If Davide Bartesaghi had been at his best, he would have started last night’s derby against Inter, and yet his replacement was the hero.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) recall, Bartesaghi has been Milan’s starting left wing-back for months. Over the past week, the young Italian winger has been struggling with a muscle strain, and so Massimiliano Allegri opted to start Estupinan, who repaid his faith with the winning goal.
Plan comes together
The derby was perhaps decided by the most surprising player. “It’s the most important goal of my life,” the Ecuadorian – who arrived at Milanello last summer from Brighton – declared after the match.
He was supposed to be the starting left-back, but his disappointing performances in the first half of the season and Bartesaghi’s exponential growth changed things and inverted the pecking order.
Yesterday, however, Estupinan responded to the opportunity Allegri gave him. The coach was full of praise for him too: “He’s a serious and professional player. Whatever you call him, he’s always available.”
After Doveri’s final whistle, Pervis himself took the floor and revealed that the goal wasn’t a fluke, but a move Allegri had him practice often during the week at Milanello: “We worked hard on it all week. The coach told me to attack, and I found the right moment.”
It was a moment that changed the course of a crucial match like the derby, and who knows, it might just change the end of the season for Milan and for Estupinan himself.
