The boys had one job to do on this matchday and they did it and then some. What a place to walk into and take it as well…the icing on the cake.
Let’s go.
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
MAIGNAN 8 Juventus came out and did not sit back knowing they needed all 6 remaining points to have a chance at a top 4 and Maignan was ready for it. Credit to the defense in front of him as they kept most of those shots from reaching Maignan but he was ready when they got through. Well deserved 8th clean sheet for Magic Mike
Goal Keeping Overall: 8
Defense
HERNÁNDEZ 7.6 Chiesa and Cuadrado will keep any LB busy but all in a day’s work for the vice captain. In fact, Chiesa was the worst rated player on the pitch for both sides across the various footballing sites. I’m ok with that
TOMORI 7.5 Tomori has run hot and cold for most of the season but he’s put together a good quiet little stretch here towards the end. I know some people were calling for him to be moved this summer due to those hot-and-cold performances but I think with Thiaw (or Kalulu) next to him he’s able to play his game and that’s playing aggressive. When he does that he’s good
THIAW 7.8 Best Milan defender for the last 2 games and the kid is just getting started. Next season just Pencil him in and throw away the eraser
CALABRIA 7.6 Kalulu is the better RB and nothing will change my mind. But like in those Napoli games, credit where credit is due and that was a dandy of a cross in for the Giroud goal. It was reminiscent of the first half of last season. He’s going to need to do more of that because that’s what he can bring to the table when he plays
Defense Overall: 8 Sum better than its parts and all that. They blocked 7 of the 16 shots faced and 9 of the 16 were from outside the box, indicating a backline on its game. Bravo
Midfield
TONALI 7.4 One of those quiet good games from Tonali. Was active in all phases of the game and I think he’s ready for a more expansive offensive role next season. But that conversation is for another day
KRUNIC 8 Really good game from Krunic, his best in a while. Ran with the ball more which shows me he’s paying attention in practice, as Milan seemed to anticipate Juve’s aggressive pressure. His doing so relieved pressure and helped build up possession. Good stuff
Midfield Overall: 7.7 Combined well with the backline to help defending all those Juve shots AND carried the ball forward when Milan won back possession. It’s been something Milan has lacked vs high-pressuring teams but not on this day. Solid day for the duo
Forwards
LEÃO 7 Did well to stay wide and got in a few of those Leão-sprints in. Just missed on a couple of opportunities but played with gusto all game and that’s enough for me
DÍAZ 7 Very active all over the pitch and did well to be one of the gears in the offensive machine
MESSIAS 6.4 Less terrible than last game but still not very good. Time for Saelemaekers to start
GIROUD 8 MOTM I think the picture above says it all, as he contorted his body to reach and redirect the cross for the game’s only goal. It was a hell of a goal from a veteran player making the most out of one of his few opportunities in the game. He did the same thing last season too down the stretch…putting the team on his chest and backstroking them to safety…
Forwards Overall: 7 While last game these guys were hitting on all cylinders (minus Messias), this game was not quite that. Yes, it was Sampdoria the game before and yes they put in 5, but these guys went out and made Juve work in all facets of the game and it wore them down. Sometimes that’s just as important in a low scoring close game
Subs
SAELEMAEKERS 6.5 Subbing Saelemaekers in for Messias before Pioli’s usual 60th minute subs tells me Pioli had seen about enough from Messias too
BALLO-TOURE NA Defensive sub for Leão and did his part to hold onto the lead
POBEGA NA Clearly a fresh-legs sub
KALULU NA Came in to lock it down
ORIGI NA He played
Subs Overall: 6.5 Clearly Pioli knew he had what was basically a 2 goal cushion and subbed appropriately to preserve that. Check and check
Coaching
PIOLI 9 Same grade as last game because when you go into Allianz Stadium needing a draw and you get a win vs a team who was going to go all out to beat you to salvage any hope of a top 4 finish, you’ve done your job.
Pioli has had his guys ready these last 2 league matches and you can tell what a difference it made in the league when Pioli and Milan only had to focus on one competition. Milan played their way in both games and it showed across the board with better performances from Maignan, the backline, the midfield, and the forwards. Grazie, Pioli. Well done, sir
Final Thoughts
Big game, big win for Milan. Giroud’s header took the air out of it for Juve and pumped it into Milan’s qualification for Champions League next season. I know it didn’t always feel like it during the season, especially January, but this season was a massive success warts and all.
