There was to be no miracle comeback from AC Milan as they lost 1-0 on the night against Inter and 3-0 on aggregate, crashing out in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s goals in the first leg meant that it was a tall order if Milan were to reach the final in Istanbul next month, and although they had a couple of chances in the first half that moment never came to change the tie.
It was Inter who got the only goal of the night at the other end with substitute Romelu Lukaku setting up Lautaro Martinez to fire in at the near post and essentially kill the game off after what was a dismal second half from the Rossoneri.
The Champions League run therefore ends at the final four stage, with the Nerazzurri undoubtedly the better team over the two legs and some serious questions to be asked now about the future if the club at all levels.
Stefano Pioli chose to make three changes from the team that lost the first leg with one of them forced as Ismael Bennacer dropped out, with Rafael Leao coming back into the attack. Elsewhere Malick Thiaw came in for Simon Kjaer and Junior Messias got the nod over Alexis Saelemaekers.
If there were any doubts about the ferocity with which the game would be played, those were very quickly dispelled when Dumfries sent Theo Hernandez tumbling and then Barella barged through the back of Sandro Tonali while attacking a cross.
Milan were not far away from getting themselves right back in the tie when Theo Hernandez picked up a short free-kick about 35 yards out from goal, letting fly with a speculative effort that only just fizzed over the bar with Andre Onana rooted.
It became apparently from the early exchanges that Inter would once again wait for Milan to surrender the ball and try to play through them quickly, with Barella firing a shot over on the turn from just outside the box when Fikayo Tomori allowed him the space to shoot.
The Rossoneri caused panic minutes later when a curled cross from Messias all the way to the far post was not claimed by Onana nor cleared by Dumfries, with Giroud heading back across goal but Darmian clearing before a tap-in could arrive.
Brahim Diaz had a massive opportunity to halve the deficit in the tie after Barella was robbed of possession by Theo and Tonali went surging into the box, cutting back to the Spaniard who side-footed into Onana’s arms when he could have taken a touch or gone to the other corner.
Barella was heavily involved early in the game and he saw a shot from deep inside the box brilliantly saved by Maignan, though the offside flag did go up for an earlier offside on Dzeko.
Midway through the first half Mkhitaryan had a couple of bites at the cherry to try and make it 3-0 on aggregate and end the tie, the better chance being a shot after a lay-off from Dzeko that was curled over from 18 yards out.
Milan had a huge opportunity to take the lead eight minutes before the break as Leao managed to surge in behind for the first time. The Portuguese winger beat Bastoni to an aerial ball and cut into the box but angled his low shot just wide of the far post.
Then it was Inter’s turn to threaten and call Mike Maignan into action when a low free-kick from Calhanoglu on the left was flicked goalwards by Dzeko and was thankfully straight at the French goalkeeper who seemed to stop it with his face.
There was a nervous moment for Acerbi in the first few minutes of the second half when Tonali went down near him while lining up for a free-kick and the replays showed a deliberate stamp. However, the foul was given but no card.
In the 60th minute there was a moment of worry for Milan when Thiaw pulled up after passing a ball back to Maignan and though he tried to play on, Pierre Kalulu came on to replace him a couple of minutes later.
The feeling was that the game and the tie were starting to drift away from Milan as the minutes ticked by, and when Leao wasn’t far off laying the ball into the path of Messias in behind but Onana claimed it, that feeling grew stronger.
Minutes later, the tie was killed off and it was the combination between Lukaku and Lautaro that provided the opening goal on the night. The Belgian held the ball up well and laid it into the path of his strike partner, who hammered it in past Maignan at the near post after some shocking defending.
A couple of changes followed as Divock Origi and Alexis Saelemaekers came on for Brahim and Messias, but at this point the outcome was a mere formality.
Pioli is a clown, waited till 75th minute to substitute
100% Pioli goal.
How many more mistakes Kalulu need to do as a full back so he will understand he is a right back and not a full back?
Still another 30-40 it seems.
This match went exactly as most of us imagined it would, although I thought Leao would at least do something. Nope, zero. Diaz losing balls every time as usual, Giroud isolated by himself, nobody can make a decent pass or cross. The only positive is that Inter will be smashed in the final.
Brilliant idea to let Leao play in the center!
What’s the purpose to put Origi on the pitch
That what you get when you can barely put a shot on target.
Diaz should leave at the end of the season.
Leao cannot be the only one who can generate shot creating actions. We need more form our attacking midfielder and RW.
Feels harsh to lose 4 out of 5 derbies but it was a needed reality check for the management.
I respect what Pioli as done for AC Milan after saving us from Giampaolo ball but he has not shown me enough to merit him a new contract. After the end of his current deal we should look elsewhere and hopefully by then de Zerbi wants to coach Milan.
I think the players are too poor. Imagine a proper CAM who can lift more than 10lbs instead of lightweight Diaz. We’d be in business..as well as an actual RW. But he only has to work with what he has 🤷♂️
That being said, to not see how trash Messias was in this game and keep him in for so long makes me wonder
My point exactly. Pioli is not the only fault but his game management needs help. Milenkovic Savic would do wonders at the number 10 with hakim zyiech on the right although this is just fantacy.
