Milan’s manager has plenty to learn tactically but the 2-1 win over Lazio suggests his man-management is paying dividendsGennaro Gattuso accepted his punishment. Walking out on to the pitch after Milan’s game against Lazio, he bowed his head and entered a circle formed by his players. All at once, they started to hit him – clambering over one another to deliver open-palmed cuffs to the side of his head.In one sense, it was predictable. Lazio had arrived in sensational form, scoring 13 goals in three games as they moved to third in Serie A. Fifteen points separated them from Milan before kick-off. Who hadn’t expected them to turn over the lacklustre Rossoneri, mired in mid-table and missing injured first-choice centre-forward...
Fans would be content just to see Milan’s ship steadied so they can have a chance to enjoy their rivals’ mishaps. Even that, apparently, is too much to askYou could not blame Milan fans for enjoying a moment of schadenfreude. They had endured abundant humiliations already this season, from the 4-1 mauling at Lazio through to the last-gasp draw against pointless Benevento. It was time for somebody else to suffer. Better yet that it should be their neighbours, Inter, who had begun the weekend top of the table.The Nerazzurri were expected to extend their unbeaten start at home to 13th-placed Udinese on Saturday. There was a festive vibe at San Siro, where fans were given Santa hats before being invited...
Alberto Bignoli joined an exclusive club of scoring Serie A keepers, while Perisic’s hat-trick took Inter above Napoli, and Lazio showed character to beat SampdoriaWith Napoli hosting Juventus on Friday night, we split the regular Serie A blog in two this week. The main piece, covering that game, is here. But the rest of the weekend turned out to be rather lively as well … Related: Benevento win first Serie A point after keeper's injury-time header stuns Milan ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE, WHEN YOU THINK YOU'VE SEEN IT ALL... INJURY TIME, GOALKEEPER DIVING HEADER EQUALISER Sensational drama at Benevento pic.twitter.com/3q7qVYbvYU Related: This was supposed to be Milan's revival season. Instead they have regressed | Paolo Bandini Continue reading...
All that really matters is that Vincenzo Montella’s approach was not working, which is why the club’s owners have terminated his services at San SiroVincenzo Montella did not see the curtain coming down. San Siro might sometimes be referred to as La Scala del Calcio – football’s answer to Milan’s famous opera house – but his team’s performances this season had rarely been worthy of such a stage. On Sunday, the Rossoneri drew 0-0 at home to Torino. It was their fourth consecutive home game without a goal in Serie A.An audience of 54,000 people jeered at the conclusion. Still, Montella continued to see his glass as half full. “We dictated the game from start to finish,” he insisted. “The...