I really don’t think I can come up with words to describe
this game, or what it means to Milan fans. I mean I’ll try, but no words can do
justice to the magic we saw on the pitch today. Facing Roma in their house, a
place we hadn’t won in for seven years, I didn’t have much faith in a good
result, despite our positive run of results lately. But our boys proved me wrong. And
I’m so glad they did. Their belief has instilled a growing new belief in fans
who have been abused and disappointed for years. But thanks to Gattuso, it’s a Brave
New Milan.
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| Exceeding expectations in every way |
The first half felt a little bit like we were mice against
men. Roma actually had slightly more possession throughout the match, but
especially in the first half. And it seemed like more of their 18 chances were
taken then, too. Milan seemed like they were holding their finger in the dam,
and it seemed like only a matter of time before the Roma goals came flooding
in. But they didn’t. They never came at all. Our defense held firmly, and it
was great that Gigio got to mark his 19th Birthday with a clean
sheet.
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| "Hold the applause until after the game please" |
Our defense held the Roma flood back until after halftime,
when the team came back invigorated and played even harder. And so it was in
the 48th, we saw Suso put in a beautiful cross that just felt like it was
going to be a goal even before we saw who was on the end of it. And of course,
it was Cutrone on the end of it. So despite a worthy challenge from Manolas at
the last minute, he coolly backheeled it into the back of the net to make it
1-0 Milan. The joy was palpable even sitting at home in front of my laptop.
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| A dream goal in a dream season for a dream talent |
From there, Roma’s confidence faded like letting the air out
of a balloon ever so slowly. They still fought, they still managed some
chances, but you could see their belief dwindling and Milan’s confidence
growing. Even Gigio, who came out on Schick in the 63rd, just seemed so in
control that it was never in question that he would make the save. Calabria
sealed the deal in the 74th with his first ever Serie A goal. And what a goal
it was. Kalinic passed him the ball, and he ran straight at Alisson, chipping
him right at the perfect time to send the ball over him and into the net. 2-0
Milan. Imagine spending over €200m on new players in the summer, and it’s two kids
from the youth sector who score the goals in one of the most brilliant and
nail-biting matches of the season.
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| Exactly how all of us felt when he scored that goal |
There were no cards in this match. Perhaps there should have
been, like when Peres took down Calhanoglu in the 90th minute. But I was glad
for no cards, especially since Bonucci was at risk of suspension for next week’s
Derby if he had been carded. A thought that crossed my mind in the 39th when
he made a desperate (albeit clean) tackle on Schick in the box. Gattuso risked
being sent off, when he had a “friendly” conversation with Kolarov on the
sideline during the first half. To Gattuso’s credit, he offered an apology and
a handshake about 15 minutes later when Kolarov was on the sideline again.
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| No cards, the win away, and a defensive performance to write home about |
Gigio had at least one big save on Ünder in the fifth
minute. That kid had scored five goals in his last four matches, but Gigio and
friends stopped his scoring streak cold turkey. Milan had a lot of missed
chances, some of them criminal misses, but were still more clinical than
before. All in all the stats showed ten shots with five of those on goal, which
is much better than we have been doing since Gattuso started. And I mentioned
that it was the young players who scored, but it was the experience and
teamwork of all of the players that contributed to this brilliant performance.
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| Fans around the world were jumping like this, too |
Roma had beaten us 2-0 in our house in October, so this was
a perfect Karma result. Only Milan are wisely climbing the table heading into
the final months of the season, while Roma have slipped up a bit lately. This
game was better than I could have ever dreamed, and I felt happier about
watching Milan than I have in maybe seven years, too. Each game in this current
run of amazing form just gets better than the last. And with every win, it
opens the doors of my jaded mind to believe in bigger and better things to
come. It is nothing short of incredible to witness this Brave New Milan.
This post inspired by the music of
Elvis Costello’s “Alison”
Our next match is
Coppa Italia
Semifinal 2 nd Leg
Lazio vs. Milan
Wednesday,
February 28 • 20:45 CET (2:45pm EST)