A night to forget
AC Milan put in an appalling performance, never really showing up and making things worse with shameful individual mistakes.
A disastrous first half
The match got off to a terrible start due to catastrophic defensive errors from De Winter: first he lost the ball leading to a Bournemouth corner, then, on that same corner, he committed a handball that gifted the hosts the opening penalty. Bournemouth dominated possession for the entire first 10 minutes. Even when Milan tried to raise the tempo, they couldn’t even manage a shot on target. Any potentially dangerous moves by the Rossoneri were nullified the moment Hutchinson, or whoever it was, ran into one of Bournemouth’s defenders.
The hosts kept shooting on target, without creating truly clear-cut chances. But this was clearly going to be an evening of defensive disasters. Maignan, again from a corner kick, was sent off for hitting an opponent in the face. This moment of madness not only forced Milan to play with 10 men, but also handed the hosts a second penalty, making it a 2-0 with no argument. From that point on, the feeling was one of a match already over — needlessly long and, above all, boring.
A dreadful second half
Those same adjectives applied to the second half as well. Milan had no idea what to do in midfield, having seemingly accepted defeat, as shown by the complete lack of chances created. Bournemouth didn’t even feel the need to push forward, well aware the game was continuing more out of obligation than anything else. That didn’t stop the English side from having a few more shots, though they rarely troubled the goalkeeper.
As the game wore on, Milan somehow managed to lift their heads and venture into the opposition half — something that had felt unthinkable in the first half. Bournemouth’s response was swift: a free-kick to make it 3-0, officially turning this match into an humiliation.
Conclusions: one of the worst performances of the season
This waste of time could have been called off after 30 minutes, but after another 60 of endless waiting, it finally ended — one of AC Milan’s worst performances this season. No shots on target, no fighting spirit, nothing whatsoever. Let’s hope that, after yet another no-show, the team will start learning from its mistakes.
