AAA looking for confirmation. Gattuso's Milan goes to Udine in search of the third consecutive victory, the one which, in the light of Roma's draw in Florence, could allow him to extend the advantage over the most accredited pursuer to five points, at least on paper. Because the championship is telling us that the Giallorossi, if nothing else up to now, are decidedly less continuous than their cousins from Lazio, who are in turn expected to have a great chance at home against Spal (12.30). However, all of this is of interest to Gattuso, the first to know that his Milan, at this moment, need to win above all for themselves. The successes with Sampdoria and Genoa have brought a breath of fresh air in an environment that risked self-suffocation, but now we need another, otherwise we will return to the vortex of criticism. All this, in the week that will lead to the commitments with Betis (in Seville) and Juve, must be absolutely avoided, in one way or another. In fact, it certainly cannot be said that Milan arrive well at the Dacia Arena: morale has improved, all right, but the list of injured players has never been so long. Calhanoglu has also been added to the already known Caldara, Biglia, Calabria and Bonaventura, thus reducing Gattuso's choices to the bone.
“It's true, we have many absences but I don't want to look for an alibi – commented the coach. – Udinese can put us in difficulty but we have to play a tough match, with hunger and malice, I want to see growth”. In fact, beyond the obvious problems with the infirmary, the real danger for Milan, rather than a Udinese side that hasn't won since 23 September (0-2 over Chievo, 4 defeats and a draw since then), seems to be the Milan itself. It is no coincidence that Gattuso will try to give certainties by relying on the 4-4-2, a form that his players have shown to absorb in the best possible way, with Donnarumma in goal, Abate, Musacchio, Romagnoli and Rodriguez in defence, Suso, Kessié, Bakayoko and Laxalt in midfield, Cutrone and Higuain in attack. System unchanged also for Velazquez, who will reply with the usual 3-5-1-1 with Musso in goal, Opuku, Troost-Ekong and Samir in the back, Pussetto, Fofana, Mandragora, Barak and Larsen in the midfield, De Paul in holder of the single tip Lasagna. The Friulians will be cheered on by Lazio and Rome, forced to hope for two missteps so as not to lose too much ground from the Champions League area. In fact, the 1-1 draw in Florence risks further unnerving an environment that is already his and forced to deal with a discontinuous and too distracted team. Of course, the penalty given to the Viola in the 32nd minute and then converted by Veretout weighs a ton on the Franchi result: Olsen's foul on Simeone is not seen even after 10 replays, yet the Var (Orsato) confirmed the decision of the referee (Banti) for "lack of clear error". OF FRANCIS
But the paradoxes of protocol cannot erase the usual Rome, as beautiful in some places as it is fragile and wasteful in others. The penalty, for example, comes from a crazy back pass by Under who only put Simeone in front of the goalkeeper: a sensational ingenuity, just like Dzeko's failed goal face to face with Lafont on the 0-0 result. In short, the Giallorossi play good football but often find themselves forced to correct inexplicable mistakes, especially for those pursuing prestigious objectives. Luckily Florenzi patched it up a few minutes from the end (85'), otherwise we'd be here commenting on a far heavier result. Because the first three places now seem to have been assigned (without order, mind you) and too many dream of the fourth to continue throwing away points.
