Top Ad
I DIG Radio
www.idigradio.com
Listen live to the best music from around the world!
I DIG Style
www.idigstyle.com
Learn about the latest fashion styles and more...

A series of terrible decisions sends Milan packing from UCL

Written by 
Published in Soccer
Tuesday, 18 February 2025 15:12

MILAN, Italy -- Who knows exactly what thoughts lurked inside the head of Theo Hernández, just beneath his shocking pink tufts of hair, when he made the most boneheaded of decisions five minutes into the second half of AC Milan's Champions League playoff second-leg clash against Feyenoord?

Games don't often turn on individual players and moments of startlingly bad decisions. This one largely did, and it cost Milan a place in the Champions League round of 16.

A goal down from the first leg, Milan needed to win by two to advance. They got halfway there within 60 seconds of the opening kickoff: a Christian Pulisic cross, a Malick Thiaw nod back across goal and new signing Santi Gimenez on hand to tuck it in.

One-nil up and 89 minutes (plus injury time) at home, in front of their fans, to notch the second. It seemed easy-peasy when you consider their opponents, Feyenoord -- who haven't been good since Arne Slot left for Liverpool nine months ago and whom already fired his successor, Brian Priske -- were missing no fewer than 10 players and were starting three teenagers as a result.

Milan were squarely in control of the first half and missed several chances to double the lead. They started brightly in the second half going close to scoring again ... but then came Theo's lapse.

Rafael Leão fed his full-back on an overlap as Theo sliced into the penalty area, duly ran at defender Givairo Read and ... very obviously tumbled over his leg, with no contact at all. Referee Szymon Marciniak had no choice but to show him the yellow card ... and then a red one too.

Why? Theo had already been cautioned at the end of the first half, a booking as needless as this one. The first was for a pointless foul on Jakub Moder in the center circle, which erupted in a melee that left Theo's adversary on that flank, Anis Hadj Moussa, needing to be physically restrained.

Some might be inclined (in a Machiavellian, Dark Arts sort of way) to justify trying to con the referee to win a penalty, but there's a time and a place for it. This wasn't it. It was classic risk-reward type stuff made worse by the fact that the way Milan were playing at the time, the second goal was bound to come.

After the match, Milan officials went out of their way to avoid scapegoating Theo, but it's not hard to read between the lines.

"The face of Milan's defeat ought to be my face, not Theo's. ... I'm the one responsible," Milan boss Sérgio Conceição said after the game. Club icon (and now senior adviser) Zlatan Ibrahimovic echoed the sentiment: "The referee was tough: in a game like this you usually just give a warning. ... We're not angry at Theo, we're angry at ourselves, we committed suicide out there."

Feyenoord's fans -- cooped up high in the third tier of the San Siro -- celebrated him marching off the pitch as if they had just scored themselves. They understood the situation -- certainly better than Theo.

The tie was 1-1 on aggregate at that point, but Milan couldn't just sit back and play for penalties. They were the home side, they were the pedigreed team, they were the ones lining up with four forwards (from left to right: Leao, João Félix, Gimenez and Pulisic) and they were built to attack. Perhaps they also knew that playing a man down for nearly an entire second half (plus injury time) was going to be a big ask.

Suddenly, the tide was flowing Feyenoord's way: Julián Carranza's header with 17 minutes to go tied the score on the night and put Feyenoord ahead on aggregate.

Milan were never coming back at that point and to make matters worse, frustration began to show. Conceição probably didn't help matters with his changes, though he defended them with his usual posturing at the final whistle: "I'm paid to make decisions: If I don't win, they'll pack my bags for me and send me away."

What did he do? First, he withdrew Pulisic and then Gimenez, leaving Félix and Leão on the pitch. In a situation like this at 10 vs. 11, you would have thought the former duo's work-rate would be more desirable than the flighty skills of the latter pair. And indeed, Leão looked like a boy racer happily speeding into cul-de-sacs, before getting shown a red card of his own in a pointless postmatch melee.

Meanwhile, Félix was reminding everyone that while he has plenty of talent, the other t-word (temperament) is sometimes missing: choosing to dribble inside his own half, he beat one opponent, lost the ball when his improbable spin move didn't work out, and then chased down and felled his opponent for yet another yellow card.

Ibrahimovic -- hugely influential to the point that he took the prematch news conference despite not having an official title beyond the one he gave himself ("I'm the boss") -- had said he expected his players to treat this game "like a final."

Until Theo's sending off, they largely did. And then, with one cravenly poor decision, Milan's European campaign unraveled.

Read 63 times

Soccer

Inter Miami signs Ecuador striker Obando on loan

Inter Miami signs Ecuador striker Obando on loan

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsInter Miami signed Ecuador international forward Allen Obando from...

Iran qualifies for 2026 World Cup, Australia close

Iran qualifies for 2026 World Cup, Australia close

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsIran qualified for the 2026 World Cup after Mehdi Taremi scored twi...

Güler, Szoboszlai continue feud: 'This guy a joke'

Güler, Szoboszlai continue feud: 'This guy a joke'

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsReal Madrid star Arda Güler called Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai "...

2026 FIFA


2028 LOS ANGELES OLYMPIC

UEFA

2024 PARIS OLYMPIC


Basketball

Sources: NBA cap to increase by 10% in '25-26

Sources: NBA cap to increase by 10% in '25-26

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsThe NBA informed teams Tuesday that it intends the salary cap to in...

The Warriors risked pairing Draymond Green with Jimmy Butler. Their new bond is fueling a playoff run

The Warriors risked pairing Draymond Green with Jimmy Butler. Their new bond is fueling a playoff run

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsAS JIMMY BUTLER boarded his first team flight with the Golden State...

Baseball

Asphyxiation ruled out in death of Gardner's son

Asphyxiation ruled out in death of Gardner's son

EmailPrintThe death of Miller Gardner, the 14-year-old son of former New York Yankees outfielder Bre...

Sources: Raleigh, M's agree to $105M extension

Sources: Raleigh, M's agree to $105M extension

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsCatcher Cal Raleigh and the Seattle Mariners are in agreement on a...

Sports Leagues

  • FIFA

    Fédération Internationale de Football Association
  • NBA

    National Basketball Association
  • ATP

    Association of Tennis Professionals
  • MLB

    Major League Baseball
  • ITTF

    International Table Tennis Federation
  • NFL

    Nactional Football Leagues
  • FISB

    Federation Internationale de Speedball

About Us

I Dig® is a leading global brand that makes it more enjoyable to surf the internet, conduct transactions and access, share, and create information.  Today I Dig® attracts millions of users every month.r

 

Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: www.idig.com
Email: info@idig.com

Affiliated