Serie A. Round 27
Milan. “Giuseppe Meazza”
Milan – Lazio 1:2
Goals: Chukwueze 84 – Zaccagni 28, Pedro 90+8 (pen.)
Milan: Magnan, A. Jimenez (Walker 46), Gabbia (Jovic 83), Pavlovic, Hernandez, Fofana (Thiaw 70), Musa (Felix 37), Reynders, Pulisic (Chukwueze 70), S. Jimenez, Leao
Lazio: Provedel, Marusic (Lazzari 46), Gila, Gigot (Patrick 79), Tavares, Guendouzi, Rovella, Isaksen, Dia (Noslin 88), Zaccagni (Pedro 79), Chauna (Vecino 58)
Warnings: S. Jimenez 76, Leau 80 – Vecino 90+2
Removal: Pavlovich 67 (straight red)
Referee: Gianluca Manganiello
Milan has already reached the bottom where its defeats are perceived as completely banal, ordinary, expected. Like, that's how it should be, that's what it deserves. Today was the third in a row. The fourth in the last six matches in all tournaments. And no one is surprised. Perhaps the only thing that is surprised is the stormy flow of the match, the exciting unexpected plot. But not the result.
It seemed that the Rossoneri would avoid defeat today. Even bounce back from the bottom. They were down to ten men in the 67th minute, but showed character by scoring in the 84th. However, they then showed a lack of character. They gave away a penalty in added time in a completely unnecessary situation. The ball and the player were going away from the goal, out of bounds, but Magnan brought down Isachsen.
This is far from the first serious mistake by the French goalkeeper in recent weeks. Of the last four defeats, three are his. He missed an easy shot from Feyenoord, hit his defender in the head, from which the ball flew into his goal against Torino. And now he has given away a penalty. An ambiguous penalty, which at first seemed like a simulation. But the verdict is on the scoreboard.
Today, the team's fans continued their protest. First of all, against the club's management. The ultras did not show up for the first 15 minutes, then they came, but shouted slogans against Gerry Cardinale, hung banners, and called on him to leave. And the media before the match talked about a revolution in the summer among players, coaches, and directors. How can you get in the mood for a game in such an atmosphere?
At first, Milan were not very motivated. Dia received a through ball from Rovella and ran out on the goalkeeper (who saved it). Tavares broke through from a tight angle, shot past Mannan (Pavlovich saved it). In the 18th minute, the score in shots on goal was 0:4. But gradually the hosts got into the game, played faster and sharper. Reynders closed the gap, albeit weakly, Alex Jimenez curled, albeit inaccurately.
And yet it was precisely at these moments that the visitors scored. In the counterattack, Pavlovic intercepted a pass in a sliding tackle, but not far from the opponent, Chauna broke through from the right, Marusic, a defender, received it in the center, Magnan parried his shot to the side, but Zaccagni finished it off. As a result, Sergio Conceição replaced defensive midfielder Musa with attacker Felix already in the 37th minute. Not because of injury.
At the end of the half, Felix lost his balance and shot wide, Zaccagni almost hit the target in a dynamic counterattack, Provedel blocked Pavlovich's shot from afar. That was the end of the first half. The whistle for the break was greeted with a deafening whistle from the local fans.
The second half started dynamically. Pulisic shot high from a great position, Zaccagni almost curled it into the goal, Gigot shot at Magnan in a counterattack. There were plenty of other shots. True, this game was disrupted when Isaksen ran down the flank in a counterattack and was brought down from behind by Pavlovic. Red for disrupting the breakthrough to the goal (even if it was down the flank) or for a bad foul? The main thing is that it was red.
After that, there were fewer good attacks, although the speed and especially the tension remained high. Eventually, there was an attack. Milan equalized with ten men when Leao crossed and substitute Chukwueze closed the scoring with a header. The tempo increased even more, both teams tried to snatch the victory. And Lazio snatched it when, one might say, Isaksen successfully set himself up for Magnan.
Milan have lost only their second of their last eight games against Lazio. At home against everyone in the league, they have lost for the first time in nine rounds. But in general, there have been too many defeats lately. Three in a row in the league on all pitches for the first time since February 2023. That's why they fall to ninth place. What bottom can they still hit this season? How else can they bring it?
Lazio are recovering from difficult weeks, when they drew in the league twice in a row, including with outsiders Venezia, when they were eliminated from the Cup. It seemed that the Eagles were too tired and were starting to fall. It seemed until the 97th minute today. But in the 98th they rose and are now back in fourth place in Serie A. Even before the Juventus match.
www.ua-football.com