After a season of adversity where this team held their heads high and rose to the occasion every time, all of the heart and grinta exploded in the form of three goals less than 20 minutes to ensure that Milan lifted our 19th Scudetto. The team that no one else believed in at the beginning of the season lifted the trophy. Dreams really do come true.
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| The dream is reality. |
With all credit to Sassuolo, who did not make things easy for Milan, our guys came out convincingly, and after a week of sleepless nights for fans, it was immediately clear that they were going to make this happen. In the 17th minute, Leão selflessly sent the ball in to Giroud, who sent it past Consigli. 1-0 Milan. Tonali sent in a rocket five minutes later that Consigli was barely able to tip over.
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| Statement. |
After a cooling break, Leão once again sent the ball into Giroud, who made it 2-0 Milan. The party was beginning. Maybe a little too much partying, because Tonali saw yellow for a foul on Berardi, although to his credit, Berardi did not score on us for once.
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| Dynamic duo. |
Just three minutes later, Leão, who was in a very generous mood, created his third assist by setting up Kessié. 3-0 Milan. With his traditional salute honoring his father, it was also a great way for him to say goodbye to his fans of five years.
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| Perfect way to say goodbye. |
Leão had a couple of great shots, but Consigli saved them both. Frattesi had a shot that forced a Maignan save just before the half, and Krunić sacrificed his face with a point blank block as well.
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| The magical three. |
Tonali was subbed off at the half, replaced by Bennacer, probably because of the yellow card. Sassuolo took more chances in the second half, but Milan never looked like they were going to concede.
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| Keeping us safe again. |
Pioli brought Ibrahimović and Brahim Díaz on in the 72nd, and just a few minutes later, our favorite Swede scored – only to have it called back for offside. That kind of summed up his season for us, he gave us everything he had, but it was just not as much as he wanted it to be.
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| He gave us everything. |
Florenzi and Romagnoli came on for Saelemaekers and Tomori, both subs whose contracts are in question and they may or may not be returning this next season. Pioli found a way for everyone to say goodbye.
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| Whatever with the game, it's time to celebrate. |
Well before the final whistle, Pioli was dancing to chants of "Pioli's on Fire" and hugging everyone, including jumping on Dida. I don't know how Sassuolo fans felt about Milan basically taking over their stadium for our celebrations, with 18,000 of their 21,000 seats sold to Milan fans. But I know that former Milan patron Squinzi, who passed away three years ago, was a Milan fan, and he would have loved it.
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| Let the celebrations begin. |
How do you put the celebrations into words? How do you put a season like this into words? Not even just the pictures or videos can tell the whole story. Those of us who have suffered through every minute of every game, through the injuries, the referee scandals, the mistakes made by youth... we feel it, but the emotions are too great for words.
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| The journey. |
After 11 years of the Gol di Muntari, being told we are "Fine as we are" with no investments, having the club of our hearts sold like a piece of meat with three owners in two and a half years, we are Champions of Italy again.
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| Champions of Italy. |
We have seen countless players sacrificed to poor planning and greed, replaced by the return of our Capitano, Maldini and all of his sacrifices to bring the essence of Milan back to the club. We saw a legend like Boban sacrificed for being true to himself and to us, but we are finally here. After all of the suffering and intermittent joys, our hearts are filled with joy and pride once again.
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| So much love. |
This is a team that knows what it is to suffer. This is a team that knows what it is to work. This is a team that knows how to get back up when knocked down and raise their heads high. This is a team that believes in themselves and believes in each other. Because of all of those things and more, dreams really do come true.
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| Dreams really do come true. |
To watch the medal ceremony and trophy celebration, click here
This post inspired by the exquisite joy after 11 years of waiting for this day to come again