Milan 1, Empoli 2: Some Things Never Change

They say that old habits die hard and some habits die harder than others. To be fair, Empoli were playing for their proverbial Serie A lives, and credit is to be given to them, especially Skorupski. But in this match, Milan were haunted by what Mihajlovic called “the ghosts of Milan.” We saw defensive errors, an inability to score, conceding on a set piece… just like old times. And there may or may not be a correlation to the fact that Montolivo was back on the bench and Galliani came to watch the match. I’ll let you decide. But it also impacted the fans, who behaved like entitled douchebags. Some things never change.

"Yeah, Montella told Montolivo to warm up. Can you believe it?!!"

I don’t have the mental strength today to go through the whole thing. The fact that we took 28 shots, with 12 on target and only scored one goal says as much about us as it does about Skorupski. He had 11 saves today. E-L-E-V-E-N saves. Including Suso’s penalty in the 59th. Skorupski in goal today was like when your roommate put saran wrap over the toilet, but more disappointing and less messy. Still, so many wasted chances. And Donnarumma had some ridiculously massive saves himself, too.

Mechidlidze opened the scoring in the 40th from a corner. 1-0 Empoli. Calabria paid him back with a game-ending injury in the 52nd, poor guy had to be stretchered off. Hope it’s not serious. So Maccarone, aka “Big Mac,” who subbed on for the injured player, paid Milan back with the assist on Thiam’s goal in the 67th. 2-0 Empoli. And even when Lapadula finally pulled one back in the 72nd to make it 2-1 Empoli, it still didn’t seem like a game worth losing sleep over.

ELEVEN SAVES.

I’m disappointed that we lost, but I’m not entitled enough to hate my team for not winning. In addition to Empoli’s performance today, Milan have been over performing all season long. I feel lucky that we are in 6th place, most notably above Inter. But what really upset me was the fans’ behavior toward De Sciglio. Following unconfirmed reports that he’s asked to leave the club, fans booed him off the pitch. Which is bad enough if you call yourself a supporter. But then they surrounded his car when he tried to leave and screamed insults at him. Even if the reports are true, that’s no way to treat anyone, least of all someone who plays for your club. Some things never change.

Undeserved attention

Let’s be clear, I’m not on the Europa League bandwagon. Between the possible FFP implications and stretching our squad too thin, I’ll be thrilled if we don’t make it for next year. So even if the game was disappointing, the only sleep I lost over it was to actually watch it. Far more disappointing to me are the people who call themselves fans, who care about nothing but themselves. Not the team or the club or the players or what’s realistic or in the best interests of everyone, just themselves. After all we’ve been through these past five years, you’d think they could show even the smallest amount of gratitude or human decency. But no. Some things never change.

This post inspired by the music of The Smiths’ “Asleep”

Our next match is

Crotone vs. Milan

Sunday, April 30 • 15:00 CST (9am EDT)

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