Milan, Bennacer scores against Napoli in full Ramadan: his match

And to think that he had to be above all the destroyer. Destroyer of other people’s game, or the fire extinguisher to extinguish the sparks of Lobotka. A task that Ismael Bennacer performed very well ten days ago. So excellently as to be presented in duplicate at the San Siro too. On the eve of Isma – as the coach calls him – he was obviously sure of playing, but those outside Milanello weren’t so sure of the position in which they would see him: tall again, in the living room of the Lobotka house, or in the classic half-back next to Tonali, waiting for Zielinski’s incursions? The first one was good, also because the first one was a practically perfect performance.

In tow

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Pioli has re-proposed the score, which in reality only started to work from the middle of the first half onwards. Twenty minutes to forget, frantic and anxious by everyone, including him. With Napoli crushing flat and had ample space to manage the ball. Isma, when Diaz pulled the replay of the magic shown at Maradona out of his hat, he did what you ask of an intelligent midfielder: he simply followed the action. The so-called trailer. And he found himself in the right place at the right time, when Leao put back in the middle, Diaz touched her and he was able to arm his left. Meret’s boot deflected, but that ball had already entered the hole.

Biorhythm

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The goal that allows the Devil to appear in the second round in Naples with a small treasure to protect also brings with it a special behind-the-scenes because Bennacer is in full Ramadan. Which started on March 22nd and will end on April 20th. For someone like the Algerian midfielder who is both a very careful practitioner and a professional sportsman, it’s not exactly a piece of cake. Scrupulously observing Ramadan means fasting – both solid and liquid foods – from sunrise to sunset. We therefore feed from dusk to dawn, subverting the usual biorhythm. For a footballer it means adapting the body to an unusual and tiring regime, since training obviously takes place during the day. Ismael is not the first and will not be the last to have to adapt his work to religious dictates, but the delicacy of the situation remains.

Optimal management

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However, we are talking about players followed in detail by the nutritionist. Tonight, around 20.10, he ate something before going on to warm up. And then he scored a very heavy goal, confirming the optimal management of this particular period. “We worked well, we did what the coach asked and it worked – he said at the end of the match-. There’s still one game to go, we play in Bologna in three days, we have to recover as best we can, do things together. We had a good attitude, we must continue like this. Maybe we suffered a little, but then we settled down well. Now we have to work even harder for the second game.”