The angry faces of the Milan players at the final whistle represent yet another proof of how Stefano Pioli’s team has made the right mental leap. On a day in which all the opponents for the top positions have won (Lazio excluded), the Rossoneri manage not to lose in one of the most haunted matches of the season, which made even the incredible Milan-Verona pale from over a month ago. . The Devil rises again after finding himself inexplicably in hell under two goals and snatches a precious point, maintaining the unbeatenability from the post lockdown in the league. With the defeat of Atletico Madrid on Saturday night in the derby against Real, Pioli’s team is thethe only club left not to have lost in the top 5 European leagues. There are games that are born wrong and the one against Liverani’s team starts in the worst possible way for Romagnoli and his teammates: with Kjaer, Ibrahimovic and Saelemaekers not even called up for physical problems, Gabbia gets hurt after 3 minutes of play and Parma finds the advantage on the only occasion created with Hernani. Four struck woods from Milan (three with Calhanoglu), of which two centered in the same action with Brahim first and then the Turk. The last cross of the number 10 at the beginning of the second half, with a cruciate doubling five minutes later would have killed even a bison. Not Pioli’s Milan, who reacts angrily and finds a 2-2 unexpected in the final thanks to a Theo Hernandez unleashed, not before having also lost Bennacer to a muscle problem.
THE ‘BETRAYAL’ OF THE BENCH – Despite the Rossoneri’s coach praising his performance at the end of the match, Rebic’s first striker matches are not convincing, except for some impromptu plays that he sometimes manages to pull out of the hat. Often this season the reserves have played a fundamental role in entering the race and having a decisive impact on the result. This time, however, Pioli was ‘betrayed’ by the solutions taken over from the bench, Hauge e Leao over all. The native of Bodo struggles to slip between the Italian opponents, unlike what he can in Europe. Taking countermeasures to enemy defenses is part of the physiological process of acclimatization of a young player catapulted from the Norwegian championship to the most complicated of all from a tactical point of view. Leao must unleash his immense talent more continuously within the game. For large stretches it looks like a fish out of water and its swinging way around the field is not just a problem of ‘body language’, as Pioli defined it. The Portuguese needs a change of attitude even when he enters a race in progress. Even against Sparta Prague, the former Porto entered the field giving the feeling of not having properly entered with the spirit suitable for the match. Yet Leao has shown that when he is focused, he can be decisive not only with goals, but also with assists. Seven games in three days, +3 against second-placed Inter Milan, Milan strongly want to spend Christmas as leaders. With Kjaer and Ibra on the way back, anything is possible.
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