With searing temperatures of the early evening timeslot, Milan played their first match back at the San Siro since March 8th. There was a salute to former Milan and Roma player, Pierino Prati, who passed away this past week, and there was a tribute to some of the Milan fans who had lost their lives to COVID-19, as well. But the match was what all of us tuned in for, and it was an important one for both clubs. In the end, Milan took all three points, as stamina and a relentless attack made the difference in this one.
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| Heat source |
Milan were slow to start in the first half. Or at least Roma were more impressive, with a Dzeko header just wide in the 20th minute. Most of their paltry five chances were in the first half, but it’s not as though Milan failed to put up a fight. In fact, in the 32nd minute, Rebic did one of my favorite things that attackers do… he chased a ball down and troubled Mirante. While most attackers would allow the ball to just roll to the keeper and wait for it to be put back into play, Rebic was relentless, and more than once surprised Mirante with his tenacity. I absolutely love that so much.
That is probably why, in the 76th minute, he finally got the goal. Saelemaekers played the ball in to Kessie, who acrobatically sent it in, only to have Mirante parry it back out. Rebic took that rebound, which ended up hitting the post, and so he sent in that rebound, too, which finally found the back of the net. 1-0 Milan. Relentless.
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| 8 goals in 9 matches for Rebic. Relentless. |
That was the score until the 88th, when Smalling took down Theo Hernandez in the box, and Giacomelli awarded the penalty. Calhanoglu, whom Cutrone recently lauded for his powerful shots, took the penalty, and Mirante could not stop it. 2-0 Milan. Roma had no answer.
On the one hand, my heart goes out to Roma fans. Milan are only in a slightly better place right now with the status of our club. Roma’s ownership has been in shambles for a while now, and a much-desired sale of the club recently fell through. Owner Palotta claims to be stuck in Boston due to COVID-19, but it is probably as much him hiding in fear of angry Roma fans. With the mercato on the horizon, Roma fans have far more questions than answers, so a loss like this hurts so much worse. I know that pain, Milan have been there too many times ourselves in recent years.
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| Power. |
While Milan are potentially on the brink of another revolution in our technical sector, our stadium plans are on the upswing, and our team is performing well. And did I mention we won this one? This match put us in seventh place at the end of this round, which, due to Napoli winning the Coppa Italia (thank you, Gattuso,) should be a Europa League spot. With ten games left, that is not a bad place to be.
This match started out with somber tributes to those who have gone on, and with Roma nine points ahead of us. While sweating it out and even kicking it up a few notches in the second half, Milan’s clean sheet and three points put us right where we want to be. There were so many great performances again, from starters and subs alike. Most notably, Kjaer, who was injured on Monday and not expected to play, played the entire match and made a number of key stops, even though Pioli said that he was basically playing on one leg.
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| Not quite the Dragon Ball Z celebration, but it will do |
This match was not the toughest that we will face before August, but it was a big test for us. Even if Roma did not show up in the way that we know that they can, Milan did show up. And despite the brutal heat, the team played better as the match wore on. Most importantly, they got the result. With a defense that is solid, a midfield that actually makes things happen, and an attack that never gives up, Milan are fast becoming a heat source.
This post inspired by the music of The Cure’s “Hot, Hot, Hot”
Our next match is
Serie A Week 29
SPAL vs. Milan
Wednesday, July 1st • 21:45 CEST (3:45pm EDT)