Lazio eliminates Milan from the Italian Cup and a statistic says that from 2023 whoever comes out in the round of 16 will eventually win the scudetto. Will this also apply to Allegri?
Lazio’s hunger won even if the goal that decided the match at the Olimpico (Zaccagni’s header left guiltily alone by the Rossoneri defense a handful of meters from Maignan) arrived at the moment in which Milan were forcing the tempo. This time the “short face” theory rewarded Maurizio Sarri and punished Max Allegri who goes home not without regret. He had said he cared about the Italian Cup in a season without Europe and on the pitch the Rossoneri gave him only half of the plan he had drawn up to try to win the match.
Elimination that stings but does not compromise AC Milan’s season. From here on, with the exception of the week on Saudi soil for the Italian Super Cup, Max’s team will have to focus only on the championship. How much can the privilege of having to play a game a week move until May? Last year he pushed Napoli to the Scudetto, this time it’s early but if the Italian average remains just above 80 it’s clear that Milan will be able to have their say.
The B side of the coin for the shared leaders are the sub-threshold performances from some players looking for redemption starting with Nkunku. Jashari deserves to be seen again, as he cannot be judged to be his first starter after four months of injury. The episode that conveyed the meaning of the challenge, however, calls into question the best of the group, namely Leao: a nearly scored goal was missed and a few minutes later Zaccagni’s free kick arrived.
Sarri has a thousand reasons to smile because the passage to the quarter-finals, where he will find Bologna, has given a boost of self-esteem to a group that in the championship is struggling to keep up with those who will be playing for a place in Europe. There is also the satisfaction of the partial revenge after the defeat on the poisonous night at San Siro; Above all, the public cared about it and it was rewarded on an evening in which the protests were put aside.
Last note, for now only statistics: from 2023 the big team that abandons the Italian Cup in the round of 16 will end the season celebrating the scudetto. It happened to Spalletti’s Napoli, kicked out by Cremonese, to Inzaghi’s Inter, kicked out by Bologna and to Conte’s aforementioned Napoli defeated by Lazio. Now it was the turn of Allegri’s Milan: spells or hopes are legitimate for everyone.
