This game was highly anticipated to be a spectacle for fans
of football, and it did not disappoint. Despite it being goalless in the first
90 minutes, then 30 minutes of extra time, then going to penalties, it truly
was an epic battle in which either team could have been the victor. Lazio
certainly brought their A game. But at the end of penalties, it was Milan who
ended up on top, for an amazing 13th game unbeaten in all
competitions. And so it will be Milan that returns to Rome in May to face
Juventus in the Final. Even if Milan were not expected to emerge from their
trip to Rome with two victories against both Roman teams, that’s just what
happens when hell freezes over.
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| Hell yeah |
I like to think that as evenly matched as this game was, it
was Millan’s class that gave us the win. Like how Gigio and Bonucci gave their
little mascot kids their warmup jackets during the anthem at the beginning to
keep them a little warmer in the freezing weather. Weather which seemingly the
Diavoli inspired, including snowfall for the first time in six years in the
capital city. And despite the freezing cold weather, the fans were in full
force, too.
The first half was filled with heart attacks and chances for
both sides. Gigio was brilliant with saves against Immobile and
Milinkovic-Savic in the sixth and seventh minutes respectively. In the 18th,
Suso forced Strakosha into a save, which rebounded, and Cutrone’s effort hit both
Strakosha and the post to return the scare. There were one on one battles,
Kessie earning a yellow for channeling his inner Gattuso, and Gigio coming off
his line in the 34th only to see Immobile send the ball across the area. It
was so tense.
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| The players are not the only ones who are happy |
The second half was even more tense, especially when
Calabria took that shot in the 56th, forcing Strakosha into a great save. It
was obvious the players were getting tired, and both Calabria and Romagnoli
earned yellows. With Rocchi officiating, and the game not settled in 90
minutes, it was amazing that there were only six yellows in all, actually. He
exhibited incredibly self control.
Self control was exactly what I was losing after the game
went to extra time. Thinking ahead to Sunday’s Derby, I was not happy that the
guys were running an extra 30 minutes. So good thing that after having brought
on Kalinic for Cutrone earlier, Gattuso used the extra time to sub on Montolivo
for Kessie and Borini for Suso. Kalinic endeared himself to the Rossoneri fans by channeling his
inner Boateng not once but twice during extra time. Luckily, not once, but at
least twice, Romagnoli had some amazing stops at the other end. One was a
brilliant sliding tackle on Immobile in the 96th, the other a nice save in the
106th.
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| Gigio was brilliant as ever |
But at the end of 120 very tense minutes, the match went to
penalties. Which highlighted for me the incredible heroics of Gigio Donnarumma.
Both keepers were incredible. After Immobile converting the first kick, each
keeper saved two each. Strakosha saved Rodriguez’ penalty, the second time he
had a penalty saved this month, and of course Montolivo’s was an easy save. Then each team
scored two each, but with the keepers going the right way each time. Finally,
Bonucci scored, forcing Strakosha to go the wrong way, which he also did for
the remaining penalties. Lulic also caused Gigio to go the wrong way and
converted his, while Calhanoglu made his as well. It was Luis Felipe’s spectacular miss
that gave us hope. And Romagnoli, a confessed Lazio fan stepped up with all of
the weight of the final on his shoulders. Cool as ice, he stepped in front of
the Curva of his heart and killed the dreams of all of the Lazio fans by
converting his penalty. Milan won, five to four on penalties. We were in the
finals.
It was not lost on me that Romagnoli’s face was pained as he
threw the final dagger at L’Acquile. Or that he didn’t really celebrate.
He had spoken the day before about memories of celebrating a trophy in that
stadium with his grandfather, and his lack of celebration, even in his
teammates’ enthusiastic embraces, showed that he had broken his own heart by
doing his job. But the moral of this story is that he did his job. At a time
when nerves alone can cause the best of players to choke, he was clinical. He
finished the job like an assassin, and he made the kill for the Rossoneri.
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| Assassin |
I found myself regretting the 120 minutes of running,
knowing our cross town enemies didn’t even play midweek. And even lamenting that now we
have an extra game in May that could also impact our run for a European spot for next year. Lazio are
to be commended, the game was hard fought, but not pretty. They lost on a penalty by a Lazio fan, with their ex-captain playing against them as well. Our defense was
inspirational, Romagnoli and Donnarumma were particularly amazing. Lazio took
more chances and were more clinical, but Milan deserved to win just as much as
them for all of their efforts on the rest of the pitch. Even if that pitch was
nearly frozen. Because that’s what happens when hell freezes over.
This post inspired by the music of
Imagine Dragons’ “Whatever It Takes”
Our next match is
Serie A week 27
il Derby della Madonnina
Milan vs. Inter
Sunday, March 4 • 20:45 CET (2:45 EST)
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