AC Milan suffered a misfortune in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals as they lost 2-1 at home to Atalanta and missed out on qualifying. Stefano Pioli's tactical failures and the inexperience of young players are considered the main reasons for the Rossoneri's defeat. At the same time, the referee's two penalty kicks sparked widespread controversy.
In the game, Gabia left the field again with an injury, while many of Milan's main players ran out of energy throughout the game, which can be said to have lost both the game and the core players. AC Milan's form has declined after losing to Atalanta in the league, but they have picked up their form with five wins and one draw in their last six games in all competitions.
In the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia, the Rossoneri faced Atalanta again, and coach Stefano Pioli did not rotate his main squad extensively, but tried a new 343 formation.
The in-form Jovic played as a central striker, with Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic attacking on either flank; Moussa, who returned from injury, started at right wing-back, while versatile Jimenez came on at left wing-back; Loftus-Cheek and Reinders in a back two; Gabia, who returned from a winter transfer, formed a three-centre-back with Te'o and Calabria, with Maignan guarding the goal.
Once the game started, both sides launched quick attacks, and both created a number of scoring opportunities. Towards the end of the first half, there was a small climax in the game, when Maignan launched an attack with a hand-tossed ball and Te'o set up Leao's goal with an inverted triangle pass.
However, just one minute later, Atalanta replicated Milan's goal when right wing-back Holm set up Koopmeiners to equalise with an inverted triangle pass. At the start of the second half, Jimenez brought down Atalanta's Miranchuk in the box to cause a penalty, and Koopmeiners scored again to seal the win for Atalanta and successfully advance to the last four.
It is worth mentioning that Atalanta have drawn 1 and lost 4 of their previous 5 games away to AC Milan in the Coppa Italia, without a win, conceding an average of 2 goals per game2 goals, and this time they made a breakthrough. AC Milan's defeat was both technical and tactical, as well as inexperienced young players, and the referee's two decisions also caused widespread controversy.
Milan were awarded a penalty, and from the replay footage, Jimenez appeared to have touched the ball first, but the referee insisted on his decision without personally checking the VAR. In the last minute of the game, Simic's header hit the arm of the opposing player Holm and bounced off the bottom line, but VAR still did not intervene.
What's even more puzzling is that the referee did not give AC Milan one last chance to attack from a corner, but blew the final whistle directly. AC Milan not only suffered elimination in the competition, but also suffered quite serious losses. Milan centre-back Gabia went off injured in a collision with De Jong, making him the sixth player in the team to suffer an injury at centre-back.
At the same time, the likes of Leao, Christian Pulisic, Moussa and Te'o all played the whole game, causing them to be severely physically exhausted. Leao even limped back to the dressing room after the game, with just four days to go before their next crucial game against Roma.
On the other hand, Milan paid a huge price in this game as their squad depth was no longer enough to support a third-tier battle. For the teams tasked with fighting for the top four, the Coppa Italia elimination may not be a bad thing. Finally, let's all wish the injured De Ketelaere to go further.