As Diavoli, perhaps Milanisti should have read the signs better. Atalanta are "La Dea," which is "The Goddess" in Italian, and we were playing on Easter. Their story had too many parallels to the Easter story. They had lost three matches, then come back from the dead. And now they defeated Milan 1-0 at the San Siro to ensure everyone knew who they were and that their Champions League qualification bid was resurrected once again. After Milan broke their 17 year curse last week in Udine, having won both matches vs. Udinese in the same season, now Atalanta have won both matches in a season against Milan for only the third time in their history. The signs were all there, we should have known that on Easter Sunday, La Dea rises.
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| I Diavoli were stuck in hell while La Dea resurrected their Champions League plans |
Much is being made about Milan's record against the top eight teams this season. Which is strange to me, because it verifies that Milan are in the correct spot on the table for the situation they are in. It would be worse if they could have demonstrated they could beat the top teams, and had a poor record vs. the bottom eight teams. But everything we have all been saying all season – that this "working group" cannot build a team properly, that they made the wrong choices last summer in both the manager and players, and that they overcorrected in January – everything is confirmed by our ninth place position on the table and inability to win vs. the teams above us.
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| Leão raising his game, but unfortunately no one can save our dead season. |
That said, with Atalanta starting this match 10 points ahead of Milan, the loss should not have surprised. Even worse, ahead of the match, the club announced that Lorenzo Cipriani, a member of the Milanello staff had suddenly passed away. Perhaps that affected the players, I don't know. The first half, Milan struggled to find and create chances, allowing Atalanta to dominate possession, but also defending well. I cannot even remember if either side got an actual shot on target in the first half, but Atalanta also defended threats from Leão and Theo Hernández. And the closest either side got to the goal was a brilliant turn, then shot from Jović that went just wide just before the halftime whistle blew.
In the second half, typical of their reputation as comeback kings, Milan pulled it together and were able to create a lot more chances, while getting more possession than La Dea as well. You had the Dutch de Roon nullifying the Dutch Reijnders. Then Cuadrado and Theo collided, and it looked nasty, but Theo was able to recover and play. Fofana had a couple of shots that were not on target, not that this would shock anyone, but it is worth mentioning, because a number of people were talking about him as if he was some star player after this match.
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| Who's the Demon here? Just Cuadrado doing Cuadrado things. |
Leão once again put in crosses that his teammates did not anticipate or were not quick enough to get to. Sometimes, it is like he is Michelangelo playing with a bunch of students who are also taking art along with their specialty. Cuadrado finally was carded for a very bad foul on Theo, the only card of the match. He can change clubs, but he does not change. Then, in the 62nd minute, disaster struck when Atalanta capitalized on some poor defending with a well-played team effort that led to am Éderson goal. 1-0 Atalanta.
It is of note that the Curva Sud had been in full voice, supporting the team once again. This was the fourth match in a row. However, as soon as Atalanta scored, they switched to the anti-Cardinale chants again. Which I don't understand. Did they think Cardinale scored the goal? Was Cardinale in the room with them? Because he hasn't been in Milano all season since like September. And the team needed their support now more than ever to try to get back into the match, but the Curva immediately turned on them.
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| Jović's chance in the first half was the closest Milan got to the goal in the first 45 minutes. |
Conceição's substitutions came in the 75th minute, when he sent Sottil, João Félix, and Tammy Abraham on for Pulisic, Álex Jiménez, and Jović. Then, less than ten minutes later, he replaced Tomori and Leão with Chukwueze and Santi Gimenez. Normally, his substitutions make an impact, but this time, they really did not. Conceição mentioned this in his postmatch comments.
The rest of the match was a battle, with shots from Tomori, Leão, and Reijnders being stopped, blocked, or saved. Milan only took a total of 12 shots, one more than Atalanta, but only one of those shots was on target, while Atalanta had one more shot on target, with which they scored. I think for neutrals who really like football and those epic battles between two talented teams, this may have been entertaining, but for Milan fans, it was just one more notch in their opponents' belts. In fact, it was the first time in over two months that Milan had failed to score, so it was unusual.
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| Fofana worked hard in this one, but like everyone else, failed to be clinical or decisive. |
Atalanta demonstrated why they deserve third place, and while Milan perhaps played better than ninth, and do seem to be making progress, like management's failed attempts at everything this season, it was too little, too late. Conceição was asked about his future, and he pointed out how destabilizing it was to the team, as well as how disrespectful of the media to speak as if he had never managed before. Which are both excellent points, the toxic Italian media has been incredibly disrespectful to him.
One such "journalist," Fabio Caressa, replied to Conceição, because he got his little feelers hurt by being called out for being a gigantic douchebag. He said, "There is a certain tendency for all coaches to complain that I am starting to find unbearable: when there is criticism, everyone gets angry. Calm down, guys, it is part of the salary to take criticism, right or wrong, you have to accept it."
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| No idea why those dainty little old men would antagonize and disrespect this warrior. |
First of all, Caressa does not seem to know the difference between criticism and respect. Criticizing a manager's tactics, lineups, subs, etc. is fair. And Conceição did not "complain" about that. But talking about his replacement nonstop as if Conceição does not even exist since his third match at Milan, having inherited the team in the condition he did, with the insane schedule he had, and having had no time to work, is not just insulting, it's flat out disrespectful. And it does destabilize the team. Furthermore, they have talked about Conceição as if he's never managed before, and made comments that are actually xenophobic, too. All of these things cross the line, and are not part of the salary, no one deserves to be treated like this, no matter how much they are paid (and Conceição is getting paid next to nothing compared to his peers.)
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| Tammy flying with the Godesses. |
As if the Italian media were not bad enough, someone needs to ask some real questions of the Lega Serie A and the FIGC. Multiple Serie A matches had not been played on Easter Sunday since 1978. Now, all of a sudden, they play three matches on Easter Sunday, and the next day, Pope Francis dies. Honestly, people need to think about these things, especially in a country as superstitious as Italy, which also contains Vatican City and the residence of the Pope.
Speaking of superstition, devils were never going to defeat a goddess on Easter Sunday. Especially one who had just resurrected their Champions League qualification ambitions after three straight losses. Nor were Atalanta going to roll over with all the media rumors about Milan wanting to poach their Sporting Director. Then the club had to go full devil mode with their Easter greeting on social media, which even non-Italians apparently were offended by. (Maybe Milan's social media admin killed the Pope?) So all around, the writing was on the empty tomb wall. Milan were always going to fall when La Dea rises.
This post inspired by the music of INXS' "Devil Inside"
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Coppa Italia Semifinal 2nd Leg
Campionato Primavera 1 Week 35
Reviewed by Elaine
on
4:00 PM
Rating:
