The Italian newspaper, Tuttosport, in this morning's print edition, spoke about Santiago Gimenez's return to the De Kuip stadium.
The return, for the Mexican, was not what he might have imagined. The 23-year-old striker, who was greeted with a warm chant from his former crowd, barely touched the ball in the first half—not because David Hancko (for whom Juventus reportedly has a preliminary agreement for next summer) put in a nightmarish man-marking performance, but because Milan as a whole looked like the team that played in Zagreb.
Despite changes in formation and personnel, the Rossoneri created nothing for their center forward in the first 45 minutes. "El Bebote" tried to find space all over the pitch, even working behind Hancko, and at one point, he dropped into midfield to speak with Reijnders, trying to understand how he could contribute to a team that had barely involved him in their rare offensive moves. Theo Hernandez, Leão, Joao Felix, and Pulisic struggled to generate much in the first half, leaving Gimenez essentially abandoned.
By halftime, his stats read: zero shots on target, zero shots attempted, six successful passes out of seven (some of them backward or to widen the play), and one offside. He also attempted a layoff to a teammate that wasn’t capitalized on.
In the second half, El Bebote tried to get more involved, especially as Feyenoord dropped deep, but Hancko didn’t give him an inch of space, exactly the kind of space Gimenez needs to be dangerous.
Milan’s difficulty in creating goal-scoring opportunities inevitably penalized the Mexican No. 7, who gave his all until the moment he was subbed off.
At the end of the match, when Sergio Conceição adjusted Milan’s attacking setup, the fourth official’s board lit up with Gimenez’s number. The entire De Kuip crowd gave him a standing ovation, chanting his name for nearly a minute. He acknowledged his former fans in return but left the pitch with the frustration of seeing Milan trailing on the scoreboard.
On Saturday against Verona, he and the whole team will be expected to respond with a stronger performance before turning their focus to securing a place in the Champions League Round of 16 in Tuesday night’s return leg at San Siro, where a completely different Milan will be needed.
