GdS: ‘Now they are ninth’ – Milan in deep crisis after gut-wrenching Lazio loss

SempreMilan

·3 marzo 2025

GdS: ‘Now they are ninth’ – Milan in deep crisis after gut-wrenching Lazio loss

AC Milan suffered their third defeat in a row against Lazio and sunk to ninth place in the Serie A table, marking a new low point in a difficult season.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write this morning, Milan have said goodbye to the Champions League and perhaps goodbye to European football in general, unless they win the Coppa Italia which would gain a place in the Europa League.

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With the aggressive attitude shown in the second half, and for having got back to 1-1 despite being one man down due to the questionable red card sown to Strahinja Pavlovic, Milan would have deserved the draw. Instead they lost on a penalty via VAR in the 98th minute.

A 1-1 draw would not have changed the substance of things (Milan would still be ninth) but it would have been a bit of justice for a side that in the second half played with pride and held the field with dignity.

Lazio regains fourth place, waiting for Juve to face Verona tonight, but the second half of last night’s match will offer food for thought to Marco Baroni. In the second half, Lazio was passive for long stretches and did not capitalise on either the counterattacks or the numerical superiority.

Another poor first half

A banner hung by the Curva Sud read ‘only for the shirt’ as they protested during the first 15 minutes. Lazio were immediately dominant with Rovella finding Dia in behind as Milan showed a deficient defensive phase and an attacking phase entrusted to the initiative of individuals.

The rare bursts of Rafael Leao and the flair of Tijjani Reijnders were needed to create anything. The common thread was missing, a common idea. This improvisation was and remains the constant of the Sergio Conceiçao era.

Lazio took the lead when it seemed that for Milan the worst was behind them. Pavlovic made an error in judgement allowing Marusic to eventually shoot and the rebound was put in by Zaccagni. It was a goal conceded by a team several lacking confidence.

After the half hour mark, Conceiçao identified Yunus Musah as the culprit and replaced him with Joao Felix. Musah, who started as a midfielder alongside Youssous Fofana and was then moved to the right wing, had played badly. Yet, the substitution eight minutes before half-time ‘seemed like an execution’.

The response

The script flipped in the second half. Milan attacked Lazio and controlled the game, with possession peaks of over 70%. Lazio, on the counterattack, missed the chance to make it 0-2 with Gigot, the wrong man in the right place at the right time.

Zaccagni tried with a curling shot, just wide. Milan, however, besieged Provedel’s area. Baroni switched to a 4-3-3, with Vecino in place of Tchaouna, because the wind was blowing badly and he preferred to cover himself.

From then on, there was only Milan, including the final half hour, conditioned by Pavlovic’s red card. It was a straight red for a firm tackle, which perhaps could have been punished with a yellow. Despite being 10 against 11, Milan earned their equaliser through Chukwueze.

They courageously went in search of a winner, as there was nothing left to lose. Conceiçao added Luka Jovic to the battery of forwards. Reijnders, the only midfielder, worked until he was exhausted.

Then, Mike Maignan came out to challenge Isaksen and the winger went down. The referee Manganiello gave nothing at the time but VAR sent him to the monitor for another look. Pedro scored from the penalty spot to give three crucial points to Lazio.

As for Milan, the causes of the disastrous season are not to be found in last night’s match. As for Conceiçao, the feeling is that nobody would get the Rossoneri to climb up to fourth place today. The Coppa Italia remains as the sole objective in a dismal campaign.