Match Review: AC Milan Women beat AS Roma (1-0)

AC Milan beat AS Roma by a score of 1-0 at the Vismara on Sunday. Once again, it wasn’t a great match to watch, but they still got the job done.

This is a recurring theme for the Rossonere, as they have yet to flip the script in this regard.

We’ll just have to keep watching to see if they do so.

A few highlights of the match below.

Giacinti’s Goal

The breakthrough for Milan would come at the 70th minute, courtesy of Valentina Giacinti’s goal.

The Milan captain was no doubt the Player of The Match for the team. The player was everywhere on the pitch for the Rossonere, whether it was getting stuck in defense or spearheading the offense as she probed for a winning goal.

She was the true MVP of the match and Milan wouldn’t have won the game without her.

Agard’s intervention

Once again, the Frenchwoman had another solid performance. Here she is executing a perfectly timed slide tackle on Annamaria Serturini.

Time and time again she demonstrates why she’s crucial to the team. Agard was a shrewd pickup in the offseason and we are very fortunate to have her.

Veró’s Skills

There was a reason why I was absolutely enthused when I heard that Milan were on the verge of signing Veró Boquete. There was a reason why I wanted this transfer to absolutely happen and during this match, she demonstrated just why.

We only saw flashes of Veró’s genius, but man were they great. Her technical ability is simply unrivaled, and the way she controls the ball is absolutely magical. It is simply breathtaking.

Her ability to juggle the ball isn’t so bad either.

She is truly out of this world.

Boquete also received a yellow card at the 73rd minute but rather than viewing it as a blight on her performance, we’ll take it as a sign that she’s just being herself. And if she feels comfortable enough to be herself in Serie A Femminile, then that can only bode well for Milan.

The scary part is that we only got glimpses of her potential and the best is yet to come from her.

Spinelli spins it around

One of the standouts of the match was newcomer Giorgia Spinelli. The centre-back was given her first starting birth for the Rossonere as she filled in for Francesca Vitale, who was suspended for this match after acquiring a red card in the previous match against Napoli.

The defender rose to the occasion and put on a solid performance for Milan. Spinelli, along with the rest of Milan’s defense, kept Roma at bay and forced them to take long shots outside the box.

They shut down the Giallorosse’s potent offense and limited them to less than three shots on target. They deserve praise for this performance and none more so than Spinelli. She demonstrated her great potential for the team and came up crucial for them in a pinch.

It’s pretty safe to say that this will not be the last time we’ll see her play as well. After this performance, the defender has more than merited her place in the squad.

Refiloe Jane

Once again, the midfielder was excellent during the game. She won back balls in the midfield and helped build up Milan’s offense as they sprung into attack. Jane is a vital and solid cog in Milan’s machine and lord knows where we’d be without her.

Baldi’s Blunder

AS Roma’s goalkeeper, Rachele Baldi, was sent off at the 56th minute after denying Valentina Giacinti a goal-scoring opportunity.

As per the FIGC’s rules, a goalkeeper is not allowed to touch the ball in the 18-yard box twice. Baldi did so after she passed the ball to Manuela Giugliano, who appeared to have no idea what was going on. Therefore, Giugliano didn’t collect the pass.

In response, the Roma goalkeeper moved to keep the ball away from Giacinti. The move was deemed a denial of a goal-scoring opportunity and as a result, Baldi was sent off by the ref.

While the referee (Daniele Perenzoni) was technically correct in the way he applied the rule of law, one could also understand why Roma felt aggrieved by this. When you combine this with the penalty that was given against them at the 67th minute, then you can understand why they would feel hard done by.

Still, the rules are the rules and Perenzoni was just doing his job. Milan also had the majority of possession and shots on target during this game, so there’s a chance they would have won anyway, all controversy aside.

It was a strange and unusual episode and may we see fewer incidents like this in the future.

The few blights upon this match

Christy Grimshaw did not have a good match, unfortunately. The player seemed lost while playing in a more advanced role on the pitch. In turn, that created a lot of confusion among the Rossonere, and the team didn’t play as well as they could have.

It would be cruel to dismiss her outright, however. While Grimshaw didn’t have the best match, it should be noted that she did make a few solid contributions to the defense as she won back balls in the midfield.

Perhaps she just needs to move to a different position on the pitch in order to play better. Then we can see glimpses of her greatness.

Linda Tucceri Cimini also didn’t fare so well during the match. The left-back put on an uncharacteristically sluggish performance and made a few mistakes, such as overhitting crosses into the box. This is perhaps a sign that she needs rest and that Milan need to look for a backup left-back in the offseason. That way, Tucceri Cimini won’t have to play every single minute and be exhausted because of it.

The team also need to get used to playing the 3-5-2 and to move the ball better in the midfield. With Verónica Boquete at their disposal and Julia Šimić on her way to being match fit again, perhaps they’ll have what they’ll need to do so.

This aside, the Rossonere have three points in the bag and in the end, that’s all that matters.

Up next

Milan will play against Cesena in the Coppa Italia this Thursday. The match had previously been canceled due to a few Cesena players testing positive for COVID-19.

The match has been rescheduled and will be played this Thursday, at 14:30 CET (5:30 a.m. PST / 8:30 a.m. EST).

If the Rossonere want to accomplish their goal of ending the season with a trophy, then they must win this match in order to advance to the next round.

And given their form as of late, they just might have what it takes to do so.