The irony
was not lost on me. In November, Milan suffered a heartbreaking 2-2 draw in the
Derby with a goal scored in the dying minutes of stoppage time. So it was only
fitting that we should show Inter the same kindness today. And that draw feels
like a win, considering the difference in our quality of players. And quality
of coreo. The Curva Sud created a Robin Hood themed coreo whose second banner
said “Every city has its problems,” aimed at Inter. We definitely won that one.
But what a perfect result for us today, who were definitely the underdogs on
the pitch. And what epic Karma for Inter.
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| "Milano: Every city has its problems" |
The match
started off with a bang, with 3 Milan players attempting shots from one
another’s rebounds in the second minute. The whole first half was intense, with
Milan attacking relentlessly and Inter defending and trying to get a few shots
in. On paper, Milan played even better than it seemed, with 61% possession and
a total of 14 shots, but six of those on target. However in the 36th minute,
reality hit when Candreva scored a goal. 1-0 Inter. It was a tough pill to
swallow. But things got even worse in the 44th, Icardi, who had never scored
against us before, did. 2-0 Milan. I felt like the collective wind being
knocked out Milan fans everywhere was audible. Certainly I questioned my sanity
at waking up so early in the morning for this.
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| So epic. Romagnoli scores, the €40m player Inter stole from us can only walk away in disgust |
The
second half was slightly more relaxed, but still intense. Kuco even attempted a
bicycle kick in the 53rd. And Montella made one of his earlier subs in the
57th, bringing on Locatelli for Kuco, too. There were some great shots, great
blocks and saves, and then a number of other changes, including Lapadula coming
on for Sosa in the 75th and Ocampos coming on for Calabria in the 81st.
Then it
happened. In the 83rd, Romagnoli scored, with a great assist from Suso. 2-1
Inter. Suso had been unfortunately very well contained by Nagatomo the entire
match, but here and there he was afforded moments of brilliance. But it still
seemed only a consolation goal as regulation ticked away and we entered the
five minutes of stoppage time.
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| Zapata applies some serious Karma to Medel |
Marking
the beginning of stoppage time was the entrance of one Biabiany, who was a
Milan player for exactly one photograph a few years back, and now had switched
to the dark side. After a couple of yellows, including one for Locatelli in the
95th minute, Biabiany missed a sitter in the 96th minute. Which is when Inter
really wished the game had ended. But due to some stoppage for injuries or
cards or whatever and a whole lot of timewasting from Inter, Orsato kept the
clock going. Just long enough for Zapata to sneak one in in the 97th minute
(sound familiar? I told you these things even out.) 2-2 all. The most brilliant
picture of the day was Orsato showing Medel the Goal Line Technology reading on
his watch that showed that it was, in fact, a goal.
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| The new management celebrates the comeback in the dressing room with the team |
Just as
the collective Milan fans worldwide were audibly deflated when Icardi scored,
the celebrations, hugs, and screams and cheers of Milanisti worldwide were
absolutely audible. We had stolen a point at the death, which was epic Karma,
because they did virtually the same thing to us in November. With a 2-2 draw
even. And we did it with an extra almost two minutes of stoppage time and a
goal that had to be confirmed by Goal Line Technology. So brilliant. And such
epic Karma.
I have no
regrets about waking up so early. Inter looked so much better than we did,
their individual quality was so obvious compared to our humble young squad.
They literally have the oldest average squad in Serie A and we have the
youngest average squad this season, they should have absolutely schooled us.
And the scoreline at the half indicated as much, too. But after finalizing the
sale of the club and all we’ve been through in recent years, it was a
tremendous moral boost to take the point and stay two points ahead of them on
the table. Especially with such a dramatic ending. It was absolutely epic
Karma.
This post inspired
by the music of “Chi non salta Nerazzurro é”
Our next match is
Milan vs. Empoli
Sunday, April 23 •
15:00 CST (9am EDT)
Check out the Touchline Radio Podcast, where I chatted with Adam about the Derby, the closing, and my experiences blogging and podcasting.
To all those who
celebrate,
Buona Pasqua!
Stay tuned for an all new Milan Obsession Podcast!
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