In the early hours of January 7, Menion, who witnessed Messias score his second goal, opened his arms and descended like a famous icon on Monte Cristo in Brazil.
God has closed a door for you and will surely leave you a window.
That's true, God still has a soft spot for Milan. In the first game of 2022, Milanello's pre-match news was all bad news: the African Cup of Nations drew away the two main midfielders of Benacell and Casey; the new crown test exposed a number of players who tested positive. The epidemic, the African Cup of Nations and injuries have caused Pioli to suffer a huge shortage of employees.
Such a critical moment against Rome would have been considered a great misfortune for Milan. Roma recorded a three-round unbeaten run at the end of 2021 and a four-goal win away from Bergamo, breaking the team's embarrassing 19-month unbeaten record against the top 5 teams in the league, so that Mourinho fans began to look forward to him recreating his glory in Milan. Milan's staff shortage to the center-back position can only rely on Kalulu and Gabia two raw melon eggs to piece together, is not it the mourinho plate dish?
The young Gabia started with Kalulu for the first time this season, and the two combined to give a solid performance.
But interestingly, from Milan's standpoint, Roma is not really a formidable opponent. Milan recorded 77 victories from Rome in the Serie A battle, surpassing the record for victories against any other opponent, and it is not too much to say that Roma is Milan's point-giving boy.
Not to mention that in terms of achievements, Mourinho's downward employment choice in Rome has not shown any superiority so far. The Red Wolves not only did not improve, but the results went all the way down, and the downward trend was obvious. Comparing the results of the 19 rounds in the same period of the two seasons last year, Mourinho lost 3 games more than his compatriot Fonseca, missing 5 points, and the team's position also slid from the Champions League to the First Gear of the Europa League. At the tactical level, the defensive pinching skills he relied on to achieve fame are long gone, and the magic pen of the on-site command is becoming more and more rare, and it is an indisputable fact to withdraw from the ranks of first-class managers.
Mourinho slammed the referees and the team for poor performance after the game, triggering a new round of questions from Roma fans about the VAR penalty.
Against Milan, his two major tactical blunders left the team in trouble in the opening 17 minutes. It's stupid for Tammy Abraham to open his hand in the face of the incoming ball, but what is the reason for the embarrassment of the English centre-forward? Mourinho's defensive system is not set up reasonably. The Portuguese defensive formation was too flat, and the arc of the penalty area became the focus area of Milan's artillery. In addition to Te'o's long-range shot, Diaz also had an arc in this area in the game, and Florenzi, who was abandoned by the Red Wolves and held his stomach, brushed out the highest firing stats of the game with five shots, including 4 from outside the front penalty area, and a left arc ball around Patricio and hit the crossbar. Milan shot a total of 19 shots, the number of shots in the arc of the front penalty area was as high as 8, and the Roma's "undefended middle" degree was called an empty Maginot line.
The second goal Ibanez's return pass was broken, which was the result of the lack of adaptation of the Roma defense to Milan's pressing style of play. With Mourinho's old spicy, Pioli's insistence on high-pressure persecution should not be ignored, but the Red Wolves were directly counter-attacked by Milan in the front court many times, indicating that Mourinho not only ignored the tactical response in the opening stage, but also failed to solve this problem on the spot. In a post-match interview, he simply attributed this suppression to the lack of ability of the players - in the Apennines, which emphasizes overall defensive tactics, Spezia can restrain Milan with targeted tactics, why can Roma not? Mourinho criticized Roma for not being a good player, is the Red Wolf kid worse than last season's promotion maspecia?
Mourinho, who was chatting with Pioli before the game, lost to his opponents in both tactical and management duels.
Roma's defeat and depression are the fundamental reasons. No one likes endless criticism, but Mourinho has almost scolded the whole team up and down. He accused this group of players of not having much of the main strength, alluding to the fact that the team only has the strength behind the top three in the north and After Atalanta and Napoli, which is equivalent to admitting that he is poor in skills, and he has no past relied on his own technical and tactical polishing ability and motivation to pinch a team with greater practical ability than paper. Against Milan, Roma not only lost completely at the technical and tactical level, but also at the level of individual confrontation, it was wantonly kneaded by Theo and Messias. The hard-mouthed Mourinho blamed everything on the referee's double standard and the lack of strength of the players, the question is: the Yankees really have the heart to spare no effort for Roma, what else do they want him to do?
But in terms of verbal effort, Mourinho is still first-class.
He expressed his dissatisfaction with the referee after the game, scorning Milan: "Three years ago, the Milan boss wanted to ask me to coach, and I considered it for three days and then refused. Perhaps feeling that it was not too addictive, Mourinho also stressed: "I think this decision is very correct." ”
True or false, at least for now, Milan's decision to choose Pioli was more correct than Mourinho's.
From the mourning of the pre-match to the improvised patchwork of the defense, Milan played well in this game, with the reasons for the Romans' self-chaos, and it was inseparable from the piste's meticulous polishing of the team. The stats speak for themselves: Pioli's side has scored eight goals in more than 10 consecutive passes this season, an achievement that has won Serie A. Pi's Milan has a clearer idea, more reasonable planning, and more tacit understanding of the team in the offensive advancement, which is a fact that can be seen behind the data. Milan's tactical maturity has made the overall style more clear. This holistic polishing, which Mourinho was best at, has now failed.
The resoluteness with which milanese teams played with high pressure stood in stark contrast to the indifference with which Karlsdorp left the red card. In the first game of the new year, Pioli did not have much innovation in tactics, but gave the whole team a booster in heart. The lack of a disorganized lineup is compensated by the state and momentum of the three armies, making San Siro more like a gladiatorial arena where you die and die. If you look at Díaz's boldness in the fierce grip of his opponent, and look at Tonari's determination to fight for every inch, you should understand that Mourinho's words are excuses. If it were not for the "old horse's hoof" that had been supporting him, Rome would have torn apart the last fig leaf of defeat and failure.