Ever since the Gol di Muntari, every Milan conversation
about every match vs. Juventus centers around the ref. Which is a shame,
because they’re rarely good looking, and nothing they do is ever as exciting as
the things going on all around them on the pitch. From everything I’ve read and
seen since the game, this match was no different. Milan were robbed, they say.
The ref decided the game, they say. Juve own the refs, they say. All of this
from people who’ve never even read the FIFA Laws of the Game, let alone reffed.
But the biggest crime is that if that is all they took from this game, they
missed a really great match. It was filled with so many good (and bad) things. If
you people want to bitch and moan about the refs like that little baby
Leonardo, suit yourselves. I loved the football.
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| This is what we should be talking about |
Although Gattuso put forth his offensively constipated
4-3-3 again, and even started Borini, Milan played an exciting game in spite
of him. Just barely after the minute mark, Suso had a great run and cross into
Piatek, for example, who nearly headed it in. And that was just the beginning. Juve
saw Can injured, and he finally came off in the 25th minute, replaced by
Khedira, who just had heart surgery a couple of months ago. That in and of
itself was amazing.
The most amazing moment of the first half, though, was the
goal. Bakayoko took advantage of a Bonucci error (twice as delicious,) then fed
the ball through to Piatek, who took it and did what he does best: score. 1-0
Milan. I thought I was dreaming. But it was beautiful, and I honestly wouldn’t have
minded if the ref had whistled for full time at the half. But he didn’t. And in
fact, in stoppage time, Reina faced a barrage of shots from Mandzukic and
Dybala, including a great save in the 45+2nd minute. This was good football
with an extra helping of rivalry, and I was loving every second of it.
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| Juve had no answers for Piatek but to foul him |
The second half was even more eventful, with so many
opportunities for Milan. We had 16 shots in all, with four on target, while
Juve only tallied twelve shots. There were chances from Piatek, Bakayoko, Suso,
Calabria, and even Borini. Oh, and don’t forget a couple of beautiful free
kicks from Calhanoglu that ended just wide. Juve had their chances, too, one of
them being a penalty earned and converted by Dybala for the equalizer. 1-1 all.
The nail in our coffin was the goal scored by Kean in the 84th.
2-1 Juve. It was a great goal, and in all fairness, that kid is so exciting to
watch. A shame that Bonucci and some idiot Cagliari fans made him a household
name earlier this week for the color of his skin, because he is a damn good
player, and people should really know him for that. Also disgusting that
Bonucci was the first to embrace him after his goal, clinging to him like a
long lost relative instead of the teammate he threw under the bus with racist
comments earlier this week.
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| No Gigio? No problem |
The drama mainly surrounded a Croatian player by the name of
Mandzukic. First he was mixing it up with Kessie in the 28th (and how stupid
could he be? Everyone knows Kessie wins that one.) Then he took on Musacchio in
the final minute of stoppage in the first half. But Musacchio got him back in
the second half with an amazing block to prevent him scoring, the best kind of payback. Fabbri finally
gave him a yellow in the 86th, and just a minute later, he kicked Romagnoli
when he was down. Piatek confronted to him to defend his captain, and in a
strange move, Szczesny pulled Piatek away instead of his own teammate. Perhaps
he knew no one could help Mandzukic? And even in the final minute of the game,
he tried to mix it up with Romagnoli again. And those were just the
off-the-ball issues, not all of the fouls within the run of play. If you want
to criticize Fabbri for doing something wrong, you should ask him why Mandzukic
wasn’t sent off in the first half, let alone at all.
So the ref… since that’s all anyone wants to talk about. In
the 35th, the ball hit Alex Sandro’s outstretched arm in the box. Some people
think it should have been called just because other refs have been awarding
similar penalties. How does two wrongs make a right? It took Fabbri and his VAR
team three minutes to decide this one, but after a VAR review, they said no.
And I agree with them. Despite the subjective nature of the handball rule,
Fabbri’s decision aligns best with both the law and the spirit of the law. It
was NOT a penalty for Milan. Meanwhile, Juve’s penalty given in the 59th
was a clear penalty, even if Dybala was a bit furbo in drawing
it. Musacchio fouled him. In the box. Period.
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| Once again, Milan fans were louder than Juve fans in their stadium. Brilliant. |
There could be some claim for a Milan penalty in the 80th, when
Castillejo went down in the box after contact with both Mandzukic and a little
with Sandro. But first of all, Mandzukic shouldn’t have even been on the pitch
still. And while he clearly pulled on Castillejo, Castillejo was also pulling
on Sandro, and my personal opinion is that this is why Fabbri decided
immediately that it was not a penalty. Perhaps he should have reviewed it with
VAR, but I still don’t think it was enough to award a penalty without a doubt.
But even if you believe that was a penalty, it is never certain that the
penalty would be converted, or that the game would have ended the same. And
again, that was not even remotely as exciting as the actual football.
In an unusual perspective, I stand with Gattuso on this one.
He said that it was one of our best performances of 2019, and that we lost
because of our mistakes. Maybe it’s because he was still playing for
Milan when the Gol di Muntari happened and remembers the rancid
discourse that fermented both fanbases and destroyed whatever respect for the
referees that anyone had before it. But more likely, like me, he acknowledges
the football. And Milan did play really well. We just missed too many
chances. Juventus were so frustrated, they were whistled for 21 fouls, and
those were just the ones Fabbri saw. I think Piatek himself was fouled at least
21 times, no exaggeration. Perhaps Gattuso could have subbed earlier. And used
all three subs. We’ve seen that impact many games before, especially when there
are injuries. But hindsight and maybes never give you essential points. You
look at the good and the bad, take what you can learn, then you look to the
next match. Criticizing the ref does no one any good.
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| These guys are why I watch, not the ref |
Milan needed the three points. We lost. That sucks. But
short term, this was a thriller of a match to watch, and it was so great to see
so many good things from our side, especially against the team that have rolled
through Serie A like a tank for eight years now. Despite my new, more intense
hatred of Mandzukic as both a player and a human being, I took a lot of good
things away from this match. I was crushed about the result, wish we could have
held the lead and taken three precious points, but we didn’t. And it was
because of ourselves, not the ref.
This post inspired by the music of Ministry’s “Bad
Blood”
Serie A Week 32
Milan vs. Lazio
Saturday, April 13
• 20:30 CST (2:30 EDT)