Milan welcomed their own fans for the first time in over seven years to a home match in the top flight – and what a match it was! The Rossoneri started strongly, deservedly led and defended magnificently in the aftermath of a long period outnumbered before it all went to pot.
On an evening that had started so emotionally, gloriously and also sportingly successful, frustration and bitter disappointment prevailed at the end of eleven minutes of injury time for Milan, who had already held up well at Liverpool FC (2:3) at the start of this group stage. But first things first …
First of all, the Rossoneri celebrated their return to the top flight on Tuesday evening at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium – after more than seven years of abstinence. And, as in their temporary farewell in the 2013/14 round of 16, the opponents were Atletico Madrid (1:4 and 0:1). But in contrast to the obvious difference in class, the team of cult coach Diego Simeone was clearly inferior at the start. The Italian runners-up from Milan impressed in the first minutes against the reigning Spanish champions from Madrid with technically strong football, showed courage in their forward play – and rewarded themselves with the lead as early as the 20th minute: Brahim Diaz tricked finely, looked up, served Rafael Leao – and the latter completed the scoring.
Kessié flies, Griezmann scores
The first setback on this Milan evening, which the Milanisti celebrated with a large banner with the inscription “Milan is back”, followed immediately: Kessié, who had already been cautioned, received a second yellow card after a clumsy, but not very hard tackle – and was consequently sent off in the 29th minute. A somewhat petty decision by referee Cüneyt Cakir, who was immediately besieged, but of course did not change his decision, which was justifiable purely on the basis of the rules.
Unimpressed by the shortage of players, the Lombards continued to show their offensive prowess, while the Rojiblancos, led by star striker Suarez (45.+1, volley just over), could think of very little to do against a strong defence led by two-man Tomori. They almost made it 2-0 when Rafael Leao took a long Maignan drive and sensationally hit the crossbar with a bicycle kick from an offside-suspicious position (38th minute).
In the second half, the Milan players were unsurprisingly even more defensive, which was also due to the Colchoneros’ attack. As time wore on, Atleti coach Simeone, who was his usual emotional self on the touchline and who kept egging on the fans, brought in his entire offensive arsenal. In the end, Correa, Suarez and the wild cards Joao Felix, Lemar, de Paul and Griezmann were on the pitch – and the latter scored the sometimes somewhat flattering equaliser in the 84th minute with a powerful left-footed shot after some clever work by Renan Lodi. It was also Griezmann’s first goal since his return from FC Barcelona.
Double handball: Cakir points to the spot
And it was to get even more bitter for Milan: In the third minute of the original six-minute injury time, Lemar and substitute Kalulu came to blows in the AC penalty area. The ball jumped to both players’ arms in a rather confusing scene, but Cakir immediately decided on a handball penalty. A very long VAR review followed, at the end of which the first decision stood. Again, it was a justifiable, but also very harsh and probably not 100% decision.
In any case, Suarez didn’t care, the attacker converted in a tantalisingly casual manner into the centre, Maignan almost got there with the tips of his feet (90.+7). But he did not manage to do so – and because no long Rossoneri volley found a target until the eleventh minute of stoppage time, the proud club from Milan, which had returned to the CL, actually lost 1-2 to the Rojiblancos.
Milan (second behind Napoli on 16 points), still unbeaten in Serie A after six matchdays, continue their campaign with a tough away game at Atalanta Bergamo on Sunday (8.45pm). Atletico (currently fourth) host Barça the day before at 9 p.m.
