Real's legend keeps Milan in title race

Milan, almost, objectively speaking, fell out of the title race. As they have so often this season, they once again struggled against a team from the lower half of the table, a relegation candidate… They missed big chances to kill the game off, allowed the opponent back into it, suffered, but in the end left Tuscany with a smile. The Rossoneri did not allow Pisa to pick their pockets as they had done earlier in the season at San Siro, when the seven-time European champions survived purely by luck. This time, revenge did not come from fortune, but from the sheer mastery of Luka Modrić, who in the 85th minute pulled his team back to within five points of leaders Inter — 1–2.

It nearly wasn’t just the Leaning Tower that was to blame in Pisa. A huge burden of guilt was lifted from Niclas Fullkrug’s shoulders by maestro Luka. The German missed a penalty in the 56th minute, one that had been won by Strahinja Pavlović. The Serbian practically served up the chance for 2–0 on a silver platter and a calmer finish to the match. Fullkrug, who before tonight had converted 21 of 22 penalties in his senior career, paused just before the strike and… made a mistake. He sent the ball wide of the goal.

The only blemish on Strahinja Pavlović’s excellent performance was Milan’s conceded goal in the 71st minute, when the Serbian international failed to clear the danger before Loyola scored. Pisa came back, making the closing stages uncomfortable for the Serie A runners-up, who experienced a slight dejà vu. Cremonese, Parma, Sassuolo, Genoa, Fiorentina, Pisa… all had taken precious points from them in the title race. Milan took the lead from their only shot on target in the first half. The move started with Pavlović and Modrić, and after Athekame’s cross, Ruben Loftus-Cheek finished it with a header. Considering that Milan’s second shot on target tonight was Modric’s goal, Massimiliano Allegri and his men can simply sing in celebration of taking all three points. It was pure Croatian brilliance — first a superb pass to Ricci into the heart of the box, then instinctively reacting to the rebound and delicately poking the ball into the net.

Their celebration was dampened by Adrien Rabiot’s red card in stoppage time, especially since the Frenchman had been “clean” until the 91st minute. Then he received a yellow card for a challenge on the edge of the box, and moments later another for a heated protest. In short, Milan will host Como at San Siro in five days without one of this season’s pillars. It was a night of notable individual and team achievements. At 40 years and 157 days, Modrić became the third-oldest scorer in Serie A history — interestingly, all three achieved that feat as Milan players. Alessandro Costacurta was 41 years and 25 days old, while Zlatan Ibrahimović was 41 years and 166 days old. Milan also equalled their second-best points tally after 24 rounds in the three-points-for-a-win era. With 53 points, they matched their 1995/96 campaign, while the 2003/04 season remains untouchable in that regard.

SERIE A - MATCHDAY 25

Friday

Pisa - Milan 1-2 (0-1)

/Loyola 71 - Loftus-Cheek 39, Modric 85/

Saturday

17.00: (1.75) Como (3.60) Fiorentina (4.90)

20.00: (3.35) Lazio (3.35) Atalanta (2.20)

22.45: (2.00) Inter (3.50) Juventus (4.10)

Sunday

14.30: (2.45) Udinese (3.10) Sassuolo (3.35)

17.00: (3.15) Cremonese (3.10) Genoa (2.55)

17.00: (2.35) Parma (3.00) Verona (3.70)

20.00: (3.35) Torino (3.40) Bologna (2.30)

22.45: (2.35) Napoli (3.10) Roma (3.30)

Monday

22.45: (2.20) Cagliari (3.15) Lecce (3.60)

***odds are subject to change***