Rossoneri beaten at the Olimpico, end of the dream of reopening the sprint for the title. Allegri pays for the limitations of a team with too many holes in the squad and with Leao who, a year after the cooling break, is back to being talked about.
The Scudetto window for Milan remained open for only thirty hours. Leao and his teammates returned to the sender the kind tribute delivered by San Siro and an Inter in physical difficulty, losing the third match of the championship against Lazio and returning home with a heavy and, perhaps, definitive gap (8 points). It must have been the effect of the public present, which pushed the Biancocelesti to give their all. Or, perhaps, the pressure of not being able to make mistakes will have had an impact so as not to squander the opportunity to give a different meaning to the season. Whatever the reason, Milan missed the appointment, throwing away a golden opportunity.
It was the worst Milan of the season, especially in the first half. Nothing was seen of the ability to stay in balance on which Allegri’s team built their second position in the standings. Rossoneri discovered at Lazio’s counterattacks Sarri who sanctified Sunday with the fans at the Olimpico with a monstrous performance, what was needed to fuel the regret for a year wasted between transfer choices and protests.
The symbol of the night in which Milan abdicated their remaining scudetto hopes bears the name of Pervis Estupinianthe hero of the derby only a week ago and worst on the pitch not only for the slide with which he opened the door to the winning goal of Isaksen. He wasn’t the only one, though. The drama of Leao at the moment of the substitution, after a good hour of counter-performance, he brought the hands of the AC Milan clock back in time, to cooling break which had torn the veil on the rifts in Fonseca’s locker room.
Game, match, match. It is surprising that Milan lost in one fell swoop all the certainties on which they built the season on the most important evening, while the limitations of a team that continues to have enormous gaps in quality on the pitch are not surprising. For months he has been suffering from opponents who wait and restart and Sarri has proposed a match plan built precisely on the burning restarts of his sprinters. There has been a lack of a significant offensive reference for months and the difficulties of Leao (his reaction to the substitution is childish) and Pulisic (he hasn’t scored since 28 December) are a burden from which it is impossible to free himself.
Inter are grateful and can ease the tension after having lived a weekend on the verge of a nervous breakdown, suffocated by the suspicion of being the victim of referee encirclement. Last thought on Lazio: Lotito seriously reflect on his relationship with the Lazio people because dispersing the heritage of passion and love that animated the Olimpico in the last in-person performance of the season is a mortal sin for anyone. For him too.
