The calm before the storm. Milan beat Spal and puts hay in the farmhouse in view of the upcoming triptych, which will see Lazio, Juventus and Naples over the next three days. A terrible calendar, which however, paradoxically, could mark a turning point in the Rossoneri's season, by now clinging only to results. The success against the Ferrarese, for example, is worth 3 very heavy points, even if the game remains to be reviewed as well as the standings, anchored in a tenth place which certainly cannot satisfy Maldini and company.
The match against Lazio on Sunday, in this sense, it could really mark a turning point, even if it is reasonable to think that Milan, at least the one seen yesterday, will need much more to achieve success. “I asked the team for the right spirit and I'd say there was – commented Pioli. – We risked little and built several chances. Too bad we kept the result in the balance until the end, but I think winning by suffering can do us good. The game that can change the season is always the next oneI'm happy for the players, the club and the fans who supported us, but now we have to think about Lazio, a strong and difficult opponent. There have been good things, others less so that we have to work on…”.
Indeed, victory is the only thing to save on a difficult evening, in which play and physicality, net of the result, were almost completely absent. In the first half, the Rossoneri only saw each other with a cross from Castillejo at the start (13'), after which they struggled to find ideas, remaining at the mercy of a balance that certainly couldn't satisfy Pioli. At the beginning of the second half, the coach, who started with a 3-4-3 disguised as a 4-3-3 (Duarte, Musacchio and Romagnoli in the centre, Hernandez free to advance), decided to remove the Spanish full-back, insufficient beyond the woodwork centered by a few steps. The change with Suso, for the first time on the bench this season, proved to be decisive: in the 63rd minute Jesus found the seven from a free-kick, leaving Berisha motionless and scoring his first goal of the season, the one which, in the end, proved to be decisive.
Once Milan had found the advantage, they decided to manage it, also because the evening was certainly not brilliant and Spal, net of the difficulties shown in the maneuvering phase, could always find the right play. To tell the truth, the Rossoneri also had the ball to make it 2-0 but Paquetà, fielded by Pioli for the third consecutive match, had his shot saved by Berisha, leaving the result in the balance (79').
At Piccinini's final whistle, Pioli's team was able to rejoice, thus finding the first victory of the new cycle, but this is not enough to archive all the controversies relating to the classification, yield just enough from the 3 points in question.
On Sunday evening, again at the San Siro, Milan will face Lazio, in what will be the first match of an "impossible" cycle, made so by subsequent challenges with Juventus and Napoli. A decidedly better team will be needed, from all points of view: the chances of returning to the European tour, in fact, pass precisely from the direct clash on Sunday, the first in a long series of battles without appeal. Milan on Thursday, in the light of the game, seems far from ready but football, as we know, must be played on the pitch, in one sense or another.
“I feel that the team can grow, if you are convinced everything is possible – continued Pioli. – We have to face the matches one at a time, we have to be concerned about the right things and fight from start to finish as we did with Spal. With quality alone, matches are no longer won. Now let's recover energy, Sunday evening we want to put in another convincing performance”.
To beat Lazio, certainly, a different match will be needed, much higher than the one seen on Thursday, especially since the Biancocelesti, after the two consecutive victories with Fiorentina and Turin, are going through a really important moment. Milan have the opportunity to shuffle the cards, the result of a lackluster but nonetheless decisive success against Spal. If they are roses, they will flourish, but in the meantime Pioli, who emerged victorious from the first night without appeal of his adventure with the Rossoneri, can at least play it. And this, in the light of the premises and the game expressed, is already good news.
