After deadlocks in the two previous meetings with Lazio this
season, Milan managed to win. The fact that they won because of a referee call
is ironic, given incidents for both clubs with the referees recently. That
would have been a bigger part of the conversation last week, when both teams
were on the wrong end of referee calls. But unfortunately, injuries, fans, and the
behavior of players from both teams immediately following the match has left
this one a bit of a tainted victory.
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| Sometimes 3 points can leave a bad taste in your mouth |
The game was intense, such a great matchup with Lazio this
season. Immobile tested Reina just two and a half minutes in. And then, one of
my favorite highlights, Romagnoli’s exquisite tackle on Correa in the twelfth
minute. But I might be missing those tackles, as both he and Calabria were
injured and subbed off in the second half. Very worrisome injuries, especially
considering what we have left in front of us this season. Those injuries definitely
tainted this victory.
As the first half continued, Lazio were getting some
chances. But Milan fought back, and created more chances of their own: Kessie,
Suso, Piatek, and Calhanoglu all had chances that were saved or off target. In
the end, Milan took more shots, 19 shots to Lazio’s 12, but only five of Milan’s
shots were on target. The last chance of the first half belonged to Immobile,
whose shot hit the outside of the post.
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| Better than Milan fans think right now |
The second half started out with Correa being injured right
away, and he was subbed off. Milan players were dropping like flies with all of
the contact, and substitutions were made. The battle increased and intensified
during this half, as there were more fouls, injuries, and substitutions than
shots. And then, the controversies with the referee. You had to see those
coming, but the reactions by players and fans alike are what made this a
tainted victory.
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| The same look of disbelief that Milan fans had when they were actually awarded a penalty |
First up, in the 76th minute, Rocchi whistled for a penalty
for Milan after he saw the ball come off of Acerbi’s arm in the area. Not
enough that Milan fans were already whistling Acerbi and abusing him for
comments he made on social media this week. Which ironically, if he’d said the
same thing in an interview, no one would have batted an eye. But criminals and
keyboard warriors don’t listen to or read interviews, so unfortunately, they
don’t realize what sporting comments are. After a VAR review, Rocchi reversed
his decision and the penalty was not given after all. Milan fans were not
happy.
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| That minute or two when you think you've won a penalty, before the VAR decision comes |
Two minutes later, Rocchi again whistled for a Milan penalty.
Durmisi and Musacchio were both going for the ball in the box, and Musacchio
got all ball, while Durmisi got all Musacchio. Most people who watch football
would call this without review, but given the 60,000 very vocal fans and recent
controversies involving the reffing of games from both clubs, Rocchi did the
right thing and waited for a VAR review. When the answer came, the penalty was,
in fact, given. Lazio fans were not happy.
Kessie stepped up to take the penalty and converted it
without hesitation. Such a killer from the spot. 1-0 Milan. Milan fans went
insane. And not just the 60,000 of them in the stadium. This game was so
massive to our Champions League hopes. Would this penalty be enough? I wonder
how many people remember last
week against Juventus, when reffing errors were made, and players and
fans played the victim. Do they understand that errors do have a way of going
both ways? Because I’m certain that Lazio fans felt victimized by the call once
again. Which also made this game a bit of a tainted victory.
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| When you've lived past the VAR review and actually scored the penalty |
It didn’t stop there, though. In the 85th, Luis Alberto made
the error of fouling Borini. The mistake, he should realize now, is a little-known
fact* about Borini: while in England, he trained with the Royal Shakespeare
Company, where he learned how to theatrically sell his dives like no one else
in Serie A. And Rocchi fell for it. Luis Alberto got the yellow, and the other
Inzaghi reacted and got himself sent off. Too bad for the other Inzaghi, too,
because I think he was just giving a vociferous standing ovation to Borini for
his showstopping performance. Certainly, the foul did not justify the
punishment for Lazio. Lazio were not happy.
In the first minute of stoppage time, Suso sent a sublime,
curling shot in that forced Strakosha into a massive save. Whatever hate you
people have for that man, I will never understand, that shot was gorgeous. But
the beauty couldn’t last forever, and in the 93rd, Lazio fans called for a
penalty when Rodriguez tackled Milinkovic-Savic in the box. However, Rocchi
merely signalled for a VAR review, which showed that Rodriguez got the ball,
and then got Milinkovic-Savic on the follow-through. No penalty. Lazio fans
were pissed off. (And probably still are, but why admit the call was right when
you can continue the hateful narrative? That’s what Milan fans do.)
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| A protagonist on and off the pitch |
The game was basically decided by a ref call, but it was a
fair call. And Rocchi did a great job with this match. He even managed to keep
the game under control with so many emotions and so much on the line, as well
as the recent divisive rhetoric about referees and VAR. At least until the
final whistle. Then a brawl broke out with practically everyone from both teams,
based on words players were throwing around at each other. It seemed like it
took all of the staff from both teams to get everyone separated and calmed
down. Gattuso claims he even strained his thigh trying to hurry out and break
it up. So funny, he even admitted that he used to thrive on those kinds of situations,
now he is hurting himself to break them up.
But still, the fiery finish was a bit of a black eye on a
tense but great match between two clubs both worthy of a top four spot. And two
teams that will meet again in about ten days to determine the Coppa Italia semifinal. While the Milan win was fair and gave Milan fans both three points and the hope we needed, all
of these little events added up to a tainted victory.
* This statement was personally fact checked by the Trump
administration. They have determined that there was no collusion, and anyone
who questions this fact is just fake news.
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| My name is Fabio Borini and I approve this message |
This post inspired by the music of
Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love”
Our next match is
Serie A Week 33
Parma vs. Milan
Saturday, April 20
• 12:30 CST (6:30am EDT)