Two out of two. A very dark evening for Milan e Atalanta, defeats da Feyenoord (1-0) and Club Brugge (2-1) and called for two comebacks to stay in Champions League. The cautious optimism of the eve, also the result of the latest performances of the Rossoneri and Nerazzurri, was swept away by the field, even if it is worth underlining how the defeats in question are different from each other. The Devils deservedly lost, to the point of thanking the Dutch for only the goal difference, the Goddess was beaten by the referee Meler, guilty of having literally gifted a penalty to the Belgians, moreover with injury time almost over. In any case, Milan and Atalanta remain in the running, but in a week they will have to do much more: otherwise, in fact, they will say goodbye to the Champions League with regrets and controversy.
Feyenoord – Milan 1-0: a blunder by Maignan condemns the Devil, the “Fab-Four” flop
More than 'Fab-Four'. The Milan falls to Rotterdam and1-0 final is the best thing of the evening, since the result, although negative, is certainly fixable. Next Tuesday at San Siro, however, a completely different performance will be needed, from all points of view. The Devils, for the umpteenth time, failed first of all in the approach, finding themselves at a disadvantage after just 3', even if on Paixao's goal, the best on the pitch by far, was the result of a huge mistake by maignan. But the goal conceded, beyond the blunder, was only the beginning of an evening of suffering: Feyenoord continued to attack like a demon, in the face of a long, slow, almost disjointed Milan. The Dutch, as furious in their tackles as they were lucid in building the game, went to great lengths with the Rossoneri's softness, almost making it 2-0 again with Paixao, this time stopped by the crossbar. And the 'Fab-Four'? The so-called four offensive stars, who were supposed to terrorize the The tub, have never managed to make an impact. Gimenez he wandered aimlessly around the field, Joao felix he never found the right dialogue with his companions, Pulisic he got lost in the grip of Feyenoord, Lion it only lit up in fits and starts. The latter had the biggest chance at the end of the half, but 18-year-old Read managed to stop him just as he was about to shoot one-on-one with Wellenreuther. It seemed like a good sign for the second half, but Milan, despite improving compared to the first half (also due to an understandable decline in the home team), failed to create any noteworthy chances, not even when Conceiçao he also threw into the mix Chukwueze, Abraham e camarda. In six days, at San Siro, the Devils will have to play a very different tune, otherwise the Champions League will end here and with it a good part of the season.
Conceiçao: “There is still the return, but we must be more effective and aggressive”
“We are halfway through a preliminary round, there are still 90 minutes to go – the thought of Conceiçao -. We knew we would find a difficult environment, they were very aggressive winning many duels and when it is like that it becomes more difficult to win the match. We had chances to at least equalise, but we were not effective. There was also a bit of bad luck in the goal we conceded, but they were more aggressive than us. The players must review this match and understand where to improve, we don't have much time to work on the pitch: we need to grow to win and go to the Champions League round of 16. The quality of a player is not only technique, there are other characteristics to be a top-level player, you need consistency, continuity, attitude. Did we underestimate Feyenoord? I respect all the opponents, we prepared the match like a Champions League final. The four strikers? In the end we are all good at commenting... Before the match I thought about fielding the team like this, then it's up to me to find the right balance".
Club Brugge – Atalanta 2-1: a non-existent penalty fools the Goddess in full recovery
Il Club Brugge He put Atalanta in difficulty for most of the match, but won it only thanks to a referee gift. In fact, in full recovery, the Turk meler granted him a strictness ridiculous to say the least: Hien he intervened slightly late, but Nilsson accentuated in a theatrical way, before converting the penalty and decreeing the resounding success of his team (90+4'). The Goddess is bitter, aware that this defeat complicates the qualification for the eighth finals: in the return match they will have to win by at least two goals, otherwise the European adventure will end here. The referee was decisive, therefore, but the match did not go as expected, given that the Belgians managed it much better. Atalanta's start was a shock: many errors coming out and just as many counterattacks conceded to the opponents, who found the gol of the advantage with Jutgla already in the 15th minute, after a bad misunderstanding between Hien and Posch. The 1-0 woke up Atalanta, who managed to equalise before the break thanks to a nice Pasalic's header (41'), well served by Zappacosta. The second half continued in a balanced way, with chances on both sides, but neither managed to find the net. The Goddess came close first with a header from Zappa costa, then with Samardzic who missed a good chance from an excellent position. The last Bergamo striker was the former The Ketelaere, well received by his former fans, but Mignolet responded present and averted the danger. Then the surreal ending, which will force Gasperini to a great comeback, otherwise he will sadly say goodbye to the Champions League.
Gasperini furious: “This is no longer football, but the return leg will be tough”
“Evidently the Italian refereeing decisions also infect Europe – the bitter comment of Gasperini -. We are going outside of what football is, everyone has a completely different idea of fouls. Handballs create controversy, but the real drama is the contacts: the vast majority of players throw themselves, shout, scream, amplify and do everything to steal a foul, something far from the spirit of football. In addition to jumping like penguins, now we will also run like them, this is becoming a completely different sport from what it has been for centuries. Now we have to win 2-0 and expose ourselves more to take possession of the ball away from them. They are a good team and it will be a very difficult match, we did badly in the first half hour, then slowly we grew. In the second half we also had some clear opportunities before the penalty, but from winners we came out as losers. We will arrive at the return match with a thousand motivations, but first there will be the match with Cagliari and we will have to count who is available. We will do our best to stay in”.
