Genoa could have won this game. In fact, in the first half,
I don’t think anyone would have been surprised if they would have won. But that
was because our secret weapon was playing under the radar. When we released the
full Borini, Genoa lost all sense of reason, and thus all hope of winning. Fabio
Borini was our secret weapon.
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| All hail Borini |
So cunning is Borini that he started off his usual, clumsy,
wild-shooting self, even earning himself a yellow card in the eighth minute.
But Zapata started off worse, he seemed to be working toward an own goal or a
red card early on. So much so, that he injured himself in the twelfth minute.
That made room for a very early sub, with Riccio sending Conti on and moving
Abate to center back in the 14th minute, and suddenly, our defense was sure
again.
The first half was largely dominated by Genoa, with Gigio
having to step up big over and over, including a point blank save on Bessa in
the 27th, or saving us from a Bakayoko own goal in the 32nd. Bakayoko was still
at times our best defender, and our best shot came from Paqueta, whose 45th
minute shot hit the post.
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| MASSIVE |
Lull Genoa to sleep, that was clearly Borini’s master plan
all along. Not even forcing a Radu save in the 55th nor the shot that just went
wide in the 62nd woke up his sleeping opponents, though. I’m sure they assumed,
as many of us fans did, that this was a vintage Borini performance: all bark
and no bite. But they were so wrong. And so they left him unmarked, and when
Conti sent in that perfect cross in the 72nd, Borini simply had to tap it in to
make it 1-0 Milan.
Following Borini’s sly goal, Suso, though still bothered by
his injury, also stepped up. And so in the 83rd, with a great assist from
Cutrone, he beat two Genoa defenders and slotted one past Radu also, 2-0. And
of course, he didn’t celebrate against his old team, either. Because Suso is
all class. And he’s clearly learned from Borini, too.
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| Suso refuses to celebrate against his former club |
Speaking of learning from Borini, Gigio had an incredible
game, with seven saves, most of them massive. If anyone had any doubts about
him, they need only watch today’s performance, it was perfect. Maybe he was also
just waiting
for Borini, but he was immense and denied Genoa’s every chance.
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| Proving he had closer to 90 minutes in him after all (and a great 90 minutes, too!) |
With Gattuso and our doctor, Brozzi, banned, as well as Kessie,
Romagnoli, and Calabria, this game was a disaster in the making. And it seemed
that way in the first half. But that was because we hadn’t released our secret
weapon. So taking all three points, the clean sheet, and taking back fourth
place was that much sweeter. It always will be when Fabio Borini is your secret
weapon.
This post inspired by the music of
King Missile
Our next match is
Serie A Week 21
Milan vs. Napoli
Saturday, January
26 • 20:30 CET (2:30pm EST)