AC Milan will have a mountain to climb in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Inter after losing the first act 2-0 at San Siro.
Milan were rocked by a lightning fast start from Inter and they never recovered, with the first goal coming less than 10 minutes in as nobody marked Edin Dzeko from a corner and he fired in first time.
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The second just minutes later when Henrikh Mkhitaryan strolled through the middle unopposed to slot past Mike Maignan, and things really threatened to get out of hand from there with the Rossoneri’s defence all at sea.
Despite a positive start to the second 45 and with Sandro Tonali hitting the post, there was to be no goal for Milan to cling on for and they are now left hoping for a minor miracle in next Tuesday’s return fixture.
The build-up to the game was dominated by Rafael Leao and whether he would recover from an adductor problem in time to start on the left wing, but he was not risked and thus Alexis Saelemaekers took his spot. Barring that, it was the same side that brought success against Napoli and more recently Lazio.
There will never be the words to describe just how overbearing the atmosphere was at a sold-out San Siro, but it was summed up well by the opening minutes as the two sets of fans implored with the referee that he’d got each half call wrong.
Eight minutes into the game, Inter got the early breakthrough and it came via Edin Dzeko who Simone Inzaghi had chosen to start over Romelu Lukaku. Hakan Calhanoglu’s delivery from the right was volleyed in first time by the Bosnian into the top corner with Mike Maignan rooted.
Less than three minutes later they had doubled their advantage, and this time it was poor open play marking that was Milan’s undoing. A ball from Federico Dimarco on the left was wisely left by Lautaro Martinez, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan strode into the box to finish past Maignan unopposed.
The Nerazzurri had the wind in their sails and almost made it 3-0 when Hakan Calhanoglu ripped a shop off the post from about 25 yards out, and then a cross from the rebound eventually found Mkhitaryan whose shot was this time stopped by Maignan.
Things went from bad to worse for Pioli’s side as Ismael Bennacer was then forced to come off with what looked like a knock that he couldn’t shake off, and Junior Messias came on in his place.
Tried as they might, it seemed as if every time Milan went forward and attempted to assert a period of pressure, they would just get hit in transition at the other end, with the ball worked from flank to centre quite effortlessly at times by Inter.
The Rossoneri’s first real opportunity of the half took half an hour to come, with a nice move down the right side ending with Calabria flicking a first-time shot into the side netting from a Messias cross.
It looked as though things had turned nightmarish moments later when Lautaro took a tumble inside the box under pressure from Kjaer and Tomori and the referee Jesus Gil pointed to the spot, however it was rightly overturned after a VAR check with the contact minimal.
A couple more half-chances followed for Inter and both of them came after deflected shots from Dimaro who was lining up a couple of pile-drivers from the left corner of the box. One fell to Lautaro and the other to Dumfries; both flew over.
Milan fans let Jesus Gil know what they had thought of his first half officiating when the whistle blew after four added minutes, but that was not before he flashed yellows to Krunic and Calhanoglu, for dissent by the former and an arm in the face by the latter.
The ‘home’ side certainly started the second half much brighter and twice had the chance to work Andre Onana but failed to. The first was when Brahim burst between the lines and curled a shot wide of the far post, and then Messias had an even bigger chance after a diagonal run from the right but also wasted it.
Inter then had their own opportunity to perhaps even put the tie to bed when nobody stopped Alessandro Bastoni’s striding run out from the back and he found Dzeko who Kjaer played onside, yet Maignan rushed out and made an important block.
Just short of the hour mark, Pioli elected to make a double change as Divock Origi came on for Saelemaekers while Malick Thiaw replaced a rather tired-looking Kjaer.
In a game and a tie of fine margins, it seemed as though all of them were going against Milan. A nice ball from Origi released Brahim whose cut-back to Giroud saw the Frenchman feed Tonali, yet his shot agonisingly skimmed the post.
Acerbi tested Maignan with a shot from distance that was in the end comfortably saved, with Romelu Lukaku and Stefan De Vrij then coming off the bench before Darmian saw an effort from inside the box deflected wide.
Pioli’s final roll of the decide came with less than 10 minutes on the clock as Pierre Kalulu and Tommaso Pobega came on for Calabria and Brahim Diaz.
When Pobega’s shot from the edge of the box was comfortably saved in the second minute of four added it was clear that it wasn’t Milan’s night, and next Tuesday will have to be something pretty special now.
We should be glad it was not 7-0
Agreed – after such a poor performance, we still have a chance; albeit a slim one and only if Leao is back.
Embarassed in front of the whole world.
Pioli out.
Because of lord calabria the scored two
Im am confused why pioli always sets up his side to cross to one player when there is three at the back and have 2 v 2 when defending. And our midfield was unable to pick up the runs of inter midfielders.
