When we played Genoa in October, aka the most insane stoppage time match ever, our first goalkeeper, Maignan, was sent off for a straight red card in the 98th minute, with no subs left, so Giroud donned the keeper jersey and gloves and quite literally saved the day. (If you'll recall, their goalkeeper was also sent off for a second yellow in the 103rd minute of a seven minute stoppage time that ended up being 15 minutes long.) This time, Gilardino's Genoa comes to the San Siro, and Maignan is out with a minor adductor muscle injury. And while the Curva Sud have questioned everyone's faith by announcing they will be boycotting again, Sportiello showed us last week that when he is in goal, we can keep the faith.
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| Giroud has four matches left in this shirt, let's keep the faith. |
Genoa come into this match in 12th place, with three wins and two draws in their last five matches. Their most recent win was a 3-0 smackdown of Cagliari on Monday. For that match, Gilardino lined up: Josep Martínez; Vogliacco, De Winter, Vásquez; Sabelli, Thorsby, Badelj, Frendrup, Martín; Gudmondsson, and Retegui. Mister Gilardino will be missing some key players, including the former Milan Cinderella story player, Messias, as well as Bani and Malinovskyi to injury. His breakout star this season, Gudmondsson, was suffering with a fever and slight few symptoms as of Friday, so may or may not be available Sunday evening.
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| Please let's not let their Vikings raid San Siro. |
Pioli is beyond under fire. He is already being heavily linked to Napoli next season, as the media seem convinced that he is leaving Milan and can only seem to write about who will coach our club next season. The Curva Sud, not happy enough having boycotted the Juventus match last week, or having reportedly helped to prevent the hiring of one coaching target, have announced that they will be observing a silent protest for this match. Either it is that time of the month for them, or they have just become a bunch of Karens who demand to speak to your manager, because they are insisting that the Club must send a clear message about the project by selecting the right coach and continuing to invest in new players. Neither of which can happen right now, nor will happen overnight. Karens.
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| This is what keeping the faith looks like, but none of this will be present on Sunday. |
On the pitch, apparently without the real support of their fans, our team will be keeping the faith. Albeit without Maignan and Loftus-Cheek, who both suffered mild muscle lesions last week. Kjaer is also doubtful, as he is still battling to return to match fitness from his injury. Also missing will be Calabria, serving the second match of his two match suspension from the Derby, as well as Musah, who is serving a suspension for card accumulation. However, good news, as Kalulu and Pobega are available after their respective long-term injuries, and will both be called up for this match.
This means Sportiello will be in goal, although Giroud is also available if necessary again. The fan favorite attacking trio of Leão, Pulisic, and Chukwueze behind Giroud is likely to start. We haven't seen this same lineup since the Lecce match, which was incredibly successful and fun to watch, too, so there is optimism. Florenzi will undoubtedly replace Calabria, and while fans are clamoring to see Terracciano, but he is young and was signed for very cheap from a lower table club in January, so may or may not see any time just yet.
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| Sportiello has shown we can trust in him. |
Too many fans have lost interest in these final matches, dismissing Milan's entire season, despite a nearly guaranteed second place finish, which is impressive considering what the club went through last summer. But this will be a really tough match, with Genoa in great form. With the insane levels of criticism around Pioli right now, it makes a lot more sense to enjoy these last few matches before Giroud and Kjaer leave, as well as who knows how many other players who could potentially walk with Pioli's exit this summer. Being a fan is about supporting the team in good times and in bad, or at least that is what the Curva Sud has always claimed. So maybe for this match, we should focus more on keeping the faith.
This post inspired by the music of Stone Temple Pilot's "Dead and Bloated"
Reviewed by Elaine
on
9:01 PM
Rating:
