No beach concessions in the San Siro area. While the days of Serie A and B are getting hotter and hotter for a handful of teams, theoretically the ranking of the two contenders on the pitch should breathe an air of relief and refreshment in the Devil’s den. Instead for the delight of the spectators Genoa and Milan, although managing their forces, play to overwhelm each other, and the result is a draw in which only, and above all, emotions win.
L’eleven by Gilardino presents itself with the formation as similar as possible to the one that defeated Cagliari, net of the defection of the affected Guðmundsson, with only one tactical change: Spence on the right in place of Sabelli, then the Vasquez-De Winter trio at the back in front of Martinez -Vogliacco, Martin on the left, in the middle Badelj, Frendrup and Thorsby, attacking pair, Italian-Ghanaian and Italian-Argentine, Ekuban-Retegui.
One of the last Milan di Pioli, with suitcases in hand despite three podiums in as many championships, lines up with the 4-2-3-1, with Theo Hernández on the left, Florenzi on the right, Tomori next to Gabbia to protect Sportiello, replacing the injured Maignan, Bennacer and Reijnders in midfield, Chukwueze and Leão on the wings of the attacking midfield, then Pulisic behind Giroud, the two protagonists of the much discussed first leg match.
In the first three minutes Genoa appears more livelyand the impression materializes on the third turn of the clock, when Vogliacco enters the area exchanging on the right with Spence, and his dribbling comes stopped by an irregular landing from Tomoriin the heart of the area. Penaltyin the absence of Guðmundsson finally Retegui can show what he is worth from the spotbeats and displaces Sportiello.
Milan tries to rush forward in search of a draw, but in reality their attacks are not very convincing, they try to reason and plot but Gilardino’s eleven in white away kit contains their opponents without suffering.
The most strong-willed is Pulisic, the most disappointing is Leão, who when called into action tries to light up with his elegant footwork and goes out in an evanescent smoke immediately afterwards.
In the 14th minute, the American beats two opponents and shoots around, but doesn’t get a shot; similarly from the other Frendrup shoots in the 27th minute, not too far from the posts.
In the middle, shortly before, a great split intervention by Vasquez takes the ball away from Pulisic immediately before he manages to finish on goal.
The match continued along the lines of the Rossoneri pressing without finding any openings and the Grifo looking for a wonderful opportunity on the counterattack until the last five minutes of the first half, when Martinez was involved several times.
Pulisic tries again from the edge, a save from the Spaniard, from the resulting corner Theo Hernandez stands out but the Iberian number one extends himself to perfection again.
Genoa seem destined to go into the locker room with the lead, but in the 45th minute they let Chukwueze fly on the counterattack, who wins the speed duel with Spence and passes in for Florenzi’s dive, evading Vogliacco’s marking.
Tie.
Genoa proves to be burning at the start of the half:
in the 48th minute Vogliacco, one of the protagonists of the day, sprints decisively down the right and crosses perfectly for Ekuban.
From a few meters the tip rises and, goingring, breaks the door.
The match quickly returns to the script of the first half, at least until the 65th minute, when Theo Hernandez cuts Genoa’s defense from the left with an exhilarating personal progression, but his conclusion is too central.
Shortly afterwards Giroud has a very good chance, served by a long ball from Okafor, he is alone in front of Martinez but his dive ends up wide.
Finally Milan seems to find the spaces they have been looking for throughout the matchGilardino prepares the substitutions but thinks about it too late and concedes the equaliser: Matteo Gabbia takes a perfect shot from Florenzi’s corner and scores the 2-2.
Gilardino introduces Haps and Strootman for Martin and Badelj, but the Rossoneri are in their best moment and Giroud invents the 3-2: Pulisic catches it perfectly, with a left-footed volley he blasts Martinez.
Genoa won’t accept it and promptly closes in on Sportiello’s side, following one of his rebounds Ekuban darts from the edge but the second Rossoneri goalkeeper makes a save.
A whirlwind of substitutions on one side and the other, Gilardino introduces Cittadini and the very young Papadadopoulos for two protagonists of the day like Vogliacco and Ekuban – a great performance on the entire offensive front for the Italian-Ghanaian -, then finally the 3-3 comes: Thorsby, another wild player, puts in a low cross from the right very tense, Retegui pounces and favors the touches of Tomori and Thiaw, for the own goal of the latter.
Federico Burlando
