Milan collapse. The Rossoneri lose 1-2to Cagliari and are out of the Champions League, managing the difficult feat of throwing away even their last — and perhaps only — objective of the season.
The match started on the right foot, with Allegri's side taking the lead immediately in the 2nd minutethrough Saelemaekers. Then came the usual Milan. Disorganized and careless, the Rossoneri created little and risked far too much. So much so that they conceded two near-identical goals from corners. First through Borrelli (21')and then Rodriguez (54').
Cagliari controlled the game, played freely and enjoyed themselves, creating danger on several occasions and coming close to making it 1-3, as in the final counterattack when Mendy found himself one-on-one with Maignan. The Rossoneri goalkeeper was perhaps the only one who came out with any credit on a night that was nothing short of disastrous. Without his saves, the result would have been even worse.
Tonight's match saw both the Champions League dream and the money that comes with it disappear. And who knows, maybe players and key parts of a club that has been piling failure upon failure for years will go too. Cardinale, who attended the match, will still be in Milan tomorrow, and we'll see what happens.
For now, one thing is certain: for Milan it will be (only) the Europa League.
Mendy misses a huge chance to make it 3-1 in the 86th minute! The Rossoblù forward, clean through one-on-one with Maignan, is denied by the Rossoneri goalkeeper who, with another superb save, keeps Milan's hopes alive.
In the 73rd minute, Cagliari come incredibly close to making it 3-1! Maignan is miraculous first against Borrelli, brilliantly picked out in the box by Palestra, and then on Zappa's rebound!
Allegri tries to change things and reshapes the team: off go Tomori, Nkunku and Jashari for Athekame, Fullkrug and Modric. Shortly after, Fofana goes off and Rafa Leao comes on. Milan have switched to a 4-4-1-1.
Once again Milan are caught unprepared from a corner, and Rodriguez slots home from close range past Maignan in the 57th minute. The move starts from a free kick by Gaetano, the Rossoneri goalkeeper makes an initial save on Borrelli, but he can do nothing on Rodriguez's rebound as he reacts quickest and makes it 2-1.
At the moment, the Rossoneri are on 70 points and if it ends like this they will be out of the Champions League.
The Rossoneri fans once again did not appreciate Milan's flat performance and, at the end of the first half, booed the team before they left the pitch.
After a blazing start, Milan have gone back to playing badly. Too many mistakes and little quality in their play, with the Rossoneri risking conceding a second goal on several occasions. Cagliari, on the other hand, are enjoying themselves and playing with no pressure, with the Rossoblù attacking the spaces and getting into dangerous areas around Maignan far too easily.
Milan will have to do something if they want to put the result beyond doubt and avoid jeopardizing a Champions League place that, for now, is still in their hands.
After going 1-0 down within a few minutes, Cagliari showed all their quality and in the 20th minutefound the equalizer through a close-range finish from Gennaro Borrelli, who was alert from a corner.
Esposito swings it in from the flag, Mina heads it on, and from the rebound Borrelli is the quickest to react, poking it past Maignan to bring the score level again.
Shortly before that, Pisacane's side had threatened again through Gaetano, who curled an effort from the edge of the box toward the top corner. A goal prevented only by a superb reflex save from Maignan.
Milan could not have asked for a better start, with Saelemaekers scoring after just 2 minutesby taking advantage of a gap in Cagliari's defense. The move starts with a long ball from Tomori toward Gimenez's area. The Mexican gets just enough of a flick-on with his head to tee it up for Saelemaekers, who is ready and beats Caprile.
Rossoneri sporting director Igli Tarespoke to Dazn shortly before kick-off against Cagliari: " We tried to shut out the noise, it happened last week and again this week. Tonight's match is crucial for the objective we set ourselves at the start of the season and we want to celebrate with our fans ."
There was also a reference to his own future and that of Luka Modric: "I think he'll stay in the end, he's a Milan fan, he cares a lot about this team. I'm convinced he'll stay. As for me, I don't know whether my future is tied to the Champions League. We're paid to get results. As Allegri said, it's important for all of us to stay focused on this target. If we win tonight, we'll have achieved what I was brought here for. From tomorrow we'll plan everything concerning the future" .
The Rossoneri fans' protests have not stopped and once again, as had already happened in recent weeks during the 3-2 defeat to Atalanta, they protested against the club outside San Siro: "Furlani out. Ibra, Moncada and Scaroni, follow him quickly."
MILAN (3-5-2): Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Fofana, Jashari, Rabiot, Bartesaghi; Gimenez, Nkunku.
CAGLIARI (3-5-2): Caprile; Zé Pedro , Mina, Rodríguez; Zappa, Adopo, Gaetano, Deiola, Obert; Esposito, Borrelli.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.
