It was written in the cards. Although I had entertained a
hope that we could pull off the win, I should have known that Milan’s
innate ability to choke when there is opportunity on the table would
never allow us the three points. But at least we kept a clean sheet, there is
always that. And one point is a point more than Inter took this week, so that
is also good. Still, a nil-nil draw is never fun. It sucks when your team is
drawing a blank.
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| The Golden Boy in the middle hit a milestone with a great game |
The spotlight was on Gigio Donnarumma, as this match was his
100th consecutive Serie A match. Which is really also a testament to Mihajlovic
for having the brains to start him while he was so young. But Gigio had one of
the most amazing moments of the match in the 5th minute, with a spectacular
save on Falque’s header. And he did really well for the rest of the game, too.
The clean sheet was much deserved.
The game was very physical, with five yellow cards in all, and
ten fouls called for Milan as well as 16 for Torino. And that is also
considering that Orsato let a lot of things go. He also used VAR a couple of
times, but his initial calls on the pitch stood.
 |
| I think we all felt kind of like that the whole match |
A zero-zero draw is always a match of regrets, and many
players will have plenty of regrets after missing chances or passes or
otherwise not being able to decide the game. I kind of hope Gattuso has some
regrets, too, after only making one sub, Castillejo for Calhanoglu in the 77th.
Which was actually a good sub. And it begs the question, had he used all three
subs, could we have gotten the goal? With Borini missing, I can understand why he
hesitated, no one else can hold a candle to Borini. But Conti also needs to
start getting some minutes, and there were other players that could have used a
few minutes rest. Not to mention what could have been with some fresh legs near
the end there.
The regret most Milan fans will remember most will be
Cutrone’s shot in the 87th that went ever so slightly wide. But there were many
chances for Higuain, Suso, Calhanoglu, and others earlier on that could have
also broken the deadlock. Bakayoko was immense for the third game in a row, and
helped to set up a number of opportunities. Both Zapata and Abate carried
yellows from the first half on and managed to not get sent off, so that was a
miracle.
 |
| 90 minutes of frustration |
But at the end of the day, the draw was very fair. Torino
played a very tough and attacking game, and they were also unlucky not to get
on the scoreboard. My biggest regret will be not taking advantage of solidifying
our place on the table and breathing down Inter’s neck. Their season is
intensifying and could easily see them drop more points, however I would love
for Milan to do more than just take advantage of their Inter-ness. We need to
get past this dropping points when it matters most, we can’t afford to keep
drawing a blank.
This post inspired by the music of
Garbage
Our next match is
Europa League
Group Stage
Olympiacos vs. AC Milan
Thursday, December
13 • 21:00 CET (3pm EST)