No miracle.
Just play against spezia and forget Shitter.
Pioli non intelligent coach.
He is losing 3 times in a row with same system. So what should he do ?
He should play 3 5 2 without Leao and just defend. They will not than score 2 goal in ten minutes and everything would be different.
Now we lost Leao, Bennacer, maybe Mike, and we are fckd against Spezia.
And Juventus might lose some points.
Pioli deserves to be fired if don’t reach forth position.
Forza young Milan !
Bar the first 15 minutes I think we played well, for me I don’t what you think is a miracle but if we play properly with a healthy Leão I think that gap in the score will be closed quickly, one thing I’d like to add was origi actually had a positive game when he got the ball creating our best chance when Tonali hit the post
Also I don’t understand why we always start so poorly. We did the same against Napoli and were lucky we weren’t punished but this time we were
this is what we get when the club’s new owners have no money.
can’t buy players, not even qualified reserves.
yes, we won the league last year, but it was a stroke of luck, because of the players’ incredible determination & because not a single important player was injured.
nothing at all to do with club owner elliot, who only sell the club this year to another broke buyer so they can still have the power to control the club by lending the new owner money
Where were we 5 years ago? It’s like the last 8 years didn’t happen. These comments are bizarre.
i don’t think there’s anything bizzare about my comment.
don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled that last year Milan won the league after 11 years, but we won’t always be lucky.
let me ask you, do you think Milan today have a squad that deserves to win the UCL?
or even just win the league?
first team maybe, but what about the reserves?
is the budget we spent this season worth to be able to defend scudetto?
and please, don’t talk about FFP
“and please, don’t talk about FFP”
Why? Because it alone is a valid excuse?
“is the budget we spent this season worth to be able to defend scudetto?”
I don’t think the owners really pushed for that. The management was pretty clear IMO that the goal is to finish in TOP4 and start a continuation of securing UCL-spot each year.
Sure, Milan didn’t invest much. But compared to many other Italians they didn’t invest little either. Sure, you can compare their transfer budget against Chelsea and see the huge margin. Then again… You might want to check the EPL table and see where Chelsea is.
Money isn’t everything. Tactics count a lot. Also HOW the coach utilizes the players available. The last two have been miserable this season.
tell that to city, psg, chelsea, barca & madrid.
did uefa investigation about FFP already begin for them?
thank you
I don’t think the owners really pushed for that. The management was pretty clear IMO that the goal is to finish in TOP4 and start a continuation of securing UCL-spot each year.
– exactly!
don’t aim higher if you want Milan just to be “another european team”.
as long as money came through, we don’t need glory at all
Like Inter has money… they only made their team worse and don’t invest for 2.5 years now. They bought Mhyki, Calha, Dzeko and Onana for a combined fee of 0… that Mhyktarian guy scored two times the goals of Origi and CDK combined. Proper scouting
yes, they are free, but:
lukaku loan fee €7.8m + salary €10.3m/ year
snake calha salary €9.3
dzeko salary €9.3
mkhitaryan salary €4.6
onana salary €3.9
Everything Pioli could’ve’ done wrong he did; Subbing off Salad, taking off Brahim, putting on Origi, playing slow in the back. Inter were poor in the second half with more pressing we could’ve gotten something.
As it stands were lucky to have escaped only two goals down, hopefully Leao and Bennacer are back for the second leg. Thankfully we’re secure in the top for since Pioli put strong lineups and used good tactics we can finally rest our players after a hard campaign for the second leg.
Oh wait…
Maybe it’s for the best as it will accelerate the realization that Pioli has maxed out.
Also here is a potential controversial take:
While we’ve had a good run in the CL, we’re obviously a bit ahead of schedule and maybe lucky. Perhaps it would be better not to go to the final and get manhandled by Madrid or City. Perhaps Inter will be so focused on that that they will drop points in Serie A, allowing us to finish top 4, and them not. Then Inter loses against Madrid or City (likely, although not a potential thrashing like we would get), and in the end we’re the ones playing CL next season and all they have is 15m extra Euros. The one negative in this scenario is that it would give Pioli a stay of execution…
I agree but I’m afraid our luck is running out. We were lucky getting a poor Spurs, then got lucky against Napoli. Our only hope in the CL now is that Inter get cocky and Leao saves us in the second leg. In the league we are screwed unless Lazio (or Inter) completely fall apart while we win all of our remaining games. The worst part? Pioli will stay even if we miss out on the final and top 4. Well, at least we signed Leao for 5 years!
I honestly don’t think, that we were really lucky against Spurs and Napoli..
But didn’t people say we won the scudetto with luck too? We got lucky about 30-40 times last season to earn, eh, scratch that… replace the “earn” with “score” enough points to get the scudetto.