Saving after giampaolo? You idiot when pioli came it was even worse then now check the match stats. When ibra came thats what change everything
Of course it is Milanooo with sh*t takes. He after the loss to Atalanta Milan were one of the best teams in italy and it was thanks to Pioli. Of course he did not do it by himself but he played a vital role.
You are just using words like idiot because you are too emotional over the loss. If you access it without the emotion of an uncontrolled child you would actually realize that what I am saying has some evidence.
Go to mr pioli and get on your two knees
From the lineup I knew we had no chance.. we have a one man midfield of Krunic, Tonali and Diaz were basically anonymous
The reasons for our failures are complex and cannot be attributed to one person alone. Our semi-final performance was absolutely shameful and humiliating. The fact that Pioli stubbornly waited until 76th minute to make change upfront shows yet again how completely clueless he is. My only hope that there will be serious reshuffling done in the team after the season is over. Some of the useless players need to go. Pioli has to pay the price for his mistakes as well as some of the managers responsible for our transfer market.
It also amazed me. Like what he’s waiting for. It’s not like we do much on 2nd half. You have 2 goals deficit, on 50-60th minutes, you really have nothing to loose. Just throw all the dices. Looking like you’re doing something is the least that you can do.
why not use Rebic?
Because he’s been absolutely useless recently, cannot get a simple short pass done, nothing.
Do we really have to answer this?
Sure, the Rebic from 2-3 years ago. The Rebic of this season? No.. H*ll no!
Just normal day at the office. Yes, it’s good to have a hope, football is anything but predictable, bla bla bla, but how many of those miracles happened compared to the normal ones? Stronger side will prevail. We’re on the weaker side. Simple truth.
Aside of all what Pioli (and the team) done wrong that’ll surely be displayed here, the most embarrassing thing for me is that we can’t score any goals againts them in 4 matches in a row. That really is something.
I’m sorry but Kalulu left his marker world cup winner and inter top striker Lautaro Martinez. Bar not selecting Kalulu, Pioli couldn’t do shit to fix this.
“Pioli couldn’t do sh** to fix this.”
Well… How about creating playbooks for attacking? Milan had two plans on how to score goals:
1) Pass the ball to Leao and wait & see.
2) Pray for a miracle that the ball ends up in front of the goal and Giroud is there alone to poach it in.
You can’t win games with zero variety in attacking plays.
Pioli has achieved all he could with this team, the management should thank him and let him go. Is not that Inter was good, Milan was very poor over both matches. Our results against smaller teams in the league, is a disgrace due to Pioli poor team management.
Tonali’s presence were visible. Diaz is the problem. That chance he missed would have changed the course of the game. But that is what you get from a 10 million dollar attacking midfielder
A CL semi final is more than we could ever hope for at the beginning of a season.
Regardless, woeful display.
We cannot attack against anyone defending deeper, no creativity, most of our attackers were invisible.
Pioli waiting until 70+ minutes for substitutions is ridicolous, but hey, who are we gonna sub in anyways? No one, most of our players are underperforming, rusty and out of form.
Pioli will be sacked, but that won’t matter, because the board won’t allocate shit to spend because of not making the top 4, like we didn’t receive massive, unexpected income from this CL run.
Let Admits guys, inter have better players.
We are just not ready yet for the final, as much as we dream about it, this squad wasn’t made to challenge Champion league. Hope Ancelotti or Haaland smash Inter in the final
If madrid in the final i hope madrid win, but if city in the final i hope inter will win.
On one hand I do hope inter would win in the final. It’s been so long since Italian team win the ucl. On the other it could jeopardize Milan chance to qualify for ucl if we finish 4th and inter below Milan and also if roma or juve win Europa league.
I can state it categorically that Pioli cost us this match.
Inter had no plan than to seat deep.
Common sense should have been to shoot from the outside, this will cause them to panic, make mistakes and make the match a bit opened.
Why bring on Kalulu have the number of errors he has made and which often resulted in a goal. The same thing happened in this match.
Salesmakaes should have started the match instead of Messias.
Calabria was a shot one, he was not offensive enough unless when we needed to press.
Thumbs up to, Mike, Tomori, Thiaw, Theo, Krunic and Diaz.
I feel Leao was not in full recovery state.
Has 99% of the time after 70+ minutes is wen pioli makes subs!I already said a couple of days ago sack pioli after the end of season and bring Shevechenko with pioli things are just gonna keep going downhill!I am thankfull for what he did but its time to move on from a coach that only plays one formation no matter if he has the right players or not he just plays the same formation over and over again!
You want to replace pioli because he is not experinced at this stage and your replacement is Shevechenko. It would be best to keep pioli if he is your big replacement
If pioli is still the coach next season, i will never watch ac milan game ever. When gazidis left everything fell appart .
I think perspective is needed here. We are not a CL semi final level team. We have overachieved this season in the CL at the expense of the league which is the elephant in the room which Pioli will be judged by. We have a good team, we don’t have a good squad. Our utterly impotent attack only highlights and shifts the blame onto other areas of the pitch.
