last Thursday. For the first 45 minutes, Torino closed Milan
down at every turn and forced us to pay for our errors. But in the second half,
Milan were “slapped awake” as Bertolacci said, and did everything they
could to even the score, but not quite enough to win. So we only took one point
home and Mihajlovic and company got a little revenge… sort of.
 |
| Next time maybe they could just put "C-O-M-P-L-A-C-E-N-C-Y" on their jackets and spare us our time |
Never one
to shun the spotlight, Tagliavento gave out eight cards in all, including a
second yellow and thus sending off to Romagnoli in the 89th. It’s difficult to
argue any of the cards, they all looked like book-able offenses. But curious
how other refs may not have been so generous with the cards and still got the
job done. Although I thoroughly appreciated Tagliavento's “Jack-Be-Nimble” impression in
the 85th in jumping over the ball, so bonus points for that. Locatelli was amongst those receiving
Tagliavento’s generosity, and will thus be suspended for card accumulation
against Napoli on Saturday. It’s going to be tough without both he and
Romagnoli. And the way Romagnoli’s mouth was moving as he was sent off, I would
not be surprised if his suspension goes beyond a single game.
With
Milan shaky from the start and errors we don’t usually see, it really wasn’t a
surprise that Torino scored first. Or that it was Belotti, either, with a
scrappy goal in the 21st. 1-0 Torino. Hart answered back with one of his six
saves of the night, then Benassi scored another scrappy goal in the 26th. 2-0
Torino. And as if that weren’t bad enough, Abate fouled Barreca in the box in
the 31st, so Torino were handed a penalty. Despite the fact that Belotti was
supposed to take it (and had a penalty famously saved before by Donnarumma,)
Ljajic insisted on taking this one. And it was also epically saved by Donnarumma.
That is three penalties faced in the league this season by Donnarumma (two from
Torino,) and three penalties saved. Untouchable.
 |
| Milan fans grateful for GLT, Hart grateful he still has a face |
The
penalty save did slow Torino down a bit, but not enough for Hart to miss. He
had a brilliant fingertip save on a Suso shot that was curling in in the 38th.
Easier was the shot Bertolacci took right at him in the 44th. As I mentioned
previously, he had six saves in this match. And Donnarumma had five. Eleven saves and four goals.
The
second half saw Milan’s focus increase, and so it wasn’t surprising that in the
55th, Bertolacci finally scored his “new papa” goal. (It is a Milan tradition
for the best players to score the game after they become a father.) 2-1 Torino.
It was, just like the first two goals in this one, very scrappy. And actually used
Goal Line Technology. Was nice to be on the proper side of it when Tagliavento
pointed to his special watch as if to say “talk to the watch.”
 |
| Bacca on target again |
Immediately
after that, Torino thought they scored another, but Benassi’s goal was offside.
There was no mistaking in the 59th when Rossetini took down Paletta and was
given his yellow for it, while Milan were given a penalty. Bacca stepped up to
take it, made no mistake, and it was the equalizer for Milan. 2-2 all. The rest
of the match was a blur of Montella’s late and largely impotent subs and also amazing shots and saves from both sides. Oh,
and more cards. Montella mentioned he was angry with Niang, who was on the
pitch for all of eight or nine minutes. Okay. I’m sure us drawing was all his
fault. Whatever.
Playing at the newly renamed Il Grande Torino stadium, we drew
with a team that we beat on Thursday. So we obviously weren’t at our best. Montella
should be grateful he’s not got Mihajlovic’s problem. Torino were leading by
two points up until the 55th, then choked, a common thing for them this season. In fact,
Mihajlovic was so angry, he punched a whole in the advertising boards when
leaving the pitch, which apparently mildly injured a nearby steward. I can’t blame
him. I’m just grateful that we didn’t drop all three points, a fate that seemed
too likely from early on.
 |
| Leonel Vangioni. Not just a myth, he played like seven whole minutes. |
This
wasn’t a great result, though. We face Napoli on Saturday and Juventus in the
Coppa Italia a week from Wednesday. The win would have done wonders for our
morale, the three points helping us stay in the top five. And having Locatelli & Romagnoli available for Saturday would have
done wonders, too. Mihajlovic should be angry, but they did help us give up two
points and pushed us into losing two strong players to suspension. So I guess
that was a little bit revenge-ish.
This post inspired
by the music of “She Wants Revenge”
Our next match is
Milan vs. Napoli
Saturday, January 21
• 20:45 CET (2:45pmEST)
Stay tuned for an
all new Milan Obsession Podcast!