Turn around and reach the top again, atypical Leo brings a typical victory

After beating Fiorentina at home with Leo's brace, Milan topped the Serie A standings for the second time this season.

The inner demon has been eliminated.

Although Viola has lost less and won more in the last 10 games (6 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses), the bitter consequences of several defeats are still fresh in the memory of Milan people. Four years ago, it was also the day after the national team match. Milan's defense was disrupted by Vlahovich alone at the Friuki Stadium. The 3-4 defeat became the team's first defeat of the season. The Redblacks, whose psychological defense was defeated, were defeated by Sassuolo in the next round. The season went from unbeaten in 12 rounds to 2 consecutive losses, and Napoli completed the lead in the standings. Pioli, who was sitting in the visiting team's coaching bench tonight, and Ibrahimovic, who was watching the game in the stands, were both witnesses of Milan's suffering. The nightmare was even worse last season. Without Vlahovic on the striker, Milan was defeated by De Gea who saved two penalty kicks. After one goal, Milan fell directly out of the top four and could not recover until the end of the season.

The outcome of this game will be between the "old people and the older people". This is also the first time Pioli has led the team back to San Siro a year after leaving Milan. It's a pity that the old coach started high but failed and failed to celebrate his 60th birthday with a victory.

When A'囧 returns, one of her major tasks is to liquidate those who have suffered over the years. Without winning a few of last season's losers, Milan will not be able to earn the points needed for the top four no matter how hard it is. Naples, who earned 4 points from Milan last season, bear the brunt. Coincidentally, Fiorentina also earned 4 points from Milan last season. In addition, Naples and Juventus both stepped on banana peels off the court, so Milan must win this game no matter what.

To take revenge, Allegri has great difficulties. Nkunku's swollen toe is not the worst news. The most serious thing is that Pulisic and Rabiot can only watch on the sidelines. Of these two people, one is the main firepower of the offense, and the barrel of the gun is hot. It is most suitable to play against a team like Fiorentina with poor defense; the other is an all-round midfielder who seamlessly connects with the whole team. He can do everything in defense, organization, passing, and dispatching. He has long been regarded as a treasure by Milan fans. With these two players absent at the same time, Milan's offensive stagnation is completely predictable.

Leo's attack was the final word

Leo, who was injured at the beginning of the season, scored again at home in Serie A after 512 days. The last time the Portuguese scored in a Serie A match at San Siro dates back to the match against Salernitana on May 25, 2024.

In the 55th minute, Viola, which had never done a single kick or move in the entire first half, took the lead. Salle Markles, who replaced the left winger, misjudged the placement of the ball. In the panic in front of the goal, Gosens did not fall to the ground to touch the kick, and the ball would still cross the goal line. Milan, who originally expected to rely on defensive hardness to wear down their opponents and reproduce the "win" philosophy, was stunned.

Why? Because Milan had been undefeated in five rounds before, their confidence was based on the knowledge that "our defense is unbreakable." Milan has only been behind once this season, losing 1-2 to Cremona in the first round. In the five rounds since then, Milan has never fallen behind in score. Suddenly being counterattacked by the host and entering a headwind state, Milan was somewhat uncomfortable. Tomori then made a mistake in a useless cross pass from the backcourt. Modric rushed outside the penalty area and kicked the goal, which was a sign of being beaten.

Before the goal in this game, Leo's performance was not outstanding. Obviously, the Portuguese has not yet returned to his best physical condition.

When morale is low, whoever can stand up as soon as possible will be a worthy hero. The choice is not difficult to guess. Wearing the No. 10 jersey, Leo should play this role. However, the way the Portuguese scored was a long-range shot that the entire Milan team was not good at, which still made Milan fans exclaim. The time was less than 10 minutes ahead of the opponent, which boosted morale. Montolivo said before the game: "Leo needs to get better." This is the voice of many people in the industry. After 512 days, Leo scored at home again, and Leo did it.

In the 85th minute, another penalty kick went directly to De Gea, who saved twice last season. Under the tense atmosphere of the game, Leo took it easy. His penalty kick was taken quickly and without any sloppiness, showing that the Portuguese has no fear of his opponent's big heart. The twin inner demons manipulated by Fiorentina and De Gea just vanished into smoke.

The reborn Jimenez made a three-pointer

In the absence of Pulisic, Leo and Jimenez formed a perfect partnership in this game. The latter's appearance as a substitute became a key node for Milan to reverse the situation.

In defeating the inner demons, Leo, who scored twice, was directly responsible for the victory, while Jimenez, who indirectly created the victory, was the hero behind the scenes. The turning point of Milan's victory was not so much Leo's extraordinary performance in the 63rd minute, but Jimenez's appearance as a substitute in the 57th minute.

Replace Jimenez with the removal of Artecamé. Allegri's choice is not difficult to understand, because there are two awkwardnesses in his starting lineup: First, Leo's body has not returned to its best condition, allowing him to cluster in Florence's defense. A medium opportunity wasted his ball-holding ability and rushing speed. With the main attacker Pulisic already absent, half of Leo's skills were wasted. Naturally, it was difficult for the offense to improve; secondly, Salle Markles, who moved to the left, could not find his direction at all.

Salle Markles performed mediocrely on the left side of the field, lacking in breakthroughs and crosses, and made inexplicable errors in several passes.

Sallemarquez played inside forward on the left, which was not Allegri's first. Pioli had done it before in Milan, and the Belgian even got an assist on the spot. But at that time, the fullback behind him was Special Olympics. He did not have to take into account the impact of his side's offensive attack at all. He only had to make good crosses. But this night, Baltesaghi beside him had completely opposite characteristics to Special Olympics - his passing ability was better, and his attack speed was not his strong point like the Belgian..

The Belgian has gone through two seasons of training. After returning this season, the number of goals has increased significantly, and his ability to support and pass the ball has improved significantly. The assist provided to Modric is the best example. But perhaps it is also because of too much praise that Salle Marks is a bit confused and always wants to take risks to pass some important passes that are both penetrating and critical, and his thinking of playing football becomes more and more complicated. His inexplicable instep pass outside the penalty area in the second half caused the coach to roar, because this fantastic idea was a waste of offensive opportunities.

Milan returned to the top of the list. Jimenez's performance after the game received unanimous praise from the media and fans. Although he failed to score, his off-ball running support on the offensive end created a lot of pressure on the opponent.

In Jimenez's place, the timing for Shuai's move was actually a bit late. In the first half, Salle Markles' only inward shot hit the stands, which actually gave a signal: His lack of speed as a winger is a fatal shortcoming. Without other powerful teammates to cooperate on the wing, it is difficult for him to become a decisive inside forward role like Leo. The only offensive weapon that Allegri, who is short of major generals, can use to adjust is Jimenez - the latter's pressure in the penalty area is the most powerful weapon to suppress Florence's chaotic defensive formation. This is why a reporter at the season press conference questioned why Jimenez was not allowed to start.

Allegri answered simply: "Because I want to leave a backup player." After falling behind by one goal, it was time for the backup player to come on stage. Jimenez still did not break the league's scoring drought, but the Mexican's performance in 40 minutes (including injury time) won unanimous praise from the media and fans. Because as soon as Jimenez came on the scene, Milan's offense and defense instantly became much more balanced.

Milan's forwards come and go, and Jimenez is the one closest to Filippo Inzaghi's style - his movement in the penalty area and his sense of smell in front of the goal are extremely keen. He seems to only be able to steal opportunities, but in fact he is as slippery as a loach, making the opponent's defender completely unable to catch or pinch him. With him standing in the penalty area to provide support, Leo had space to take the ball. Salle Marks returned to a comfortable position for smooth crosses and inward passes. Baltesaggi's precise crosses had a connecting point, and once he landed, everything came alive.

After Jimenez fell to the ground, Fiorentina defender Ranieri kept calling him to get up. Unmoved, Jimenez waited for the result he wanted more than ten seconds later: VAR intervened to remind the referee to look back at the foul in the penalty area.

Not to mention the VAR replay of the final penalty kick, which came from Jimenez's "chicken thief". Parisi's additional action of raising his hand in the penalty area was extremely hidden in the crowd. It wasn't Jimenez who fell to the ground late, and the VAR on the sidelines might not have intervened after the game went on for about 10 seconds without interruption. Pioli's dissatisfaction stems from this - the coach determined that this was not an "obvious and major misjudgment" and believed that VAR should not have intervened. But Jimenez was lying in the penalty area. VAR reviewed whether there was a foul. Isn't it logical?

Sure enough, as soon as VAR intervened, Florence suffered. Parisi's action hit Jimenez's face, and the action of raising his hand was obviously an "additional and unnecessary defensive foul action". There was no injustice in being called for a penalty kick. In the same case, Fofana was also whistled once in this game. Although the Frenchman looked innocent at the time, the replay picture was extremely clear: he raised his hand while grabbing the ball and hit the Fiorentina player who followed behind him. The referees remained consistent in the penalty scale, which further verified the compliance of Milan's penalty kick. If Pioli wanted to complain, he could only blame Parisi for a short-circuit in his brain. Instead of blocking Jimenez's position with his body, he chose to raise his hand to impede his opponent's progress. What's even more unfortunate is that this slap hit Jimenez's face firmly, and he couldn't let it go.

Modric, who ran for more than 90 minutes after the game, celebrated his victory excitedly. The veteran still maintains full passion for the game and running fitness, which is a great spiritual inspiration for Milan today.

From this, it is difficult to determine whether Allegri's decision to bring Jimenez on as a substitute was a stroke of genius. Without this move, judging from Milan's two excellent opportunities in the opponent's penalty area in the first half, the situation would have been broken long ago if given one to Jimenez. However, leaving this move to maintain Jimenez's physical strength, Allegri did complete a beautiful comeback. The final conclusion can only be that Shuai Yan really has a good way to support the metaphysics of the game. In this game that should be won, he fell to the ground and won it without any danger.

Pioli, who was disrupted from his 60th birthday, was naturally dissatisfied, but the reason for his dissatisfaction was not very tenable. After a year away from Serie A, his training level is still the same, he is not good at adapting to the situation and has no defensive hardness. Fiorentina's defeat was due to the confusion of the backcourt defense and his decision to replace Gosens and send Parisi in at the last moment. Even without this penalty, Milan, which continues to put pressure on, is very likely to get other opportunities in the final stage.

This typical "squeeze victory" came in time, helping Milan reach the top of the standings for the second time this season, and also gave Milan endless confidence. The signs of a team's maturity are two important signs: more flowers and capable players at critical moments. When Modric talked about competing for the championship after the game, he said: "We have to play on the field and then see the final result." No matter how humble he said, look at the fact that he was still pressing his opponent in the 94th minute of the game and how hard he worked before and after the attack. You should know that he is already interested in competing for the championship.