We have a world class keeper, we have a good defence, Theo is world class, Thiaw looks like he’ll be great, Tomori can be great, Calabria is decent. Our first choice pivot is world class with Tonali and Bennacer. Our left wing is world class…then it stops!! Abruptly!!! We have ignored this for years, I heard all the Berardi haters all summer saying he wouldn’t be a good signing…imagine us with Berardi on the right…Giroud has a world class but too old to be the main man….
Overall we are on the right path, the scudetto probably came prematurely late season, that and our over achieving CL run has fans in a place which we are not at yet.
Overall recruitment has been good, Maignan, Tomori, Thiaw, Kalulu, Theo, Rafa, Tonali, Bennacer we’re all clever moves. Management have to be applauded for that.
For me, as many here have stated, the issues were in not replacing Kessie. Milan of last season with Kessie does much better against this inter side, we have regressed, when you need to build from a position of strength.
Pioli can’t be blamed, why do we expect from Pioli? He does as Pioli does. Just as you know what you get from Pep, or Klopp, we should know what we get from Pioli…he’s a decent coach, not a great one. His biggest failure was focusing on a competition we had zero chance of winning over the league and top 4! A small part of me felt with our first XI on form we could beat Madrid in the final in the same way that a young hungry Liverpool beat our aging side in 2005, with Theo, Rafa and the pivot we could have run them down in midfield, but it was always a small chance.
The buck stops with Cardinale…show us what you are about. Add to the very good core of the team we have. Inter allegedly in financial chaos have world class bench players in Lukaku, Correa, Brozovic to come on and change a game. Our bench is a joke. If cardinale doesn’t invest, then this great core of young talent that should build on this season la experience will only disband. It can’t be unheard it’s from Frankfurt or other lesser sides, we have to go after real talent.
“I think perspective is needed here. We are not a CL semi final level team. ”
This. No one can argue that. Milan playing like they played against Inter was embarrassing and not worthy of the 4 last teams in the tournament. How the **** did we even get this far??????
The so called champions league decisive player Diaz missed the goal that could have sparked the flame of the comeback but no once he just showed is normal self of a player that plays well 3 or 4 times in a full season it has been 3 season with this guy in our team and he showed what type of player he is but then he scores one goal or give one assist in over 15 matchs and his fanboys come from the wood works saying how AC Milan should do everthing to keep him in the team!
My fear with not keeping Diaz, is what do we end up with? I mean we all hoped for a Kessie replacement…it never happened. We bring in mediocrity like Origi, CDK and Messias. Diaz isn’t world class but on the right in series A he’s effective
All cross hairs need to be on cardinale to see how he evolves this current team. Our back 7 plus Leao are great, what we need is a devastating RW, and young prolific proven striker and a CAM. Then it’s depth. I know we are a long way off City but they could go into the CL final knowing that if Haaland and KDB got food poisoning they have Alvarez and Silva who can come in….we panic if Leao sneezes 😂
Agree. We keep playing Diaz cause simply he’s the best we’ve got in his position. With all his ups and downs. And don’t get me started on CdK..
CDK would have been a great signing for Milan 2003, with Pippo, Seedorf, Sheva, Rui Costa you can afford that gamble. The problem is CDK had to hit the ground running and be a game changer. Again it’s unfair to blame the kid, we aren’t Milan 2003. We should have bet the house on Berardi for me but that’s just my opinion.
“I think perspective is needed here. We are not a CL semi final level team. ”
This. No one can argue that. Milan playing like they played against Inter was embarrassing and not worthy of the 4 last teams in the tournament. How the **** did we even get this far??????
In a word we were lucky. We played a Spurs side in chaos and disarray. We beat Napoli because of the genius of Leao and I think they were overawed by the occasion. Leao then got injured. With a Leao in the form away in Naples we may well beat Inter….
However, as hard as it is, inter are better than us. They have better quality in attack, that are
Balanced, good experience and good young players. The first half last week was embarrassing, the second half better. Tonight we played pretty well first half, if we had better quality we score one or two goals then it’s a different game. Kessie scores that Diaz chance. A fully fit Leao probably Scores from the left. Put a young team albeit talented but lacking in depth and riddled with injuries in the care of an average journeyman Serie A manager and what do you expect?
Personally I think Conte wins the league this year with this Milan…. You get what you
Pay for….
Not getting into the CL final? Acceptable.
Not finishing in the top 4 in Serie A? Unacceptable.
Not beating relegation teams? Unacceptable.
People need to stop making excuses for Pioli the clown. It’s so obvious that he has no clue how to attack, when and how to rotate or make subs. He has to go if we want to make progress. Unfortunately no major manager wants to come to Milan so we can only hope for a young prodigy.
I could see Carlo return. I can see a homecoming and think he has unfinished business here. If he wins the CL what more can he do at Madrid? If he loses I’m sure they’ll want him gone, because that’s what they do
Perhaps a Carlo/Sheva partnership with the baton to be handed over in a few years…
Outside of that I think you’re right, we can’t afford a top manager
“I could see Carlo return. ”
Never with the squad like this!!! He’s not stupid enough to ruin his reputation in such a doomed task. He knows better to stay away from this project.