There are larger themes from this game that fit into the season-long story of the 2022-23 Milan team, but I’ll save that for the end of season wrap-up. What I want to say here is that some people view this qualification as a sham of sorts, that Milan only qualified because Juventus got docked points. While that is true it’s only half-true. Inherit in these types of situations, situations of uncertainty and upheaval in the league, all of the teams and players and coaches are all trying to make sense of it all just like us.
If you are going to argue that Milan only qualified because Juventus got docked points for cheating, then are you going to argue that Juventus only went on that impressive streak in the league after the initial points deduction which apparently lit a fire under Max Allegri and his guys? What about all the other seasons Juve was cheating and other teams were perhaps prevented from Champions League qualification? Shouldn’t have those teams gotten the chance at European play but didn’t due to Juventus cooking the books…and other crimes and rule violations?
I don’t know the answer to all of those but it’s some mix of wanting justice and a bunch of counterfactuals, something that doesn’t really help any argument. It’s basically a bunch of whataboutism and we should just leave that for the Juventus fans. I mean, they are quite good at it considering all the cheating Juventus seeming does as part of their normal business practices.
So, Milan qualified for Champions League fair and square. These were the conditions for qualification and Milan met them. That’s enough for me and should be enough for you.
Now, before we wrap up, let’s peek at the league table and remaining outcomes yet to be decided.
Serie A Standings
Only one game left!
Race for the Top 4
- Napoli 87pts (1st)*: Scudetto champs
- Lazio 71pts (2nd)*: @Empoli
- Inter 69pts (3rd)*: @Torino, Manchester City (Champions League)
- Milan 67pts (4th)*: Hellas Verona
- Atalanta 61pts (5th): @Inter, Monza
- Roma 60pts (6th): Sevilla (Europa League), Spezia
- Juventus 59pts (7th): @Udinese
*Champions League qualification
Ok, still some uncertainty about who’s playing in Europa League and who’s playing in the Conference League but the top 4 – aka Champions League spots – are settled. Oddly, Milan can still finish in 3rd and it’s not out of the question considering Inter will be playing Manchester City a week after the conclusion of the Serie A campaign and will want to limit the risk of injury in a meaningless game.
For spots 5-7, only 2 points separate these 3 teams so the one to finish 7th would be the one playing in Conference League…maybe. Why maybe? Because Juventus is surely going to get banned from European play by UEFA so this brings up something really interesting…there are 4 teams with a chance to finish 8th (and would be the ones propelled into the Conference League):
- Torino 53pts (8th): Inter
- Fiorentina 53pts (9th): @Sassuolo, West Ham (Conference League final)
- Monza 52pts (10th): @Atalanta
- Bologna 51pts (11th):@Lecce
As you can see, Torino play Inter (who could cede 3rd to Milan with a loss and Milan win in their final matchday) while Fiorentina have a nothing-to-play-for game at Sassuolo to end their season. Fiorentina also have their Conference League final vs West Ham next week that could give them an automatic Europa League birth for next season should they win that, so a couple of possible paths to European play next season for them.
Monza is at Atalanta, with both of them having something to play for this final matchday. Things could definitely get dicey there. Bologna travel to Lecce, who as you just read secured their place in the top flight for next season this past weekend.
One last note: could you image Monza qualifying for European play in their first season in the top fight? Crazy (and good) stuff.
Now, onto the relegation battle.
Relegation Battle
- Lecce 33pts (16th): Safe
- Spezia 31pts (17th): @Roma
- Hellas Verona 31pts (18th): @Milan
- Cremonese 24pts (19th): Doesn’t matter
- Sampdoria 19pts (20th): Doesn’t matter
Lecce is safe after getting a much needed win, so no drama for them. But Hellas ended up drawing after an OG in the dying minutes in their round 37 match, surely heartbreaking for Hellas Verona and their fans. But…BUT! Not all hope is lost. Hellas are tied on points with Spezia but will need to eclipse them since Spezia own the tiebreakers and will have to travel to take on Milan while Spezia take on Roma. As I mentioned above, Milan will have a shot at 3rd place and therefore land in a better pot for the Champions League draw, so they will be playing for the win at home.
Spezia take on Roma, who will have just come off of a midweek game in their Europa League final vs Sevilla. This is Roma’s only remaining path to Champions League so all of their marbles and focus will rightly be on that game. Does that mean Spezia get a gift of an uninterested Roma? I’m sure they’re hoping so!
Alright, FINALLY. That was a lot to cover, LOL. Anyway, always appreciate you all and to all of you in the states: Happy Memorial Day.
Forza Milan
gillis
*Edit: I added info in the post above about Fiorentina’s Conference League final, which can also net them European play next season
