In the Milan of constant disappointments, it was probably inevitable to end up with an empty plate after the royal banquet in Udine.
Where everything had worked so well that it allowed the team to produce four goals that could even have been more. Four goals, as had only happened one other time in this league, from four different scorers like in a great orchestra.
From four to zero, however, is not a slowdown: it’s like slamming on the brakes at 130 km/h in the fast lane on the highway, and it’s yet another slap to a department that knows no peace, even though the club intervened heavily in January, as described by Gazzetta.it.
And yet, Milan still manages the feat of playing matches where up front you see little or nothing. It’s striking when you line up the names. From right to left: Pulisic, Gimenez, Leao, Joao Felix. On paper, it has everything: plays, goal instinct, unpredictability, technique, vision, strength. But then, there’s the reality. And reality says that too many times during this cursed season, the Rossoneri team has finished games without leaving a mark in the attacking phase.
One stat above all, after the final whistle of Milan-Atalanta: on the hosts' stat sheet remains the misery of one (1) shot on target. But that’s just for the sake of trivial statistics, because it was a deflected shot that gently and tamely settled into the arms of Carnesecchi. In short, the Rossoneri never really hit the target.
They tried, of course. In the first half Jovic pulled off a fantastic move, turning Bellanova into a streetlamp, but then sent that left-footer wide with the whole goal in front of him. In the second half, Leao broke free well but he too fluffed the left-footed shot from an inviting position. Pulisic, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen, between Bergamo’s double marking and a clear underlying fatigue.
As for the rest, you can’t always expect half-miracles from Tammy Abraham, who maybe is saving up his next piece of brilliance for Wednesday’s derby. As for Joao Felix, the situation is clear, painful, and unmistakable: a bet unfortunately lost, a kid looking for a stage and redemption who ended up fading away, partly due to his own doing, but also because of a team that is not able to support its attacking players as it should.
Ask Gimenez for info, who got a few minutes back in the engine after his injury, but who, in general, exited the scene far too early. There are those who say he’s fine for the Dutch league (translation: not up to Serie A level), but for him too part of the same argument made for Felix applies. It’s hard to give your best when the team doesn’t put you in the conditions to do so.
On Wednesday in the Coppa Italia, after the 1–1 draw in the first leg, qualification will come down to goals: Milan needs to rediscover the team from Udine.
