Milan, 21 December 2024 – From fatal Verona becomes balsamic for the Milan (disputed by the Rossoneri fans in the stands as well as the owners) who, after the defeat against Atalanta and the draw against Genoa, finds the path to success again by beating Hellas 1-0. The brilliance and the good play are still far away but Fonseca's men – who arrived at the Bentegodi without eight men and were forced to deal during the first half with the muscle injury suffered by Rafa Leao – they still managed to straighten out a match which, especially in the opening 45 minutes, played at a slow pace: very little emotion in the first half of the game, in which – as mentioned – the Rossoneri appeared rather staid and not very incisive in the attacking phase. However, Hellas were unable to take advantage of it and, apart from a poisonous diagonal from Suslov around the half hour mark, they didn't actually worry Maignan. The same can be said of Montipò, called into question only shortly before the interval by the whip of the evening's ex Terracciano, raised over the crossbar by the La Scala goalkeeper. After the mid-match break, however, Milan tried to change with more decisiveness. It all started from the axis Fofana-Reijnderswhich not by chance produced the match goal in the 56th minute: the Frenchman's perfect through ball split the Scaliger defense in two and picked out the Dutchman who first opened the inside right and sent the ball under the top corner poles. The Rossoneri then also came close to doubling their lead with Jimenez's long-range strike – again very positive today – but they were unable to close the score and in the final they had to work overtime to rein in Hellas who, however, did not create any clear opportunities to the draw.
Also given the many absences, he tried to see the glass half full mister Paulo Fonseca at the end of the match, speaking to Dazn: “I believe that in the first half the situation I feared materialized. Without many players, we entered the game a little slow. It's true that we conceded almost nothing to Hellas, having up to 76% of ball possession, but without being aggressive in the final third of the pitch. We make too many wrong decisions. It's also a bit of a question of player confidence, because with so many balls played near the Verona area we should have done better. Right now we should be more aggressive but, as I said, we are without many players. I am satisfied with this victory, also because it is very deserved in my opinion. Plus the game has arrived in which we didn't concede a goal and we had more stability. We have to improve offensively but it's also the team's time.” Among the happier notes, in fact, not having conceded a goal: “The central defenders were very good. Fofana and Terracciano also played a great game, helping the defenders. I think this stability is very important to then attack better. Every game we are more and more balanced defensively.” Optimism, finally, about Leao's conditions: “I spoke to him and I think it's nothing serious. It was a more preventative change. He didn't want to risk it.”
