Receiving the ball on the left side of the pitch, passing Holm through the crotch, dodging Scalvini's tackle, and then pulling out a rainbow with his right foot, Carneseki in front of goal raised his hand in surrender, and the time on the scoreboard pointed to the third minute - Rafael León broke through Atalanta in such a way that it was hard to believe: how did the Portuguese in such a state suffer from a 20-game goal drought?
Rely on offense to contain offense
It was one of León's best individual shows since joining Milan. The winter is over and his form is gradually recovering, with only one league goal missing. The last time Milan's left winger made a difference in Serie A was against Verona in the fifth round of the league last September, when the Rossoneri had just suffered a heavy derby defeat, but the goal of the league title still hung vaguely in the air. Now, five months later, AC Milan has maintained a championship-level points rate in the league, but Inter Milan in front of them has gone away, leaving only one Champions League ticket to fight for.
Stefano Pioli stressed ahead of the game that the game against Atalanta will be crucial to the prospect of a top-four finish. Gasperini's side have always been a tough opponent and their recent form has not even been inferior to the other side of the Serie A side, the Blue-Black: they have won their last five Serie A games with a staggering 17-2 goal difference. The "goddess" incarnates the Valkyrie, how to avoid letting her ride freely in San Siro? The Milan manager's answer was unexpected: "Attack!" We need to attack them and we have to attack better than our opponents. "One can't help but sweat over the fate of the Rossoneri, who have suffered two defeats in a row from Monza to Rennes, conceding seven goals in two games.
But Pioli was right. Relying on the attack, Milan completed the field suppression against Atalanta in the whole game, and Kopomainas's penalty shot was actually the only good opportunity for the visiting team in the whole San Siro; Relying on attack, Milan effectively avoided their own weaknesses, and the newly injured Jiafu came out of the nightmare of Monza, and the high pressure throughout the game was too difficult for him, and the occasional one-on-one helped him regain his form and confidence.
In the defeat to Rennes, Milan's defensive set-up in midfield was a complete failure: Reinders dragged behind alone, and Moussa and Bennacer were separated from each other, leaving too much space for Briro; Pioli did not change his aggressive thinking and set-up against a stronger Atalanta, Bennacer continued to press forward, Loftus-Cheek returned to the starting line-up, and Reinders, who had been almost full-time, was replaced by Adley. Will the ethereal French be up to the task? There were some skepticism, but Ade used his performance to provide the answer: he completely froze the core of his opponent Kopminas and won the No. 7 matchup.
León won the "fashion show".
In addition to the 7th, there is also the 17th. As this year's Milan Fall/Winter Fashion Week draws to a close, Rafael León, formerly No. 17 in Milan, and No. 17 De Ketelaere in Atlanta, have both stood up for their respective fashion brands. León spent two years of confusion in Milan and finally exploded in the third year; "CDK" is finally on track in his second year of Serie A, but instead of wearing a red and black striped shirt – he may never regain that colour.
Leon was at his best in this game. He repeatedly attacked the two-man defence of Holm and Scalvini in the game, and in addition to his brilliant goal after the opening kicker, he also came close to providing the assist for Loftus-Cheek's cross. In fact, the goal had a special meaning for León, as he equalled Rui Costa as the Portuguese with the second-highest number of goals in Serie A history (needless to say). When he met Rui Costa on the scorers' charts, León greeted his seniors and stole his inspiration: in the second half, the Portuguese came deep into the middle of the pitch and found Christian Pulisic on the right with a delicate long left-footed pass, and then sent a through ball to the American a few minutes later – Leon or Rui?
De Ketelaere, by contrast, looked a little disappointed. Coming into 2024, 'CDK' has already scored four goals and two assists, and once again exploited a mistake by Christian Pulisic to close a lethal pass for Kopomainas in the box, but for most of the game, the defense of Gafu and Gabia faltered him. Even so, De Ketelaere was already the most active player in the 'true blue-black' front, and he tried to contribute in his own way, but the whole team fell into absolute passivity.
The result of the draw does not accurately reflect the real picture of the game. Milan were overwhelmingly dominant throughout the game and ultimately failed to win only because of a controversial penalty. In the 39th minute, Kopminers whipped in a corner, Giroud played Holm on the back, the Swedish winger went to the ground in pain, and referee Orsato pointed his finger to 12 yards after reviewing VAR. Gasperini admitted after the game: "It was a VAR penalty. My generation doesn't like that, but that's what modern football is. ”
Stefano Pioli praised the team's performance but couldn't hide his regret at the result: "Holm hid his face when he fell to the ground, and it wasn't ...... he was kickedIn addition, the fouls in this confrontation were too minor for the referee Orsato's penalty scale, and he has always been the referee with the fewest fouls in Serie A and the most in line with 'European standards'. We dropped two points but we deserved to win. Anyway, it was the best Milan game against Atalanta I've ever played. ”