Milan advances. With heart, humility and a lot of suffering, but the eighth goal was achieved and this is what matters more than anything else. Sure, the match won't go down in history as one of the best and perhaps Silvio Berlusconi would have expected something different, but in the meantime Milan are the only Italians to have made it through the group stage. And then the match against Ajax was inevitably conditioned by Montolivo's expulsion, which took place in the 22nd minute of the first half for a foul on Poulsen. The Rossoneri, who had already appeared to be in difficulty, thus definitively abandoned any show ambitions and concentrated only on the defensive phase.
“Perhaps it was already written that we would have to suffer like this, that I would have to lose a few pounds – joked Allegri at the press conference. – Passing is a nice relief, we have reached our first goal of the season. We were also lucky, but we asked for luck. It was important for everyone, for me, for the group and for the club." In short, a lot of satisfaction, made even greater by the suffering suffered during the 95 minutes of play. The first goal for the Dutch (actually the most sensational) came after just 5 minutes, when Poulsen printed a nice header on the post.
Ajax had the ball in the game right from the start, so much so that the only shot by Milan towards Cillessen's goal was made by Balotelli in the 4th minute from a free-kick. Then a lot of Dutch ball possession, a few chances (both from Klaassen, header and close-range shot rejected by Abbiati) and staring at the stopwatch. However, the Rossoneri managed the defensive phase well, boosted by the good performance of Balotelli, who put himself at the service of the team as only on the best days. “Mario is also growing up – confirmed Allegri. – Now he is understanding what his role is, his responsibilities towards the group, and this is good for Milan and for the national team ”.
The suffering lasted until the 95th minute and when Schone, in full recovery, coordinated himself with a bicycle kick in all of San Siro (except for the very numerous Dutch players, ça va sans dire) he held his breath. However, the ball went out and the Rossoneri were finally able to rejoice. Frank de Boer, on the other hand, didn't take it well, making poisonous statements against Milan: “The Rossoneri should have played with 9 players, because Balotelli was also sent off. I truly believe that anti-football has won, the best teams don't always win”. Strong words, which however cannot affect the satisfaction of the Rossoneri world. The round of XNUMX of the Champions League has arrived, everything else is boring.
