Milan on its knees at San Siro: Atalanta wins 2-3, crowd enraged

An incomprehensible and for a long time irritating Milan lost at the San Siro against Atalanta, complicating its chase for the Champions League in no small part. The Rossoneri, who remain at that 67-point mark reached in the already disappointing draw with Juventus in late April, remain -1 behind the Bianconeri and are joined by Roma. Como, sixth, however, is itself -2. But one fact is also food for thought: the final 2-3 reflects very loosely the course of the match, in which the Orobici took an immediate lead and before the hour of play were up by as many as three goals. The two Rossoneri goals, the first since April 19 against Verona, both came in the final.

With Milan contested even before the match started, Atalanta took the lead in the 7′ minute thanks to Ederson, who took advantage of a prolonged immobility of the Rossoneri rearguard. Already Krstovic and Zalewski could double, but Zappacosta did so in the 29′ minute with a rocambolic action initiated by the never regretted former De Ketelaere and continued by Krstovic’s assist for the Nerazzurri side. Bland was the reaction of the hosts, with the disputed Leao even handing Carnesecchi an excellent ball to reopen the game.

In the resumption Palladino lost first Scalvini and then his replacement Kossounou to injury, but the balance did not change. In fact, at 52′ comes even the trio for Atalanta, when De Roon conquers a golden ball to serve to Ederson, who in turn finds Raspadori ready for the winning deflection. Massimiliano Allegri immediately launches a triple change, which causes a hurricane of booing to one of the substituted players: Leao. Yet Milan grows, even hitting a crossbar with Nkunku. After Fullkrug’s goal was disallowed for offside, it was then Pavlovic who shortened the gap in the 88th minute by arriving on time on Ricci’s free kick. Then Nkunku earned and converted a penalty in the 94′ after contact in the box with De Roon. And as the clock approached the 100th minute there was also a chance for the equalizer with Gabbia and Fullkrug, but it was too late.

The protest at San Siro had not been limited to the pitch. Even before the opening whistle, the Curva Sud had displayed an unequivocal message: the fans had formed with their bodies the words “GF OUT,” addressed to CEO Giorgio Furlani, while a banner read “Re-do everything from scratch, give Milan back to us.” It was a climate of deep rupture between the square and the club, which definitively exploded in the course of the evening with the unrepeatable chants that followed Zappacosta’s double and the demolition of whistles reserved for Leao when he was substituted. This is nothing new for the Portuguese: already against Udinese and Juventus, he had collected loud protests at the time of the change, in an increasingly frayed relationship with the fans, which had pushed him in a difficult moment even to temporarily deactivate his official Instagram profile.

The defeat weighs heavily in terms of the standings, with Roma taking advantage of the Rossoneri’s misstep to hook Milan in fourth place. The Giallorossi had won at the Tardini against Parma in a thrilling manner, with a penalty converted by Malen beyond the 10th minute of recovery after the Ducali seemed to have made the breakthrough with Keita’s goal in the 87th minute. It was a hotly contested end to the match, with Parma coach Carlos Cuesta mincing no words after the game: “They disrespected us,” he told DAZN. Como, meanwhile, had already done their homework in the 12:30 p.m. match, defeating Verona 1-0 with a goal from Douvikas and arithmetically clinching European qualification for the first time in their history. Fabregas and his side thus rise to 65 points, -2 behind Milan: the final sprint promises to be fiery.

With two days left to play, Milan’s calendar includes an away match at Marassi against Genoa and then a return trip to the San Siro against Cagliari. Appointments that are affordable on paper, but that take on a huge specific weight considering the team’s momentum: in the last seven league games, the Rossoneri have won just twice. Further complicating the picture is the disqualification of Leao – cautioned as a cautioned player at 34′ for a foul on Scalvini – who will miss precisely the Genoa challenge.

Inevitably, in the background, clouds are gathering over the future of the bench. According to reports in Corriere dello Sport, the Rossoneri management has already identified Vincenzo Italiano as Allegri’s possible successor, with a project that would also include a radical tactical change: goodbye to the 3-5-2 and return to the 4-2-3-1. Allegri’s contract includes an automatic renewal until 2028 in case of Champions League qualification, but the sirens of the national team – left without a guide after Gattuso’s resignation following the dramatic playoff elimination against Bosnia, which excluded Italy from the 2026 World Cup for the third consecutive time – make the picture even more intricate. A European qualification that, after the evening in San Siro, is no longer a foregone conclusion.