It was a party that never really happened as AC Milan’s big game homecoming was crashed by local rivals Inter, who went 2-0 up inside 15 minutes in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final bout.
The game was supposed to mark the return of i Rossoneri on the biggest stage in world football, the theatre that they sold out seven times in their illustrious history.
Instead, Edin Džeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan stole the show on a night that finished with the black and blue side of Milan reigning supreme.
Dzeko with a THUMPING volley to put Inter in the lead 💥 pic.twitter.com/uqrRfTJryW
— Watch the UCL on LiveScore 🇮🇪 (@LiveScoreIE) May 10, 2023
Up until this point, AC Milan had been riding a wave. It now looks like their defeat of Napoli, one of the best teams in Europe this season, was the crescendo rather than the start of something.
Last season they won the Scudetto for the first time since 2011 and there was a genuine feeling that Milan were back.
Twelve months on they are struggling to qualify for the Champions League domestically and they risk finishing the year without any silverware.
This only heightens the tension surrounding tonight’s second leg at the San Siro, with Milan needing to win to make this season a success.
The ultras made this known last weekend in the immediate aftermath of a 2-0 defeat to Spezia.
At the end of the game, manager Stefano Pioli took his players over to the group and they stood still as the ultras laid down the law.
The task is simple. Milan have to overturn a two goal deficit against their most hated rivals, something never before done in the history of the club in Europe.
A comeback certainly is possible, this is the age of the possible as shown by Real Madrid last year and Liverpool during the 2018-19 season.
Things are different in the north of Italy as Milan are fighting for form and they only have only one win in their last five games.
There is some hope as Portuguese winger Rafael Leao is expected to be available. Pioli hopes that everything that has gone against his players can be used to build a siege mentality with a singular route out of their bunker.
"We know we are starting with a disadvantage, but we also have the quality to overturn it," he said.
"Now, more than ever, nobody thinks Milan can reach the final.
"We can play a great game and I know how strong my players are. We've made some mistakes, but the past is irrelevant.
"We have an important goal in mind - to win and qualify for the final, which nobody would have predicted, just as at the beginning of the year no-one would have predicted our presence in the semi-finals."
It’s a free hit essentially a free hit, by a group that have more European trophies than the majority of teams in Spain, Italy, and England.
Tonight will define twelve months for i Rossoneri and possibly their summer, as Europa League qualification will dampen any appeal for players willing to go to the red and black side of the San Siro.
One thing is certain for AC Milan, they’ll have some form of home comfort as they attempt to make history.
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