It’s all about luck these days.
These lucky comments, only pops up when we have a negative result.. When we win, nobody makes these comments! Even if we win Champions League, and get knocked out in Quarter Final or Semi Final next season, they will type that lucky comment.. Cause, after Champions League success, they will demand treble!
Thats a positive take. However, shinter will not suffer that much domestically for reaching the final ( if they do). It’s only 1 game. However, yeah i sure hope we make it top 4. Whether its shinter, roma or lazio dropping. As long as we make it. This summer transfer should be a busy one for maldini and co. Real am, real rw, real cm, and real dm. Pioli, should focus on replacing calabria with kalulu and develop kalulu in that position. Calabria is too inconsistent. Superb performance against napoli, but then 3-4 sloppy games after.
Yep , better focus secure top 4 position since our chance to final now slim . Simone inzaghi will wait counter atack in second leg and AC Milan are poor vs team like that . Play on CL next season will give AC Milan money for new striker and maybe RW
As long as Leao, is there we can hurt them.. With that being said, I think Thiaw, Kalulu, should start over Kjær and Calabria.. We are good, to go as long as defense stay intact! All it takes, is just one goal to panic them.. We have seen, this in the past!
Perhaps you are right.. But, to throw your towel, in advance is timid! I would like, to see them give a tough fight, in the second leg.. As for final, who knows? It’s one game, anything can happen!
I would like to add to your hypothesis: what’s if they, win it? Imagine all the bragging, rights they would have.. Especially that Turkish snake, and his rants..
The worst nightmare of any Milan-fan for sure. Let’s not even go there…
That’s why I hope we can turn this around.. I want to see, tears in his eyes! Or the very least, I hope is they get, battered by Real or City and finish outside of top four!
We can still stop that happening.. I believe our destiny, is in our own hands! Nobody thought that, Liverpool can beat Barcelona and win the Champions League! It’s not over, until it’s over.. But the question, is? If the players believe in themselves or not? Cause it’s useless, for us fans to dream, if the players don’t believe in themselves..
This could have been 0-5. Pioli sacrificed our CL qualification for this! Inter are laughing while knocking us out of this year’s AND next year’s CL.
No Leao, no attack – the Pioli way.
Calabria did a very poor job dealing with Dzeko on the first goal. Why did he try to out muscle him? Very questionable. It’s to bad because he did very well during the Napoli game.
“Calabria did a very poor job dealing with Dzeko on the first goal. Why did he try to out muscle him?”
Calabria should have done EVERYTHING to get to the ball first. I mean… Fly to the ball. Climb all over Dzeko but don’t stay behind him and ask politely him to “please don’t take the ball”. Fight like your life depended on it. Naah… It’s too late. Just don’t mark him next week, OK?
The problem is not pioli but the recruitment of players into the team by the management of milan. It was a game that separated pure quality from mediocrity.
Milan is just lucky to have reached this stage. Only Maigan, Kjaer, Hernandez, Tonali and Leao deserve this squad while the rest like Benncer, Krunic, Calabria, Thiaw, Kalu, Saelamakers, Giroud, and Diaz are all supposed to be the team’s substitutes!
I agree, with only 1 correction, Kjaer also should be just a back up.
I think it’s a little more nuanced than that. Bennacer is a good player. He shouldn’t be playing trequartista.
Thiaw is 21 and just getting started. If Kjaer should also be a backup it’s because Thiaw should be starting. Think of where Theo and Leao were in season 1 with us. He’s in the same place. I think he will be a good CB but to get there he needs to play, even if he’s going to make mistakes. Maldini wasn’t Maldini from the first minute of his career.
I agree with most of the rest, Calabria isn’t world class, but given that we have worse holes elsewhere I expect that he will be the starter for another season or two, unless they want to give Kalulu a real shot at the position, but it will require bringing in another CB.
And also, Salad IS one of the teams subs. Leao is injured.
Immediate needs for 23/24: Striker, RW (this should effectively send Diaz back to Madrid), another good CM (this will effectively bench Krunic), backup for Theo.
The only positive with this game is that now it is clear that Pioli will not be in charge next season and I am all for it. Zero tactical ability. To think that Inter are not prepared that Milan would play like they did against Napoli. And is clear to see tjat Milan has no way of attack. No style of play and he has been there for 3,5 years.
We didn’t even learn a single thing from the previous matches against Inter. Just like in the supercoppa when we conceeded early goal. And unlike Napoli, they’re willing to wait and sit deep. And with 2 goals advantage, they’ll sit even deeper on the 2nd leg and it’ll surely give us more problems.
Well, it’s been fun while it lasted guys.
Yeah agree 100%. We couldn’t even score against bottom teams that parked the bus. It will be even harder against shinter. But again, this surprised everyone before, maybe they can do it again.
