The day after the bitter disappointment of the sixth consecutive derby lost by Milan, a match that also handed the league title to Inter, Gazzetta dello Sport this morning wonders where the Milanese leaders are, especially in light of what was shown - or rather, what was not shown - by the team in the double European confrontation with Roma. Yesterday, just like in the Europa League, all the Milan club stumbled, psychologically even before technically.
Today's paper speaks of "Leao flop" and indeed, the Portuguese, Milan's number 10, couldn't salvage his performance.
As against Roma, he didn't make an impact, except in the final minutes when he was relocated to the left and managed to deliver a few dangerous crosses. The blame is not solely his: the lone striker position didn't help him. Playing as a number 9, a role he hadn't played in ages, Leao was detached from the maneuver for almost the entire game, at least until he was moved to his area of expertise. Pioli's move was reckless, forcing his best player to tread unfamiliar ground.
It's clear that from someone like Leao, in such matches and moments of the season, one always expects more in terms of attitude. And yesterday, it was lacking. In fact, it even was lacking throughout the whole team as well.
Leao wasn't the only top Milan player who flopped last night. Mike Maignan seemed sluggish at the moment of Thuram's goal, and Fikayo Tomori also maintained a very confusing performance level, as he did in Rome. But perhaps mentally they disappointed more than anyone, both Theo Hernandez and Davide Calabria, who earned two red cards that will keep them out of the match against Juventus on Saturday, in the final minutes: in the frenzy of such an important match psychologically, it can happen, but from two locker room veterans (the captain and vice captain), one expected steadier nerves.
Finally, there's the case of Olivier Giroud: yesterday he was more of a spectator than a protagonist, starting from the bench. His entrance added some more worries for the Nerazzurri defence but overall he didn't change much.
The image at the end of the match is of a sad and disheartened Giroud who probably knows that this will have been his last derby: from the perspective of commitment and dedication, even in tough days, he never backed down, but next year Milan will have to manage without him.
