Milan-Empoli 0-0: Giroud’s goal disallowed | A league

The pre-Champions turnover brings a point and no goals: Milan brakes with Empoli at the San Siro and approaches the cup quarterfinals against Napoli with the pace of the shrimp. Less precision, less malice, less play than Maradona’s 4-0 and a small step in the standings which certainly doesn’t help: Roma can overtake third place.

Pioli’s alibi lies in his own initial choices: Milan which for a good portion of the game will not be the one on Wednesday. Neither in men nor in the form. And the faults of the technician? These too, in the choices: it would be difficult for such an experimental and different Milan to keep up with the one they admired last Sunday… Empoli goes home with a point at San Siro, after the January success against Inter : not bad for a team capable of producing just one shot on goal, in the last minute of tonight.

No outlets

—

Pioli changes five compared to Naples, but in addition to the men, the revolution is in the set-up: he draws a Milan with an unprecedented 4-2-2-2 in which Saelemaekers and Bennacer are “close” attacking midfielders, behind Origi and Rebic, while the width runs on the feet of Calabria and Hernandez, who often start on the lateral foul line. The move displaces Empoli especially in the first minutes, when Perisan has to work miracles on Rebic (sent on goal by Saelemaekers) and then on Theo. At a distance, however, the 4-3-1-2 of the Tuscans takes the measures for the Rossoneri, also because the Piolians crowd centrally and often end up being legible. Empoli never frightens Maignan because the attitude is defeatist, but the hosts don’t do much to break the balance. We need a nice deep throw from Tomori for Rebic, at the end of the first half, to see the Rossoneri again in the goal area: the Croatian’s shot, however, is as busted as his evening. Not that his team-mate does any better, on the contrary: Origi seems to keep away from potentially dangerous balls, for Luperto controlling him is child’s play.

Whistles at Origi

—

In the second half, the same play goes on until the 70th minute, that is until Origi and Rebic remain on the pitch: the Croatian sends his head out of a good position, the Belgian manages to wrap himself a stone’s throw from goal. When Pioli calls him back to the bench together with Rebic, boos rain from San Siro. The Milan of the last segment of the match is that of the very owners: Diaz, Leao and Giroud enter. The Portuguese bowls a ball that Florenzi (in for Calabria) throws on the post, the Spaniard slips between the white shirts and calls Perisan to the evening parade, the Frenchman scores… but with one arm. The referee cancels while the 72,000 at the Meazza are still cheering. Milan also pushed in the 9 minutes of added time, but the Empoli wall didn’t collapse. And San Siro grumbles.