The
dictionary defines synchronicity as “the
simultaneous occurrence of events that appear significantly related but have no
discernible causal connection.” This weekend in Serie A would appear to be
exactly that, at least as far as Milan are concerned. While Milan’s win was so
incredibly heartening after recent performances, the results of other games
also favored us, with Atalanta drawing to Sassuolo, Lazio losing to Napoli, and
Inter losing to Crotone. That leaves us in sixth place with 57 points, just
three points away from fourth place Lazio. More importantly, it leaves Inter
two points behind us in seventh ahead of Saturday’s Derby.
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| They did their job, Crotone did theirs, too |
After
drawing to Pescara last week in extraordinarily poor form, Milan fans only had
to wait until the sixth minute for some concrete redemption in this match.
Goldaniga earned a yellow card, while Deulofeu should have earned an Oscar for
how well he sold the foul. That foul set up the free kick, which Suso took in
the most exquisite of ways, tucking the goal perfectly between Fulignati and
the post. 1-0 Milan.
And if
that wasn’t enough to wake up fans like me who were watching at 6am, Pasalic
scored in the 19th to make it 2-0 Milan in less than 20 minutes. However, he
maintained his exuberance a little too long, because in the 20th minute, he was
carded for a foul that was also a bit too exuberant. That unfortunately means
he won’t be available for the Derby on Saturday. To be fair, Gonzalez earned a
yellow two minutes later, without having scored. This is of note because after
a couple of other decent fouls, he was finally booked again in the 83rd and
sent off, leaving Palermo on ten men.
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| Welcome back, Suso |
Meanwhile,
in Crotone-Inter, Falcinelli had put the Sharks up 2-0 and were circling with Nerazzurri
blood in the water. And we already knew that Atalanta dropped points, having
drawn with Sassuolo on Saturday. The Lazio result was still to come. But just
in case Milan fans weren’t excited enough, Bacca scored a great header from a
Calabria cross in the 37th to make it 3-0 Milan at halftime. Suso provided so
much energy, grinta, and much needed
talent that Milan were making easy work of the Eagles. Everyone was fighting
hard and creating chances, it was like an entirely different team than we saw
last week.
The
second half saw Milan take their foot off the pedal just a little bit, but they
were still attacking. We saw Locatelli on for Sosa in the 59th, Antonelli on
for Suso in the 72nd, and Lapadula on for Deulofeu in the 75th. Donnarumma was
forced to work a little bit, mainly saving shots from Diamanti. But at the end
of 90 minutes, he was able to chalk up his much deserved 11th clean sheet of
the season.
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| That's how we all felt when you scored, Pasalic |
Deulofeu’s
goal in the 70th was really more like that first shovel full of dirt on top of
Palermo’s coffin, the nails had sealed it closed in the first half. A great
shot from a De Sciglio assist, he made it 4-0 Milan. And that alone would have
been worth celebrating. But it was Inter losing that made it even sweeter,
particularly with the Derby looming this week. Not even Inter pulling back one
goal could spoil the mood. We won. They lost. We went from being a point behind
them to two points ahead of them. It was perfect.
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| Deulofeu: the Fast and the Furious |
This
dreamlike sequence of events breathed new hope into those who want Europe so
badly for Milan next year. And at the very least put a smile on the faces of
those who are more cynical. After a worrying string of performances, Milan put
fears to rest again. It also provided a nice distraction from this week’s episode
of the endless saga of the closing of the sale of the club. But all of the
stars aligned to provide us with fantastic results from the clubs just ahead of
us, too. In a world of perpetual uncertainty and lack of success, for once
Milan were afforded some very pleasant synchronicity.
This post inspired
by the music of The Police’s “Synchronicity” album
Our next match is
il Derby della
Madonnina
Inter vs. Milan
Saturday, April 15 •
12:30 CST (6:30am EDT)
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