It never fails, whether Milan are flying high or digging
deep to find strength: when there is an advantage to be gained on the table,
they drop points. This time, we could have moved to four points clear of Roma
in fourth place. With Inter’s loss, we would have been just two points behind
them in third, too. But whether it was benevolence or psychological, in this
match, Milan stalled.
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| MOTM |
The game was very physical (read: violent,) and Piatek got
it started when he unintentionally nearly blinded De Rossi in the fourth
minute. Roma were called for 15 fouls and Milan had nine, and then there were
seven yellow cards in all. That is subtracting at least one red and several
yellows that Maresca chose not to award, possibly to ensure his safe passage
out of the stadium.
The actual football, in between the combat, was actually
exciting to watch. It got more exciting for Milan fans in the 26th, when Piatek
scored from a Paqueta assist. 1-0 Milan. And Gigio just keeps getting more
immense in every match, there were so many incredible saves. One of the most
stunning was his massive double save in the 44th. His reaction time and ability
to move that giant body of his so quickly are nothing short of amazing.
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| Just another day at the office for our newest player |
What was also impressive was the way Roma fans treated their
team. After a big spat with Kolarov recently, which I believe included a
personal visit to his place with some spray paint, they booed him every time he
touched the ball. At the end of the first half, being down a goal, they booed
the entire team quite voraciously. It’s a wonder that they don’t ever win anything
with “support” like that.
Somehow, it inspired their team, though as Zaniolo came out
and scored an equalizer in the first minute of the second half, 1-1 all. Musacchio
bungled a clearance that Gigio was forced to parry out, and Zaniolo took
advantage of the rebound. It happens. I mean, had Musacchio not tried to clear it, someone would have scored anyway. And he has been great lately, too.
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| Intense |
The next controversy was Paqueta’s yellow, which I would
love to have been nearby to figure out what happened. It seemed like Maresca
booked him for pushing him, which is actually a red card offense plus a
multiple game ban. But it looked like he was really just pushing off of him because he was going
to collide. So did Paqueta also say something? Or was Maresca too quick to pull
out his yellow? I don’t know, but I hope Maresca’s performance in this game is
looked at closely by the AIA. It wasn’t necessarily game-changing, but it was
remarkably one-sided.
The other big controversy that was going on simultaneously
was when Kolarov thought he was playing in the actual Super Bowl and tackled
Suso from behind, despite neither of them wearing any helmets or protective
gear. No card was given, which seemed strange. I think the reasoning of the referee
staff was that Suso was offside before the challenge? I couldn’t tell you,
because the yellow cards are for dangerous play, no matter when it happens. If
everyone could rough the opposition players up after they stepped offside or
whatever, it would be rugby, not football.
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| Not their best performance, but they managed to keep the point. Well done. |
Tempers flared, there were shots, mistakes and miraculous
saves. Gattuso subbed. Late as always, but these subs were a little better than
usual. The pressure continued to build until an incident in the final minute of
stoppage time, where Calabria threw the ball away and was carded, and it seemed
that we were going to see De Rossi and Kessie fight. I would pay money to watch
that fight, to be honest. So after the whistle blew and each team took a point,
Gattuso had a conversation (very calm, by the way,) with Maresca. I don’t think
they were simply planning to have lunch, after so many questionable calls and
Roma still ending on eleven men. But I was proud of Gattuso for keeping his
cool, and it seems that all of our players came home in one piece in spite of everything.
Roma were the better team for much of the game, even if
Milan had chances. That in and of itself is a remarkable feat, considering
their insanely humiliating loss midweek and their fans completely turning on
them. Milan lost some of the momentum we had been building, but that is not a
huge surprise playing at a very angry Olimpico. If it bleeds into our
performance against Cagliari, I’ll be worried. But for now, we are only four
points behind Inter, following their loss to Mihajlovic’s Bologna. And we are
in fourth place, even if only by a point still. We threw away a chance to widen
that gap, but perhaps we are not quite that team yet anyway. And Roma really
deserved at least a point. Their performance left Milan completely stalled.
This post inspired by the music of Bobby
Troup’s “Route 66”
Our next match is
Serie A Week 24
Milan vs. Cagliari
Sunday, February
10 • 20:30 CET (2:30pm EST)