Milan Play “Settebello” and Bulldoze Embarrassing Torino Side

Two more games to go. Milan defended their third place in the Serie A table win an astonishing 7-0 win over Torino, recording their largest domestic success since May 2001 – an epic 0-6 thrashing of cross-town rivals Inter. But they were helped in doing so by a bewildering version of the Granata, whose home performance on Wednesday night was frankly embarrassing.

Davide Nicola’s Torino are still fighting to remain in the top-flight and were expected to battle hard against the Rossoneri, who also needed some points to continue chasing a Champions League spot for next season. But the home side closed the first half already trailing by two and completely dropped the ball in the second, allowing Stefano Pioli and his boys to do whatever they wanted.

The scorecard read 7-0 for the Rossoneri at full time, with Ante Rebic – who was acting as lone striker in Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s absence – grabbing the lion’s share with three goals and two assists.

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Here's our team for tonight's #TorinoMilan#SFT pic.twitter.com/EKd6UZmIKO

— Torino FC English (@TorinoFC1906_En) May 12, 2021

The battle at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino quickly turned into an absolute mismatch. After a dull first quarter of the game, Milan steered it into their direction in the space of seven minutes.

Theo Hernandez was the first to make it to the scoresheet as the Torino defenders guiltily left him too much space and the French full-back didn’t refrain from arrowing the ball into the far post with a stunning effort from outside of the box.

Hernandez was on fire and, just one minute later, forced Salvatore Sirigu to dive to his left to defuse his header. Samu Castillejo could have tapped the ball in from the goalkeeper’s save but his finish was not the best possible.

It didn’t take much for Milan to draw blood again. Ante Rebic served a brilliant filtering pass to Castillejo, who was brutally chopped down in the box by Torino’s center back Alessandro Buongiorno. Milan received many penalties this season but surely there could be no controversy surrounding this one. From the spot, Franck Kessié made no mistake and doubled the Rossoneri‘s tally.

On 35 minutes, Rebic replicated the same move, this time releasing Davide Calabria, but Milan’s right-back was caught offside as he slotted the ball past Sirigu for the third time. 

With a two-goal lead, the Rossoneri seemed fully in control but risked to lose their focus. Hakan Calhanoglu gift-wrapped the hosts a glorious opportunity to pull one back with a suicidal back pass. Too bad for the Granata that the ball ended on Bremer’s feet, who is not exactly a striker. The Brazilian’s shot was pushed back by Gigio Donnarumma.

#TorinoMilan ⚽

Rebić starts upfront ⏩
Rebić punta ⏩#SempreMilan@EASPORTSFIFA pic.twitter.com/YIdsjm1c14

— AC Milan (@acmilan) May 12, 2021

Right after the restart, Pioli’s troops got the game done and dusted as Kessié stole the ball to a careless   Karol Linetty in his defensive third and released Brahim Diaz in the box. The Real Madrid loanee was quick to pounce on the ball and slot it past Sirigu to score for his second consecutive game.

Davide Nicola’s feeble attempt to bounce back came with a triple substitution that reshaped his midfield. Christian Ansaldi, Simone Verdi, and Tomàs Rincon all came in in the 55th minute. 

But that didn’t help much as Milan had their fourth right on the hour mark. Rebic continued to be a perfect provider with another brilliant filtering pass for Hernandez, who in turn acted like a true goleador and chipped the ball past Sirigu to make it four.

Ante Rebic soon got a chance to join the goal party, receiving a fine service from Rade Krunic – who had just replaced Brahim Diaz – and didn’t squander that, turning the game into a slaughter for Torino. He seemed to like the feeling as he quickly added two more to his personal tally, showing no mercy for the dazed and confused Granata defense. In total, it took him a little more than 11 minutes to bag his first Serie A hat-trick.

Milan did what they had to do and caught a victory to send down in their history books, but didn’t manage to distance their Champions League contenders as Atalanta, Napoli, and Juventus all won their Serie A Round 36 games.

For Torino, it was simply a night to forget. Davide Nicola’s side are still four points clear of 18th-placed Benevento with one game in hand. They have good chances of remaining in Serie A but surely didn’t look like a team that would deserve it tonight.

15 – #ACMilan have won 15 games away from home in Serie A this season, equalling the best tally in a single top-flight campaign level with Inter in 2006/07. Assault.#TorinoMilan #SerieA pic.twitter.com/GUR1eotwYn

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) May 12, 2021

 

MATCH REPORT

May 12, 2021 – Serie A 2020-21 Round 36
TORINO-MILAN 0-7

SCORERS: 18′ Hernandez, 25′ Kessié pen., 49′ Brahim Diaz, 60′ Hernandez, 67′ Rebic, 71′ Rebic, 79′ Rebic

REFEREE: Mr. Guida from Torre Annunziata
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Baselli, Linetty (T), Bennacer (M); Extra Time: 1st Half 2′, 2nd Half 0′