"Modric on fire. The Croatian at 40. Still a phenomenon scoring against Bologna and Milan celebrates"
That's how La Gazzetta dello Sport described the ex Real Madrid midfielder who delivered the three points for the Rossoneri against Vincenzo Italiano's Bologna side.
Life begins at forty. His first forty years. Forty is the new thirty. Plenty of clichés to celebrate Luka Modric’s first goal as a 40-year-old, a player who is anything but ordinary. In Serie A, he is the sixth to do it, after Piola, Vierchowod, Quagliarella, Costacurta, and Ibrahimovic. Vierchowod, Costacurta, Ibra, and Modric all share the Rossoneri shirt, proof that Milan values experience, even if Vierchowod scored his goal while at Piacenza. It took the strike of a world-class player to break open a match that, with four shots hitting the woodwork, had long felt cursed for Milan. Until this tireless champion appeared in the box and struck a right-footed shot, clean and perfect. The finish looked simple, but Modric made it so.
In anyone else’s boots, that ball would have ended up in the stands or in the goalkeeper’s arms. Milan’s win was hard-fought but deserved. Bologna offered nothing in attack. Italiano’s team dominated possession, over 60 percent, yet produced no shots on target. The tally was seven to zero in shots on goal, including four off the woodwork. That alone explains why Milan’s victory was legitimate. The Rossoneri avenged their Coppa Italia final defeat to Bologna in May and moved up to six points in the table, three behind Juventus and Napoli. Regret is growing for the three points wasted at home against Cremonese on opening day.
Slightly sparkling
A strange first half, lively in the opening 20 minutes and in stoppage time. In between, a lull that might have pleased the “Coverciano crowd” but bored the 70,000 in the stands. Few pay a ticket to analyze whether Milan defends with three, four, or five at the back. It depends on the moment. That is the diplomatic answer. Allegri’s tactical plan had its own interest. One striker, Gimenez, supported by a line of midfield runners trying to break through. The problem was how these “raiders” attacked Bologna’s box. Mostly with improvised bursts, solo runs. Loftus-Cheek and Fofana tried, Estupiñán and Rabiot too. The surprise effect lasted only until Italiano figured it out. Around the 20th minute, Bologna took control, kept the ball, and forced Milan to drop deep in front of Maignan. Perhaps that was Allegri’s intention. Italiano’s Bologna is not sharp in construction, it thrives on open spaces in transition, and when forced into possession play, it gets tangled. Counting chances, Milan still had the edge in the first half: Gimenez shot weakly at Skorupski after doing well to set himself up; Estupiñán hit the post after a solo run; and Gimenez again rattled the woodwork just before the break from a corner. Maybe the ball had gone out, and VAR would have canceled a goal, but in the moment the referee let it play, so the post stands. Milan did not dazzle, but neither did they do nothing.
Vintage wine
Allegri was right to persist with midfield runs. Bologna started the second half as they ended the first, controlling the ball, but their endless passing felt like anesthesia, designed to freeze the 0-0 in hopes of a crack in Milan’s wall. Around the 60th minute, Allegri’s plan paid off. Loftus-Cheek, playing as a disguised second striker, carried the ball forward. Instead of forcing it, he passed right to Saelemaekers, who intelligently sent in a low cross for Modric arriving in the middle. Modric opened up his foot and guided the ball home. Composure, technical precision, quick thinking. A goal of a master. Difficult in its simplicity. Some goals look easy but are not. From the sparkling water of the first half to the vintage wine of the second.
Going behind forced Bologna to move past their sterile possession and gave Allegri his favorite condition: counter-attacking. Ricci, on for Fofana, hit the post from distance, followed soon after by Gimenez again, this time guilty of shooting wide in front of Skorupski more than unlucky. Then came the penalty mess on Nkunku, who replaced Gimenez: awarded at first, then canceled on review, with Allegri sent off for protesting. The penalty was there. The three points came anyway, and Nkunku showed he belongs at San Siro. Milan is not as bad as critics describe, to close with another cliché.
