the second time that Juric’s Bull plays at the leaders’ home. In Naples he had held up, with fatigue and sacrifice, falling just when he had put his head out of his shell. When the storm seemed to be over. But even after a post, a penalty saved and a goal disallowed. Napoli could have passed and then did it when the draw seemed like a step. At San Siro it still ended 1-0, but something different happened. First of all because the Bull, even though Ansaldi’s orphan (and how much a couple of his crosses would have needed for the poor and lonely Belotti) had more arrows in his bow. And then above all because the Taurus has fielded itself, its ideas, the work of these months, growth. Here, the growth: it is clearly and evidently noticed. ended badly, Milan won, but the numbers, even the numbers, tell the progress of Toro. With the leaders you can lose, but if it happens after so much play you can almost accept it somehow. AC Milan won using a single opportunity, a corner and a shot. Then he had to contain for 94 minutes an organized, tough, determined and full of character grenade team.
Ivan Juric says it clearly immediately after the match: I think ours was a great match, in every sense. Milan have never shot apart on the occasion of the goal. I think we just turned badly, the lads gave everything and I think this was our best performance. I hope this is the last time it goes so badly, because there are so many games where we lose points and deserve much more. Of course we did not lack courage, the boys interpreted the game well, dominated at length and did only the right things. There are limits that need to be improved, we know where we come from, many players are the same as last year and we have grown a lot. Maybe at certain moments we lacked a bit of madness. But we were also very unlucky if I think about the heavy absences of this championship, we have certainly missed very few games.
A game full of dribbles but also an always effective defense: Bremer is a modern defender, he must continue like this and can grow even more. But Djidji, who was on loan at Crotone, also played very well. Pure Buongiorno played very well, only came out because he was booked. The defect? Juric points this out when talking about Brekalo: Sometimes he is in too much of a hurry, he doesn’t manage the moment, he doesn’t wait … and this often leads to small but very heavy measurement errors.
There is no doubt that quality and precision are still lacking, perhaps even coldness on some occasions, when it comes to finding the last and penultimate step. The mistakes of Singo and Aina on the flanks in finishing were many, but just having worked those balls still tells the challenge of Toro, who tried from the first minute and who went to rest with over 53% of ball possession. As had already happened against Juventus, which for (like Napoli later) had also had some opportunity to score. Not Milan, who built his very heavy success on that golletto of Giroud, which still keeps him in front of everyone. Toro managed, built, worked without haste, as do teams that have character and clear ideas. And on the 31st minute of the second half he built a very clean goal ball, the second after Linetty’s for Belotti at the beginning of the second half. But the clearest, with Brekalo giving the ball in the area in Sanabria, for a close left but not irresistible. A ring, however, which on balance could have been the equalizer, like then Praet’s shot raised just above the crossbar by Tomori at 84 ‘or the conclusions and scrums up to that of 94’ with Sanabria at a step from the deserved draw. The Taurus falls, but the clear step forward.
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October 26, 2021 | 23:27
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