The Rossoneri fell in France and went through thanks to a 3-0 win in the first leg. The defensive phase shows no signs of improving: conceded 7 goals in the last two games. The Devil’s goals scored by Jovic and Leao, trio by Bourigeaud
– rennes (between)
Rennes-Milan is a 90 minute long piece of advice to those who think life is boring. Five goals, one hundred chances and a stadium that sings and screams from start to finish, pretending not to know that Milan won 3-0 in the first leg, are stronger, have more champions. The final result, 3-2 for the reds of Brittany, says little about the match: on the one hand a hat-trick from Bourigeaud – two from penalties -, on the other goals from Jovic and Leao. Milan is in the round of 16 of the Europa League. There would be a lot to add, especially that Milan 2023-24 is constitutionally incapable of securing the match with the defensive phase and ball possession. With this team it is and will always be a game of reversals, one on one in the defensive phase, transitions, transitions and more transitions.
the key
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Before talking about the match, a key moment. At eight o’clock in the evening, when the news starts, news from Rennes: the perfect Rafa Leao exists, only he takes a long time to wait. Leao is the worst on the pitch at that moment: we are 13′ into the second half and he has just eaten his second goal of the evening. Suddenly he becomes active, sliding and recovering a ball in his half of the pitch and starts again, takes a pass from Jovic and turns it into a 60-metre one-against-all counterattack. Rafa resists Seidu, skips Omari and Mandanda on the way out thanks to a rebound, then deposits it on goal. It’s the 2-2 goal and Rennes-Milan takes a clear turn. Bourigeaud will score again from a penalty, Salah will come close to making it 4-2 in the 90th minute but Milan, with a five-man defence, will hold their own.
the goals
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Here they are, the goals. Rennes took the lead with a strange goal in the 11th minute: they moved the ball from left to right and Bourigeaud found himself alone on the edge of the area. Bennacer had remained 20 meters higher and the rest of the defense… had not adapted. Having a shot, he used it: ball in the corner pocket. Milan equalized in the 22nd minute with a very nice move. Bennacer, one of the best, found Reijnders, Tijjani widened with the right timing for Theo who crossed with his left foot. Theate lost sight of Jovic and Luka, an area attacker, did what he had to do. The other three goals came in the second half: Bourigeaud’s two penalties in the 8th and 22nd minutes, punctuated by Leao’s one-for-all escape.
crazy first half
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To understand what a match it was, just retrace the first half like a film. Zero alchemy, only emotions. There were so many opportunities that they are worth listing. Minute 2: Leao arrives in front of Mandanda in transition but hits him. 4th minute: Florenzi first stops Truffert, then a dangerous shot from Gouiri. 8th minute: Theate cancels a counterattack by Leao, who had stolen the ball from Doué. 11th minute: Bourigeaud goal. 17th minute: Theo finds Pulisic, who misses the turn into the area. 19th minute: Bennacer dribbles and shoots from the right, Theate clears in front of Mandanda. 22nd minute: goal from Jovic. 27th minute: reflex save by Maignan, who sees a shot from Kalimuendo appear in front of him and deflects it-he-doesn’t-know-how. 32nd minute: Gouiri jumps cleanly over Gabbia and shoots, Kjaer finds himself in the path and blocks, then Désiré Doué also shoots towards goal. 43rd minute: free kick for Rennes and Theate, mysteriously alone in the area, fails to find the ball. Ten occasions, at least seven important, in 45 minutes.
balance
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The second half was equally frenetic but with fewer scoring opportunities. So, what remains of this French evening? There remains a Milan that conceded 7 goals in five days, between Monza and Rennes. The image of a team remains for which, if you are neutral, you always willingly pay the ticket; if you are a Milan fan, you risk paying for tranquilizers. An inactive and then decisive Leao remains, a Gabbia still in difficulty, Bennacer and Pulisic in condition. Above all, the memory of a splendid stadium: 30,000 people singing and shouting, pushed by the Roazhon Celtic Kop, the curve of the boys in red.
the draw
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Milan will remember him but now think about the draw, tomorrow at 12 in Nyon. They will find one of the seven teams that won the Europa League groups (the eighth is Atalanta and derbies are not allowed). Adversaries of a decidedly different level than each other. “No thanks” category: Liverpool, Bayer Leverkusen. “Mid-range” category: Brighton, Villarreal, West Ham. “High approval” category: Rangers, especially Slavia Prague. May the ping pong balls be with Pioli.
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