Football isn't always pretty. Especially in poor weather on a poor pitch with an atrocious referee. Or playing away against a relegation-threatened team that has nothing to lose. Despite all these negatives, however, Milan killed the game off, even on ten men. With a referee and VAR referees who tried to steal the show and change the narrative, Conceição was able to unleash all of his weapons and still get the 2-0 win over Empoli. A lethal show of force. Roadkill.
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| Leaving other teams (and referee teams) for dead. |
Luca Pairetto, the referee, set the tone in the first 70 seconds, when Abraham was taken down by Pezzella in the box. VAR reviewed the play, and Pairetto's decision not to give a penalty was not overturned, as they clearly did not feel there was a clear and obvious error. Giving a penalty just two minutes in would have been absolutely brutal, but not giving it also set a terrible precedent that haunted Pairetto the rest of the match.
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| When the referee is the center of attention, he's always in the wrong. |
It is also important to note that the head VAR referee was one Marco Serra, whom Milan fans will remember well from his horrific refereeing of our match vs. Spezia three years ago, for which he was suspended for. That match cost us all three points leading up to our Scudetto win, and an apology was given, but not the points, obviously. Serra was also literally fired by the AIA (Italian Referee Association) two years ago for his behavior toward Jose Mourinho during a Cremonese-Roma match. But, despite his horrific record, he is still allowed to work as a VAR referee. And people wonder why VAR is so terrible?
Just five minutes later, Cacace fouled Walker. My commentator went on and on about the lack of intent, which is a pet peeve of mine. Intent is not really part of the rules. I like to believe that most players would never play with such harmful intent. When a player's studs go into the side of another player's shin like that, something that could cause a very serious injury, it is dangerous play. Period. Intent has nothing to do with it.
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| The stud prints are still visible on his right shin. How did Pairetto not see them? |
Pairetto stood over him acting like he was feigning an injury, when you could see the stud marks clearly on his white socks. Disgusting. At the bare minimum, it should have been a yellow card and a serious verbal warning. But since VAR spent some quality time reviewing it as well, there is no reason Cacace should not have been given a red card. And I don't say this to be partial, I say this to be safe. Had the roles been reversed, I would have advocated for the same punishment. Yet nothing was given. Not even a yellow. How is VAR supposed to overturn a clear and obvious error when they are worse than the referee on the pitch?
However, Pairetto did give João Félix a yellow card for diving in the 18th minute. Because him going down like that was clearly the most egregious of these three episodes, despite no one being at risk for any bodily harm. Except that in the replay, you can see that Pezzella (once again,) shoves João Félix in the neck, so was it even a dive?
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| Jiménez was fierce, but unchecked opposition can lead to injuries. Heal quickly, Viti. |
It was in this completely unruly environment, though, that in the 25th minute, Viti tackled Jiménez on the edge of the box and sent him flying. Sure, he got the ball first, but it was a dangerous tackle. Turns out, it was even more dangerous for him, because he may have seriously injured his knee stretching it out like that, you saw the horrific way the leg twisted when Jiménez's body made contact with it. And far worse than a caution, the player had to be subbed off because of the injury. This is why calling a match well matters. You cannot prevent all injuries, but certainly some can be prevented when players are more concerned about being cautioned.
So, apparently to make up for this, Pairetto did give a yellow to Tomori for a foul on Esposito in the 26th minute. If he had been making remotely consistent calls, this would not be noteworthy. But he wasn't, and this was. Also noteworthy was that Colombo had Empoli's best chance of the match in the 33rd minute when his shot hit the inside of the post and bounced back out. Very unlucky.
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| João Félix's mad skills may have frustrated Empoli a little too much. |
In the 49th minute, Empoli were finally shown a yellow card. After 49 minutes of very physical and even dangerous play. This was for Henderson, who was a little more than 24 hours too early for the Super Bowl with his tackle on Theo Hernández just outside the box. Oh, yeah, and there were a few shots in the first half, too, I think Milan may have even had one on target.
As Conceição could do nothing about the horrific refereeing that was killing not only this match but football in general, he opted to make three substitutions at halftime. He brought on Santiago Gimenez, Rafa Leão, and Pulisic for Tammy Abraham, Álex Jiménez, and Fofana. Yet the second half started out almost identically to the first, Reijnders was being held by Henderson and was eventually pulled down in the box, but no penalty given.
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| Can't hate the player when the referees are completely inept. |
The entire referee team took center stage in the 54th minute when Pairetto showed Tomori his second yellow and sent him off for fouling Colombo when the offside flag should have gone up before he even caught him. But even without the flag, a decent ref could have spotted that offside a mile away. VAR could not intervene, as it was a yellow card. But Milan were on ten men because the referees did not do their job.
It also highlights an absurd instruction the linesmen have been given, to hesitate on raising the offside flag, now that we have SAOT (Semi-automated Offside Technology.) The player was literally penalized because the linesman did not raise his flag. And Milan were penalized, going down to ten men. And will be penalized on Saturday, as well, because once again, Tomori will not be available. It also raises the question... now that referees can rescind cards within matches with VAR technology, why can the AIA not also rescind cards that were given errantly?
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| If you kick a man while you're down, he will come back to haunt you. |
I swear, there was some football played, but in the 63rd minute, Gimenez fouled Marianucci and then gave him a little shove once he was down. Marianucci's response was to kick him between the legs. Clueless Pairetto came over, again, acting like Gimenez was faking an injury, and luckily one of the refs in the VAR booth caught the dirty kick from Marianucci.
