Cometh the hour, cometh the, erm, defensive midfielder with eight goals in nearly 250 games at senior level?
With AC Milan struggling to break down relegation-threatened Cagliari on Saturday afternoon, the Serie A leaders needed a hero.
They needed a moment of rabbit-out-of-the-hat magic from Rafael Leao. A trademark burst from Theo Hernandez. They needed Olivier Giroud – scorer of dramatic winners at Inter and Napoli – to roll back the years once again.
But, sometimes, it’s the one you least expect who saves the day. The Neville Longbottom to Giroud’s Harry Potter.
And Saturday in Sardinia was Ismael Bennacer’s moment. Latching onto a clever Giroud lay off, the Algeria international lashed a stunning left-footed volley into the far corner from the edge of the box.
You would never have guessed this was only his third Milan goal, in 97 games for the Rossoneri. He could hardly have timed it better either.
“Bennacer is a player that is revitalised in every aspect,” Milan legend Massimo Ambrosini tells DAZN at full-time.
Gazzetta dello Sport, meanwhile, described his display as ‘magical’.
Will AC Milan win their first Serie A title in a decade?
If Giroud is the posterboy of Milan’s title charge, then Bennacer is one of those side characters who steals the scene whenever he appears.
A player sold by Arsenal for just £900,000 on the back of a humiliating 3-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in the EFL Cup, a player signed by Milan from Empoli to very little fanfare. Bennacer is, in many ways, the man who epitomises this Rossoneri side better than anyone.
Undervalued, underrated but increasingly difficult to ignore. Luka Modric calls Benancer one of his ‘favourite’ players for a reason.
Bennacer the unlikely hero
The best and most important goal of his career secured Milan’s third 1-0 win in a row. Even the most optimistic supporters might have expected their title charge to have died down by now. This is one of the youngest squads in Europe’s top five leagues after all, with Bennacer one of the senior figures at the age of just 24.
But, with just eight games left, Milan are still at the summit, three points clear, a first Scudetto in a decade now looming into view. And, if Milan are champions in May, then they will look back at Bennacer’s moment of brilliance at Cagliari as one of the most important goals in their modern history.
According to Calciomercato, some at Arsenal regret selling Bennacer to Empoli on the back of one senior appearance, for less than £1 million.
Though they’re not the only ones guilty of underestimating Milan’s man for the big occasion.
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