Where those people that abuse me just because Pioli won Lazio match. I said then and I will repeat it that Pioli doesn’t yet have idea how to beat a defensive team which Inter is one of them and Pioli should leave. Playing side passes that give you possession but no penetration is not good football.
Against Spezia, Pioli will rotate and Milan will need up with draw or worst
At this point getting knocked out by shinter and not making top 4 in league could be a blessing that gets pioli fired.. he did what he could. Time for new blood. Sheva maybe
Lol, based on what record?
Must be a reason he’s always seen at san siro nowadays. Also, what record did pioli have?
I’d love a proper coach, experienced, winner etc etc. But that’s not gonna happen
Yeah sheva. Allthough one of the best players ever, and one of our favorites, but coaching skills are as good as your skills. 0.
And if RedBird dont want to sacked pioli even after AC Milan play on europa league ? What can you do ?
It actually wasn’t that bad. First 15 was hoooorrible. But we at least tried and had some good quality actions. What I don’t like is when we play long balls on Giroud. We always loose those and it really bit us in the ass today. It led to so many counter attacks.
Our troup is very thin though. We had nothing to throw in. 2 defensive substitutions says much when you’re trailing with 2. We basically have only one striker and Inter has 4. It’s pretty sad to see.
Calabria so dump,how could someone of his size mark edin dzeko instead a player that will merge his size and physicality.
Because we didn’t have anyone who could until Thiaw came on. It’s yet another one of our weaknesses. We don’t have big tall players in defence.
Stranger things have happened in football than overturning a 2-0 aggregate lead…
Our management is too incompetent to fire Pioli even though he has proven that he has no idea how to attack.
The Scudetto was a one-off thanks to all other major teams being poor last season. Now that Napoli and Juve are flying, Inter and Lazio have improved, we are struggling to get 4th place. If Pioli stays, next season will be the same, except we won’t be in the CL.
The awful commentary I was listening to mentioned the space between the lines.
It felt like there were no lines in the first half, or that they were lined up parallel with the by lines.
This was a complete regression to January.
The Inter mid trio sit deep and dominate the centre and we can’t get a connection between the pivot and Brahim.
Should have reverted to 3 5 2 shape because we didn’t have Leao anyway.
Unfortunately, Pioli is largely at fault. Everything was geared to this moment and we weren’t even set up properly.
Pioli is a poor coach. Can’t adapt his “tactics” to the opponent and the situation. He plays the same whether we play Inter or Cremonese! And his subs are downright insane. We need to get back into a game desperately? Takes off Alexis who was our best player and brings in Origi who’s completely useless. And he does this all the time! I’m begging the owners to fire this clown because I know Maldini won’t.
Gotta agree with you that Pioli is largely at fault. Inter midfield trio have caused Milan a lot of problems this entire season and he’s not found a way to deal with it. The players have some responsibility too, because I thought they entered the game lacking the right intensity and attitude. Inter just seemed to want the ball more and were aggressive in doing so, while our players were complacent on and off the ball.
I’d also agree that Pioli might have been better off playing a 3-5-2, since he knew we weren’t going to have Leao, plus I think the only time this season that we’ve kept them to just one goal was when we played a 3-5-2 (* it was a 1-0 loss) but that’s negligible at this point.
I felt that Diaz reverting back to the midfield was a tactical error. Pobega should’ve been brought in to replace Bennacer after his injury, so that there would’ve been a similar combativeness higher up the pitch and intensity to the press. The greater issue was, (as has been the case this entire season) and is, better defensive coverage in the wide areas. It has to be addressed if we want to make it to the finals.
Agree with all of this.
I actually don’t remember whether Bennacer went down before the second goal. I don’t think he did. It doesn’t really matter because until the point of his injury we had no control of the game, whatsoever.
As soon as he got injured, we should have looked to completely shut the game down, at least to half time. We could then reset because we get 5 subs anyway even if that means brining off someone who only got 25 to 35 minutes in the first half. Bring on Pobega to sit with Krunic in front of the defenders and play Sandro in a slightly more advanced role at least to get the game to half time.
We continued to bleed chances, making the tactical issue worse with Brahim in the AM role, and it is only Lautaro being a cheat and Hakan getting it wrong by a few mm on the ball that prevented us being 4-0 down inside 30 minutes.
Pioli gets a lot of criticism I do not generally think is justified, because he is always in some form of catch-22 created by an average squad and poor mercato, but he really stuffed this up. It’s dumb luck that we are still close enough that a miracle from Rafa, that he is well and truly capable of, could still get us into the final.
I wondered y he substituted saelamakers and live messiahs on the pitch, that dude is a waste, he doesn’t deserve to be a Milan player