Milan-Roma 2-2: the Rossoneri command, then fall asleep. Abraham grabs them in the 93rd minute

MILAN – Even assuming that the controversial restriction on the demolition of the Meazza can be considered one of the daily snubs of the undersecretary for culture, so far Milan certainly could not complain about their old home in this championship: only one defeat at the San Siro, against Napoli. However, the eighth victory in nine games vanished in extremis and the draw allowed Spalletti’s fugitives to keep the Milan-Juventus pairing at a distance of 7 points. Formally, the 2-2 was the result of the two goals scored in the final by a very tenacious Roma: they inflicted them on the Italian champions in just 6′, between 42′ and 48′ of the second half, both from free kicks, to frustrate, with a punch from Ibañez on a corner and with a volley from Abraham on Tatarusanu’s save from Matic’s header, a rather flawless 2-0, built on Kalulu’s paw in the scrum and on Pobega’s double on the counterattack calligraphic, packaged by an ingenious opening of the genius Leao, a little more thrifty than usual. Substantially, however, a suspicion appears, beyond the summary markings which, on the lifted corner and Pellegrini’s remote-controlled free-kick, facilitated Roma’s comeback: the suspicion is that Milan’s gradual and evident tiredness was equally decisive, which particularly caught the three veterans of the World Cup Giroud (replaced at the crucial moment), Hernandez (out of breath) and Leao (corresponding).

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The detailed analyzes of the performance of Pioli’s players, now perfect to the thousandth thanks to the use of GPS, will allow us to verify the validity of the correlation between the World Cup effect and the gradual athletic decline of the three pillars of the team. Certainly, while the Pobega-Diaz relay in the middle of the second half had also literally strengthened the trocar guaranteeing the 2-0 together with the addition of the impetuous Vranckx for Bennacer (fresh from the agreement for the renewal and in any case the man of the match), those between De Ketelaere and Giroud and between Gabbia and Saelemaekers were not as successful: they ended up crushing Milan backwards at the moment of Roma’s extreme assault.

The disqualified Mourinho, interposed by Foti, instead got the substitutions right, starting with the renunciation of the smoky Zaniolo, who didn’t like the substitution with Tahirovic. Grafts by Matic and in the final by El Shaarawy and Belotti accentuated the possession of the opponent’s half. Nothing, in truth, had hinted at the epilogue. The old Meazza was full again this time (almost 75,000 spectators, Roma fans included), as has practically always happened (except with Dinamo Zagreb, but only for safety reasons). And the constant flow of the team with the crowd, combined with the remarkable glance from the stands, not only made it difficult to imagine the future move to Sesto San Giovanni, but seemed to materialize as a strong point of the year, after a couple of seasons of outstanding performance on the road. Pioli’s Milan was giving back to itself the taste for playing well and winning again inside its den, dragging the fans, waiting for the test of the truth, on February 14 in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 with Conte’s Tottenham. Reappearing on the sidelines from the away match in Miami, Ibrahimovic took on the role of druid, he who is about to appear on the screens in the guise of the Roman legionnaire Caius Antivirus, a character from the Asterix film saga. Instead the Milan potion was spoiled: in cauda venenum, the Latins said.

Milan, Pioli: “We complicated our own lives”

08 January 2023

Milan
30′ pt Kalulu, 32′ st Pobega
Rome
42′ st Ibañez, 48′ st Abraham

Milan (4-2-3-1) Tatarusanu – Calabria, Kalulu, Tomori, T.Hernandez – Bennacer (29′ st Vranckx), Tonali – Saelemaekers, Diaz (25′ st Pobega), Leão – Giroud (40′ st De Ketelaere). All. Pioli.
Rome (3-4-3) Rui Patricio – Mancini (44′ st Belotti), Smalling, Ibañez – Celik (33′ st El Shaarawy), Cristante (21′ st Matic), Pellegrini, Zalewski – Zaniolo (21′ st Tahirovic), Dybala, Abraham. Herds: Mourinho (Foti on the bench).
Referee: Mass.
Notes: Celik, Mancini, Leão, Zalewski, Zaniolo, Bennacer, Tomori, Tonali, Matic booked. 74,103 paying spectators, takings of 3,136,664 euros.