A penalty from Pereyra in the second half causes the Rossoneri to fall, who now find themselves -6 behind Inter. For the Friulians a deserved victory, a very ugly Devil now anxiously awaits PSG. Meazza whistles
The rain falling on San Siro sweeps away even the last certainties. Milan fell at home against Udinese and slipped to -6 behind Inter, exiting under the whistles of the stadium. The poster child for the problems of recent times is Okafor’s chance just an inch from the gong. The Swiss harpoons the ball into the area, deceives the defender with a feint and doesn’t shoot, wasting the chance of an equalizer. So Milan didn’t score, didn’t make an impact and finally protested, because Udinese went through with a penalty from Pereyra in the second half. The Friulians raise the wall, exploit the flanks and Cioffi locks down the fort, forcing Pioli to find a space in very narrow gaps. The Juventus rearguard closes like a hedgehog and Udinese achieves their first victory of the season.
the choices
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The first lightning comes from the officials: Theo out, Florenzi plays. The Frenchman doesn’t even go to the bench due to a bruised ankle. Better not to take risks in view of PSG. Pioli launches an unprecedented 4-4-2 unbalanced forward: Musah on the right, Leao on the left, Jovic and Giroud in front, in their first match as a pair. In the middle, Krunic and Reijnders. Udinese responds with a fort-like 3-5-1-1: Lucca and Thauvin on the bench, Success and Pereyra play, with Ebosele and Zemura on the wings. The playmaker is the usual Samardzic, supported by Payero and Wallace. Before the start of the match, all of Milan pose with Kalulu’s shirt, fresh from the operation that will keep him sidelined for at least four months.
not very concrete
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Milan’s first 45 minutes are a sort of “I would like but I can’t”. The maneuver is slow, the exchanges predictable, the long throws more frequent and almost all towards Leao, dropped on the left in the 4-4-2 (clearly a 4-2-4 in the attacking phase). Photography is “ball to Rafa and he does something”. Not much, actually: a right-footed shot into the stands after a nice run, a nice ball for Florenzi who almost comes close to scoring the Eurogol (38′) and a couple of balls in the middle after the usual bursts, even if the first ring is from the Udinese. In the 9th minute Zemura sinks to the left, Florenzi sweeps badly and Pereyra shoots very high from a dozen meters. Milan had two chances, both with shots from outside neutralized by Silvestri: the first with Calabria (24′), the second with Musah (33′). Udinese did what they could with the two weapons at their disposal: the running of the wingers – sharp, quick, physical – and the creativity of Samardzic, a sort of beacon in the rain. The Rossoneri’s known discordant, however, is called Luka Jovic, who has not scored a goal for 161 days. The Serbian touched only 14 balls in the entire first half, missed a couple of simple passes, couldn’t find an understanding with Giroud and even received a few whistles. Substitution at halftime is inevitable.
pereyra goals
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The shot opens with another bolt of lightning in an already dark sky, and this time it is more annoying. Muscle boredom for Krunic, Adli in (plus Okafor in place of Jovic). Twenty-first injury of the season for Milan. The Rossoneri play around, they try with Reijnders, but in the end it stings Udinese. In the 60th minute Ebosele enters the area from the right, reaches the ball and Adli stomps him: penalty kick (among many doubts). After a brief check by VAR, “Tucu” Pereyra – up to that point short of flashes – wrong-footed Maignan and scored the first goal of the season. At this point Pioli lowers his head on the board and moves the pieces: space for Loftus-Cheek – returning after the stop – and Reijnders out, playing the usual two-faced match. Good when it comes to setting things up, but inconsistent in front of goal. Pioli also launches Romero, but Silvestri takes the applause: in the ninetieth minute he blocks a header from Giroud, then repeats himself by deflecting Florenzi’s shot from distance into a corner. Milan is no longer there. Cioffi, on the other hand, smiles after his first success after returning to Udinese. When he sees the Rossoneri he shows his claws: two draws and one success in three matches. His CV also includes a 0-0 draw at San Siro when he was a player, wearing the Torino shirt. On the other hand, however, disappointment and regrets. Two defeats and a draw in the last three championship games, two goals against Maradona and none between Juve and Udinese. Pioli reflects in the rain. He needs a turning point.
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