Tuesday's away trip to Como to make up Matchday 19, which everyone else played while the Supercoppa tournament was happening in Saudi Arabia was very much a cautionary tale. First of all, never doubt a team fighting to avoid relegation (although we learned that last week against Cagliari, too.) Second, never underestimate a referee whose favorite color is yellow, particularly when the home fans are producing an annoying din the entire time (and we have players who are in danger of suspension.) Third, whether it is leftover from the Fonseca era or due to Conceição's rigorous double training sessions and an insane match schedule, we are back to three points forward, three injuries backward, heading toward a crisis level again. Finally, Como have already made significant improvements in their transfer window, which is what helped them to be so competitive. Having a competent management matters. So, while Milan defeated Como 2-1, now Conceição must truly proceed with caution.
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| Morata was both injured and will be suspended, Thiaw was injured in this match. |
A Team Fighting Relegation
There is nothing new about teams in danger of relegation playing as if they have nothing to lose. Because they literally do not. They have everything to gain. Every inch, every tackle, every duel won, every little thing they do in a match matters. While Como's annual player wages are estimated to be about 25% of Milan's, Fabregas has them believing that they can compete. So compete they did.
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| Both managers right there, willing their players to win the battle. |
Como had the same number of shots as Milan, with only four on target, while six of Milan's 12 shots were on target. Not only did they hold Milan to only 12 shots, they created as many chances of their own. And Milan were not playing that poorly, either. Como made it a very cagey match for all 90 minutes, and they deserve credit for it. Literally, it was Milan's quality that won this one.
The Referee Whose Favorite Color is Yellow
Assane Diao made life difficult for the entire Milan team. Four different players received yellow cards attempting to stop him. First Morata, in just the 20th minute, and now he will be suspended for our match with Juventus on Saturday. This one was absurd, as Morata was pushed into Diao by another Como player. That player is really the one who should have been carded in this scenario. I have no idea what Mangianello was thinking, but it really does get old having these ridiculous calls week after week, and the AIA does not even bother to address them like they do the questionable calls against other clubs.
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| Diao was Milan's personal tormentor for this match. |
Next up was Bennacer for fouling Diao in the 33rd minute, Thiaw in the 43rd minute, and finally, Leão in the 85th minute. Diao finally ended up getting his goal in the 60th minute to open the scoring. Not even the four yellow cards could stop him.
The other two yellows awarded to Milan were to Jiménez for a foul on Fadera in the 53rd minute, then Musah for a foul on Da Cunha in the 56th. Six very costly yellow cards. And how many cards were shown to Como? One. I'm not saying that Mangianello was influenced by the obnoxiously loud (but not actually intimidating) Como fans, but a 6:1 ratio is pretty extreme.
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| The birthday boy was also the Player of the Match. |
Como's singular yellow card was for a Kempf foul on Emerson Royal, who was awarded Player of the Match. That was a pretty good birthday gift, even though it felt more like one of those recognitions where he was being acknowledged for "most improved" rather than "best performance." Still, happy for him.
Three Points Forward, Three Injuries Backward
Conceição's job is to accumulate as many points as possible to attempt to get Milan to qualify for Champions League football next year. Winning a match like this, where it was not technically beautiful, but we did manage to grind out a win, was very important. Unfortunately, three more players left the match with potential injuries.
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| Pulisic was a big loss. |
Pulisic went down injured in the 44th minute and had to be helped off the pitch. Conceição chose to let them play on ten men for the last few minutes of stoppage time, so he could assess everything and make his sub after halftime. That was when he replaced Pulisic with the young Jiménez, Morata was replaced by Tammy Abraham, and Bennacer was replaced by Musah. In addition to being suspended, Morata also reportedly had an issue.
The most worrying one was when Thiaw had to be subbed off in the 67th minute, but at least we have Gabbia to replace him. That is definitely not a bad option. However, of the three players with issues, Morata and Pulisic seem to only have muscle fatigue, and there is even a possibility that Pulisic may recover for Juventus, we will have to see. But Thiaw has a muscle lesion, so will need to be re-evaluated in 7-10 days and could easily miss the Derby.
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| What would Milan be without the stars the previous management signed and renewed? |
Having a Competent Management Matters
Milan were once again saved by Theo and Leão, who were obviously brought in by the previous management. First, Theo's volley from a corner that has everyone questioning his intent, but ended up curling perfectly into the net, out of reach of Como's goalkeeper, Butez. That drew Milan level at 1-1. But it also was an historic goal for Theo and for Milan. That was Theo's 30th goal for Milan, which pushed him past Paolo Maldini as the defender who has scored the most goals for Milan. He said it felt strange to pass his idol, but Maldini complemented him on social media.
After Conceição used his fifth sub to replace a tired Fofana with Camarda, in the 76th minute, Leão took the pass from Abraham, continued his run, then chipped it over the keeper for the winner, 2-1 Milan. That earned Leão Milan's vote for MVP in this match. Sure, Tammy Abraham made the pass, and he was brought in by the management. But literally at the last minute, and him doing well is more by luck than anything they planned. And, as usual, Maignan made a few big saves, too, like the one on Cutrone near the end. But of course, he was also brought in by previous management.
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| Quality. |
Meanwhile, Como brought in three players so far in January, and all three of them had a big impact on this match. Butez, their new keeper, did very well, making four saves of our six shots on target. Assane Diao was a complete nightmare the entire time, scoring their only goal, and earning Milan players four yellow cards. Caqueret was the third player, they just signed him this week, and he provided the assist for the goal and also caused Milan problems.
We are more than halfway through the January transfer window, and Milan's management sent Okafor on an overnight trip to Germany and back, and we are linked with a couple of older Premier League players, with rumors of them trying to sell a player they just signed six months ago to sign one of them. We have known for a while that Jović was likely to leave this window, but even he has not moved yet because he has been injured. None of this will solve the gaping holes in the squad they created by dismantling the Scudetto-winning side they inherited.
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| Conceição unites instead of divides. |
Conceição is the manager who should have been brought in during the summer, but this management probably did not want to deal with his agent, Jorge Mendes. Now everyone has to deal with not only his agent, but also relegation sides, card-loving referees, injuries, and him having to clean up their mess after we have lost seven months of mentality, points, and progress. So, if Conceição has learned anything from his first two Serie A matches, it is that he is going to need to proceed with caution.
This post inspired by the music of Annie Lenox's "Walking on Broken Glass"
Serie C Week 23
Reviewed by Elaine
on
10:30 AM
Rating:
