Who saw this coming 2 weeks ago, huh?!
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
TATARUSANU 6.9 Back to back clean sheets, and this one in CL? What the hell happened?! What happened was Pioli had to shift the whole team philosophy to provide him some cover and it’s working. Some guys just can’t handle being left on an island. Maignan? Yep, no problemo. Tata? Not so much. Still, I’ll take it
Goal Keeping Overall: 6.9
Defense
THIAW 7.8 Sometimes players just have it and this 21yr old has it. I don’t see how Pioli can take him out of the lineup. He was left to deal with Kulusevski while Kjær dealt with Kane and Kulusevski was invisible all night. He uses his size well, moves into space showing his footballing acumen, and has the speed to play catch up. Can’t wait to see him flanked on both sides by Tomori and Kalulu
KJÆR 7.1 Much better this game than vs Torino or Inter. Definitely helped that Kane is a traditional #9 and you could see that Pioli told Kjær to get into Kane’s back pocket and stay there. Both guys got banged up and bloodied and it was fun to watch
KALULU 7.5 Another solid game. God I love when he turns on the gears and gets out running or when he’s given the freedom to play the passing lanes and jumps to intercept passes, all of which in did in this game
Defense Overall: 7.7 They keep getting better and Pioli has found a way to get Kjær some gametime with this new formation and philosophy. When Tomori and Maignan get back, look out. We could see another second half of last season kind of defensive performance with Calabria pushed out of the starting lineup
Midfield
HERNÁNDEZ 7 Wasn’t quite the talisman like vs Torino but was solid overall, providing his speed and presence in the attack but getting back and defending as well. Plus, it was his shot that ricocheted off of Forster and was then knocked in by Brahim. I think it’s safe to say our Theo is back
TONALI 7.1 Best game so far in this new formation by Tonali. He was the most active we’ve seen him in this midfield formation and he was really covering some ground and causing problems for Tottenham when they tried to build offensively
KRUNIC 7 Another workman like game. Did his part, helped the defense and disrupted play. I really am liking him in this more defensive posture
SAELEMAEKERS 6.8 Not as active getting forward but was very stout defensively as Son and Perisic were mostly invisible. Most importantly, his continued solid play is keeping Calabria on the bench
Midfield Overall: 7 Very busy for this group on the night but they were up for it. They shut down space at the top of their 18yd box and didn’t let Tottenham get into dangerous positions
Forwards
LEÃO 7.5 I thought he did well but he certainly hasn’t been 2021-22 Leão. I know in this formation he isn’t required to stay as wide but most of his damage still comes when he’s hugging that sideline. But, he did get out and run more when Milan won back the ball and that’s another area where he has some of this most important impact and contribution to the squad. I thought I read he had 8 successful dribbles out of 10 attempts. I believe it. He ate Romero’s lunch
DÍAZ 8 MOTM Mighty Mouse does it again! Kid has scored some big goals for Milan and you can add this one to the list. I know I’ve said it in the comment sections for games but I absolutely love all the runs he makes into the box. He seems to have a knack for knowing where the ball is going to be and he consistently puts himself in a position to take advantage of that
GIROUD 7.5 Very blue-collar effort from Giroud and I loved how little he was trying those flicks and dummies. He seems to know he needs to be that outlet when Milan wins the ball back. Oh, I don’t know if you noticed but sometime around the 85th-87th minute he was back defending in Milan’s 18yd box, he made a clearance, and then sprinted and got to about the halfway line not too long after the ball bounced from his clearance. Gotta love a 36yr old putting in that kind of an effort
Forwards Overall: 7.7 Much more coherent and effective night from the attacking players. They generated lots of opportunities like in the game vs Torino but did it vs a much stronger opponent. All of this points to progress and confidence building in the players in this new formation and philosophy
Subs
MESSIAS 6.1 Seems like Pioli put him in expecting Tottenham to go full on being down a goal and wanted him to get out on counters. He did that ok but I don’t know if I like this or not
DE KETELAERE 6.6 Needed to put that header away when he first entered but had a decent showing nonetheless. I know people are wanting him to play, and I do too, but I don’t think he should start over Brahim. I’ll talk about this a little below
POBEGA N/A Seems to be getting more looks from Pioli even if they are super late in games
REBIC N/A
Subs Overall: 6.4 CDK looked good but these last 2 games has seen Pioli really detour from his preferred subbing patterns, at least the ones he’s been prone to these last couple of years
Coaching
PIOLI 8 Well he seems to have pulled off the impossible. Milan have had back-to-back clean sheets. I know I mentioned here in previous posts that I’d rather take a bunch of 1-0/2-1 victories playing ugly football, and we’ve gotten 3 straight 1-0 score lines (2 wins), but Pioli is doing it a little bit prettier than I expected. The team looks to be understanding what he wants them to do and hopefully they can get a little more clinical in front of goal.
The real test for Pioli will be when teams have enough footage to know how Pioli wants to play in this new setup and how he adjusts, as well as working in the bench guys because so far he hasn’t shown them hardly any trust.
Final Thoughts
Well, quite the roller coaster these last 45 days or so. I won’t say a whole lot more here but I did want to say just a little bit more on CDK.
Brahim has really taken ahold of the CAM and I think he has too much talent and much of what Milan needs from that position that it’s his spot. But you can see the talent CDK has and he does definitely need to play. So, what to do?
I think the most straightforward option in my opinion is to put him up top. With Milan sitting back more and playing more of their offensive game in transition, he can use his strengths (size, speed, vision, passing) to help kick-start counters and Milan’s transition game, while simultaneously minimizing his weaknesses as a traditional #9-type of striker. He won’t be counted on to wear down the opposing CBs like a traditional #9 and most importantly he can help give Giroud a much-needed rest.
That last part seems particularly important as Milan will need Giroud with Origi and Rebic not producing, and who knows what’s going to happen with Zlatan, Milan can’t afford to have Giroud vanish as because he’s overworked and exhausted. I mentioned it not too long ago in the comments but last season at Club Brugge CDK played a majority of his matches at CF or SS and had really good numbers, so the potential is there to not only get minutes but to get them in a position where he can succeed.
Seems like a win-win to me and I think it can help make Milan more dynamic offensively.
Anyway, what did you all think? Did I miss anything? Do you have a different take on any player or Pioli? Share with us below.
Forza Milan
-gillis
