A disappointing stalemate and frustrating injury news - Scudetto race gets tougher for Milan
AC Milan were hoping to restore their three-point cushion at the top yesterday, but only collected one point against Bologna. In addition, some frustrating injury news arrived this morning. This, in addition to the latest news, is what this week’s edition is all about.
Indeed, the Rossoneri really missed an opportunity in their game against Bologna last night. It was supposed to be a favourable weekend for them but both Napoli and Inter ended up winning, which few expected. And what once was three points ahead, is now just one for Stefano Pioli’s men.
A frustrating stalemate…
Milan dominated most of the game against Bologna and also created quite a lot of chances. However, they just couldn’t find the back of the net and if it wasn’t for poor shots, it was Skorupski in goal that denied them. It was a frustrating game to watch, in other words.
The Rossoneri had 33 attempts and it’s the first time they have had that many without scoring since this data was first collected (2004/2005 season). That says a lot about the game, but it’s also clear that Milan fought very hard and one positive note is that another clean sheet was kept.
There is no doubt, however, that their Scudetto pursuit has gotten a lot more complicated as a result of the draw. They still have everything in their own hands, but there is now much less room for error. We can only hope that this will spur them on for the upcoming games.
Injury news…
Alessandro Florenzi came off the bench to replace Davide Calabria last night and in the 85th minute, he received a knock to his knee. He carried on playing for the remaining 14 minutes (including stoppage time), so no one paid attention to that matter until this morning.
Tests were carried out and they revealed a lesion of the internal meniscus. The right-back will undergo an arthroscopic surgery tomorrow and Pioli is hoping to have him back for the last two games of the season (Atalanta and Sassuolo). Of course, it will depend on the surgery tomorrow and only after then will we know for sure what the recovery time will be.
News bulletin…
➤ Sven Botman is one step away from joining Milan, expected to become the club’s first summer signing as per Fabrizio Romano. The Northern Echo, an English outlet, add that the Rossoneri have agreed to pay Lille €33m plus bonuses. Botman should sign a five-year deal worth €3.5m per year.
➤ The feeling is that Milan will redeem Florenzi at the end of the season, despite the recent injury. In fact, the latter could help the Rossoneri lower the €4.5m buy-out clause in the veteran’s contract.
➤ Tiemoue Bakayoko and Fode Ballo-Toure are more or less certain to leave Milan this summer, per MilanNews. Meanwhile, Divock Origi is just a few details away from signing a contract with the Rossoneri and the next few days could wrap the matter up.
➤ Milan have their eyes on Berardi but the current €30m demand of Sassuolo is off-putting, despite the winger’s impressive stats this season (14 goals, 14 assists). The price tag must be lowered to make a deal possible, as per Corriere Della Sera.
What’s to come…
Next week, one of the SempreMilan members will be present at San Siro for the game against Genoa. Expect some special content for the newsletter and the social media channels, therefore. Hopefully, the Rossoneri will bounce back with what would be an important win on Sunday away at Torino.