Who was I really kidding when I wrote my preview saying Milan should win this game easily? Milan’s woes against inferior opponents continued this past Sunday morning when they took on the lowly Pescara squad that sits dead last in Serie A.
The Rossoneri along side Vincenzo Montella knew that they had to beat this team for any chance of reaching European football for next season. Gianluigi Donnarumma who has probably been Milan’s best player all season long allowed an own goal in on a pass back by Gabby Paletta saw the ball go right past him to put the minnows up 1-0 in the 12th minute.
Gerard Deulofeu was wreaking havoc as I expected on the right flank but it was the lack of finishing in the final 3rd against the leagues worst defense that eventually being the demise of Milan. Yes, Mario Pasalic ( on loan from Chelsea) had a nice strike to tie up the game right before the end of the half but, when you play against a team that has conceded as many goals as Pescara there are no excuses.
Despite the draw against an inferior opponent Vincenzo Montella believes that Milan still have a chance for Europe, “Race to Europe? We still have eight games. I hope the teams ahead of us think we are out of the race.” Aspirational for sure but it may be a pipe dream at this point as we see teams like Inter, Roma and Napoli showing no signs of slowing down the rest of the way.
Milan currently sit 7th in the table after this week and have 8 games remaining and 3 of which are against teams like Inter, Roma and Atalanta who are above Milan in the standings. Look for some lineup changes in the next fixture so Milan can try and salvage their season.