AC Milan may have been described before the game as the man tasked with extinguishing the presence of Stanislav Lobotka as he did 10 days ago, but instead he illuminated his own name.
La Gazzetta dello Sport recall how Milan had 20 minutes to forget at the start of the game in which every player looked a bit frantic and anxious, including Bennacer, but then the team grew into the game.
When Brahim Diaz turned two men in his own half and sprinted towards goal the Algerian did what any good midfielder would do: he simply followed the play as a trailer, made a smart run and fired in off Meret with a brilliant strike.
It is a goal that gives Milan something to defend in Naples, and the performance of Bennacer was even more impressive given he is in full Ramadan, which started on March 22 and will end on April 20.
The 25-year-old is a ‘careful practitioner and a professional sportsman’ so observing Ramadan means fasting – both food and liquids – from sunrise to sunset. That means he feeds from dusk to dawn, subverting the usual biorhythm.
For a footballer it means adapting the body to an unusual and tiring regime, since training obviously takes place during the day. Bennacer is not the first and will not be the last to have to adapt his work to religious dictates, but it is still worth highlighting.
He is of course followed closely by the club and in particular the nutritionist. At around 20:10 – 50 minutes before kick-off – he ate something before going on to warm-up. Then, he feasted on the pitch too.