Last Saturday, Milan ended up with a 1-1 draw away to the other team from Rome, which was almost forgivable. But on Wednesday, they fell completely flat in another 1-1 draw to 19th place Cremonese. That was not justifiable at all. Now they are facing the high flying Lazio and cannot afford anything less than three points. But at the back of everyone's minds is a big Champions League match on Wednesday, too. It will be crucial for everyone to stay focused and stay grounded.
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| Just stay grounded. |
Lazio are in danger of giving up their second place spot to the most corrupt club in Serie A. Not that it will matter too much in the long run, because Juventus are more than likely to be punished by UEFA, and marginally likely to be punished by Serie A. For the here and now, Lazio are on 64 points, with a recent record of W-W-L-L-W.
That most recent win was a 2-0 win over Sassuolo on Wednesday. For that match, Sarri lined up: Provedel; Lazzari, Casale, Patric, Marusic; Vecino, Marcos Antonio, Luis Alberto; Felipe Anderson, Immobile, and Zaccagni. He was missing our former captain, Romagnoli, who was suspended for that match, but who should be available at the San Siro. Which is kind of a shame, because he was under-appreciated by many Milan fans, and does not deserve the abuse they will likely give him. Sarri will be missing Cataldi to injury, however. UPDATE: He will also be missing Vecino to injury, and Zaccagni is in doubt, having not trained with the team the past two days.
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| Happy for him, but after 7 years, it's still hard to see him in a different shirt. |
Pioli will have everyone but Ibrahimović and Pobega, who are both likely out for the season. Tomori will be back from suspension, and if the look on his face after watching Wednesday's horror show told us anything, he will be ready to stop Lazio at all costs. Which is so needed, because going into this round, Milan are in sixth place, considering goal differential.
But what will Pioli do? He tried making five changes against Empoli, which resulted in a painful 0-0 draw. Then he threw all caution to the win and made ten changes against Bologna to finish 1-1. Ten changes. On Wednesday, I guess he decided to split the difference and made seven changes against Cremonese, and shockingly, Milan were lucky to get a single point. Again. We cannot afford to keep dropping points.
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| Is this Pioli's "one ring" that is driving him to madness? |
Is Pioli like Sméagol from The Lord of the Rings, who is so obsessed by a shiny object that he will destroy his life and become a creature like Gollum? Will the glint of the Champions League trophy being so near and yet so far destroy all that he has built and cost us our qualification for next year's competition? Will he risk that qualification by playing anything less than his best eleven vs. Lazio on Saturday evening?
Pioli of all people needs to stay grounded. The team need to follow suit and keep their minds grounded and focused on just this match, taking all three points at home. Especially after the humiliating 4-0 loss Lazio handed Milan in January when they were at their depths of performances. I'm not asking for such a resounding win, just a win by a single goal is all we need to ground those Aquile and most importantly, give Milan a much-needed three points. The guys definitely have what it takes, they just need to stay grounded.
Reviewed by Elaine
on
11:58 PM
Rating:
