From our correspondent Luca Bianchin
January 14, 2025 (changed at 8.43pm) – HOW
How strange is this Milan. He plays lazy for an hour, plays badly or very badly, then scores a goal and changes. It doesn’t become the Brazil of ’70, but it inspires desire, it begins to arrive first on the ball and activates its champions: Theo with a bit of luck makes it 1-1, five minutes later Leao scores the 2-1, then it’s suffering and a save-Tuesday parade from Maignan. It ends 2-1 with some comforting signs – good Leao, good Jimenez from the bench – and old problems. One above all: Morata, suspended, and Pulisic, injured, will not be there against Juve. “This is how this jumble of the human heart is made”, said Manzoni, who is at home here on the lake. Milan is the same: in its heart there is everything and every time you don’t know which team you will find. However, the ranking is updated as Conceiçao likes: it overtakes Bologna and arrives at -1 from Fiorentina, at -2 from fifth place Juve which could be worthy of the Champions League. Como, on the other hand, remains at +1 on safety but goes home confident: if this is the case, they will not be relegated.
i gol
—
The goals immediately. Como’s lead comes after an hour of the match and is a great classic: missed opportunity here, goal there. Reijnders with a great free play in the Jimenez area, who however reaches the ball and, instead of the goal, finds Dossena. Milan is discovered, Como starts again and Caqueret finds Diao, from new signing to new signing. Theo Hernandez incredibly moves back and leaves space until Diao comes back and finds the corner with his left foot. The draw instead came from a goal from the left beaten by Reijnders and thrown back into the middle by Gabbia. The ball reaches Theo who in the area, with his left foot, looks for the long post: he takes it badly and it’s Milan’s luck because the ball goes past Butez to make it 1-1. Five minutes and it’s 2-1. Milan builds from deep, Cutrone misses the pressure and Abraham has time to play vertically. Very nice. Leao reads everything, burns Dossena in time to avoid offside and, in front of Butez, chooses the right cutlery: spoon for the 2-1 lead.
the match
—
-Como were protagonists, not spectators: for 60 minutes they played better, they were better on the pitch, above all they had more energy. Ergo, he arrives first on 80% of the balls (and sorry if that’s not much). Strefezza plays in a hybrid position as a midfielder-attacker, Assane Diao wide on the right is annoying and Da Cunha makes a great impression as a central midfielder. The first 20 minutes were balanced in terms of opportunities: a shot from Fofana here, one from Strefezza there. Central. Then the train passes for Milan: Leao on the counterattack puts in the physical effort as his detractors invoke and puts Reijnders on goal, who however seems lost without Fonseca: central right foot, on Butez, Como then grows, its fans raise chants not exactly trap rhymes – “come on Como, swell the net”, with a retro taste – and the team almost satisfies him. Theo in the 35th minute anticipates Diao by a whisker and a minute later Strefezza has the ball of the evening: Fofana plays a lazy ball, Kempf anticipates, Da Cunha skips Bennacer and puts Strefezza in front of Maignan. The right-footed shot, halfway between a shot and a pass to Cutrone, makes all of Como fall into dismay.
Do a double, subscribe to Gazzetta! Read Gazzetta for 1 year and receive a free box of 100 Panini sachets with a commercial value of €100. The fastest and most convenient way to complete your album. Click here!
theo-leao: the turning point
—
Conceiçao returns with the pace of someone who is furious and after all, in four games his Milan have never scored in the first half. In the locker room he counts the damage. Morata, warned by a booking, was booked (questionable decision) for a foul on Assane Diao, the same fate befell Bennacer and Thiaw. Pulisic, injured, needs to be replaced – internally – and he looks like he will be able to do so for a few weeks. At that point, he decides on the triple substitution: Jimenez, Musah and Abraham for Bennacer, Pulisic and Morata. Milan changed less, wasting an opportunity with Jimenez after a counterattack by Leao, and conceded a goal in the 15th minute. Only at that point does the reaction arrive, a little angry, something casual but concrete as Conceiçao likes. Theo scores in the 26th minute, then Camarda comes on and Leao scores in the 31st minute. Game overturned. Como thus ends up ahead, Dossena almost tries with an unlikely overhead kick, then Fabregas takes on Gabrielloni but it is Cutrone who comes close, very close to equalising. There are less than 5 minutes left when the Como captain deflects Kempf’s low cross into the area. Well done to him, even more so to Maignan for the save that saved Milan and virtually closed the game, except for a cross that crossed the area, which was not reached by Belotti. Paradoxical moral: Como put more effort into it, Milan won with their heart. Serie A is strange at times.
Related News :