AC Milan’s win over Hellas Verona last weekend was hard-fought, to say the least, and especially the second half was a tough battle. Stats, however, have pointed out a worrying aspect as highlighted by Luca Serafini.
The Rossoneri’s win was far from certain and they had to rely on a late goal from Sandro Tonali, who battled very hard the entire game. If the game seemed scrappy live, that’s because it was and the stats confirm this.
In his latest column for MilanNews, MilanTV pundit Luca Serafini highlighted the fact that the ball was only in play for a mere 21 minutes in the second half. The debate of implementing active playing time in football has inevitably come to life again.
“We all noticed how much the theatrics in Serie A make our football look more and more like rugby, but the figures for the second half in Verona (21 minutes active playing time) are the worst ever. Despite the fact that stadium tickets continue to cost an arm and a leg, not only for us, no one intends to take into consideration the hypothesis of active playing time.
“The added time at the end of the first and second half is decided by the eye of the referees, clouded by fatigue (at that point) despite themselves contributing to the waste of time. Measures are urgently needed or sooner or later there will be bloody disputes,” he wrote.
Milan will face Monza tomorrow evening and hopefully, the referee will be able to create a better flow to the game. Stops and interruptions are obviously hard to avoid, especially in the second half, but the Verona clash was an extreme.
