TIME MACHINE: AC MILAN v GENOA

It wasn't December, nor was it the first half of the season, as it is this time. March 2017, let’s revisit that. The league was approaching the crucial phase, with every point becoming increasingly significant. The AC Milan team, managed by Montella, was performing well. A few months earlier, they had lifted the Italian Super Cup in Doha, and in Serie A, they were fighting to return to European competition.

On a Saturday evening at San Siro, Genoa arrived, in a relegation battle and still bruised from a disappointing home derby. Paradoxically, the Rossoneri were in worse shape. The previous weekend in Turin had seen tensions and controversies due to a last-minute penalty scored by Dybala, which had spoiled a great performance by Bacca and his teammates (1-2). The first half was eventful. Locatelli attempted a volley, Ocampos made a sliding shot, and Deulofeu made a run. In between, there was only a solitary attempt from former player Taarabt. Then Mati Fernández began to find his rhythm. A free kick narrowly missed the post, and a right-footed shot went wide in the area. The third attempt (33') was a charm. Set up brilliantly by Lapadula and, with a delicate chip, put it past Lamanna to make it 1-0. This provided the only AC Milan goal from the Chilean.

In the second half, the Rossoneri sought to double their lead, often on the counter-attack, but lacked any accuracy. Lapadula, Ocampos, and Kucka all had chances, as did De Sciglio (the captain) and Deulofeu, the team's technical inspiration. It was an important victory, a step towards finishing in sixth place, which secured qualification for the Europa League qualifiers.

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