In perhaps the only thing Pairetto did right all match, he actually went over to the screen and watched the incident for himself in the VAR booth. He came back to the pitch with a yellow card for Gimenez and a straight red card for Marianucci. As he walked off, Marianucci's face had the guilty smirk of a small child who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, he did not protest. He knew what he had done. Now both sides were on ten men.
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| Inevitable. |
Shortly after the restart, Gyasi took down Theo Hernández in the box. A third appeal for a penalty, a third one denied, no card given. Pairetto's success did not last long at all. But at least Milan's success was beginning. Pulisic sent in a great cross for Leão, who headed it home to finally open the scoring. 1-0 Milan.
It is noteworthy here that when Milan were down to ten men, Conceição did not replace a defender. He left his "Fab Four" in attack until Milan got a goal and were ahead. And even once they were ahead, he subbed Thiaw on, but pulled off Reijnders, leaving his deadly attack force on to continue the relentless onslaught. There was a worrying moment in the 73rd minute when Gyasi once again fouled Theo Hernández, and Theo was down holding his knee. This transfer window left us blessed in attack, but threadbare in midfield and fullback options.
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| The man just wants to win, and he's not afraid to take risks to do it. |
Empoli were not getting many calls for their foul play, but they would be punished by Milan's quality. In the 75th minute, João Félix headed a shot that was just over. Then, Maignan started a play by sending the ball forward, Pulisic then ran to meet it, sending it forward and shoving Esposito to the ground for good measure, while Santiago Gimenez found the pass, shifted around the defender, and pulled the trigger. 2-0 Milan. The first Mexican player to ever score for Milan, and the first of what will likely be many goals for the club as well.
João Félix also continued to torment the Empoli defense, but eventually, Conceição would pull him off in the 84th minute and give a few minutes to Terracciano. Apparently to display the vast difference between the levels of talent Milan have in our team. Or as a pity move for Empoli. Or something. I did feel for Devis Vásquez and Colombo, both Milan-owned players, they didn't deserve this. I did not feel bad at all for former Milan player De Sciglio, who is on loan from Juventus. I think that is self-explanatory.
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| Santi has arrived. |
I do not even want to bring up He Who Shall Not Be Named, our previous manager this season, who fancies himself some kind of tactical genius. Not only does he have the social skills of a Black Widow spider, his tactical ideas only ever worked on paper, if at all. Conceição is not only both fierce and loving as a manager, who got the team to buy into his strict methods immediately with mutual respect, he is incredibly tactically fluid.
Despite him repeatedly claiming that football is very simple, you just need to get the ball into one net and prevent it from getting into the other net, he takes risks and pushes his players to do things he knows they can do. He trusts them. And they trust him. The football isn't always pretty, although this new four-in-attack thing with these players could be very, very beautiful. But his idea that a draw at this level is like losing two points tells you everything you need to know about him. He lives to win.
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| A winning combo. |
And he pulled it off in spite of cold, rainy, wet weather, playing on a pitch that was a mess. Most of all, he pulled it off in spite of an entire referee team that was inept and literally dominated the story of the match, impacting not just the tempo and emotional level of the game, but also the safety of the players and their availability for next week's matches as well. In a match where the referees did everything to kill the football, Conceição's Milan still managed to destroy. But they will still want to leave this match behind, just like roadkill.
Milan Primavera Destroy Juventus Primavera 3-0 Away
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| Bonomi to the third power. |
After their Coppa Italia win over Inter midweek, Guidi's Primavera came up with another decisive 3-0 win over Juventus Primavera. The match was never in question, with Bonomi putting Milan up 1-0 in the 23rd minute. After the half, Sala scored int he 47th minute, then Victor Eletu killed off the match with his goal in the 68th minute. Some highlights available. This increased the gap between Milan in fifth place to six points ahead of Juventus in sixth place, while Milan are only six points off of first place, with a tight race for those top five spots.
Bonera's Last Stand? Milan Futuro Lose 2-0 to Lucchese at Home
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| Please, just put an end to the nightmare. |
Another loss for Milan Futuro would seem like a tragedy, but for the reports that once again, Bonera's job is in question. About four months too late, but if this loss seals the deal, then it will actually be a victory for Milan Futuro. Lucchese won 2-0 thanks to two quick goals in the 29th and 35th minutes, and Milan were unable to find any answers. All of the new January signings were on the pitch, including the newest signing, Simone Branca, from Serie B, on his debut. Highlights are available on the Serie C YouTube Channel, as usual.
An interesting story came out this week regarding the second place team in Milan Futuro's group and their manager, one Ignazio Abate. He has been managing Ternana, but was sacked, reportedly because he did not want to play the club president's son. There was s meeting with the team and some fans, and Abate was reinstated within hours. But it is odd, considering that his lack of a renewal as Primavera manager after back to back success in the UEFA Youth League was reportedly due to not playing Ibrahimoivić's son.
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| Standing up to nepotism. |
If there is any doubt about changing managers, one only needs to look at Juve's NextGen team in Serie C Group C. They were bottom of the table, then changed their manager in November, and are all the way back up to 13th on the table now, and going strong. Obviously, they have a competent sporting sector at their club, too. But after Milan corrected course with the manager in the first team, I would like to believe that they could do better for Milan Futuro as well.
Serie C Week 27
Reviewed by Elaine
on
3:00 AM
Rating:
