From our correspondent Luca Bianchin
December 20, 2024 (changed at 10.55pm) – VERONA
Youssouf Fofana and Tijjani Reijnders look at each other and do the math. Leao is on the bench: injured. Abraham spins in circles, Chukwueze makes one and misses four, Theo Hernandez is as flat as the water of Garda, which is not far away. Then they do it themselves. We are at the 11th minute of the second half: Fofana raises his head and plays vertically, Reijnders passes alongside Duda and Daniliuc – still like figurines, it's Christmas… – and scores the opening goal. It will also be the match goal. Verona-Milan ends 0-1, Milan overtakes Bologna and goes to 26, Verona remains at 15 and could spend a week in the relegation zone if Cagliari scores points in Venice.
Milan budget
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In short, Milan takes home the three points and that's enough for a Christmas in peace and harmony. Fonseca dispels the rumors of exemption and, now yes, eats panettone. But no one is under the illusion that this is fine. The match was bad, always and anyway. Milan were slow, very slow. Chukwueze on the right was confusing, with an infinite number of technical errors that limited him. Leao distracted himself for half an hour and then left. Abraham alone, never able to occupy the area and raise his voice even slightly. The most convincing was still Alex Jimenez, who confirmed that he has the desire and sense of dribbling. Milan then defended with a certain order, yes, and Maignan, against a modest Verona, only had to make one challenging save in the first half. The defenders, including Emerson, promoted. The Curva Sud enjoyed the right and rather sang. In five minutes the medley of his recent successes was played: “This club doesn't deserve us”, “We are not Americans” and “Cardinal you have to sell”. At the end of the first half, an old classic: “Fuori i co…”. Come on, we get it. The news of the refinancing of the loan, which extends the horizon of Cardinale's management, was not liked very much by the curve.
zero emotions
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The match certainly wasn't good. Milan and Verona exchanged mistakes and contrasts for half an hour. Emotions, zero. Half perhaps, after 22 minutes: a nice vertical from Reijnders for Leao, who crossed very badly. In the 28th minute, suddenly, a reason not to fall asleep in front of the TV: horrendous ball lost by Chukwueze, Suslov's counterattack and left-footed shot towards the far post. Maignan earned the evening by deviating to his left and from there the game regained its rhythm. Slow, obviously. Milan turned the ball over and never attacked the area, not even by chance. Verona were low, aggressive, precise enough to avoid conceding a goal. Leao came off after half an hour, so Fonseca called Theo, asked him to play full-back and moved Jimenez from left wing, where the space to accelerate is reduced. Before the break, there was just enough time for Abraham's header to be deflected from a corner – a touch from Montipò – and for a right-footed shot from Terracciano deflected by Montipò over the crossbar.
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verona without attack
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The second half was better than the first, and not that it was difficult. Reijnders' goal came after 11 minutes and raised the tension a bit. Suslov, Verona's best, tried to equalize a minute later: Maignan turned and saved. The game opened up a little and Jimenez, who has personality to offer to charity, closed Milan's best collective action with a left-footed shot saved by Montipò. From there, quiet. Verona had a half chance 10 minutes from the end when Suslov – himself again – invented a vertical shot from the midfield that Livramento hooked up late. Other? Nothing, thanks. Milan finished better than they started, controlled the game and put three points on the bus to Milan. Thank Fofana and Reijnders: they don't miss a match, they are always more than enough and now, if necessary, they go and score goals. Milan is like Verona, the city: the best can be seen in the centre.
