CAN…YOU…DIG IT?! (yes, a dated reference but too bad!) Milan was on point yesterday and it was the most enjoyable game of the season for me and I hope you too. Not very often does a team leading the league the way Napoli are get their asses handed to them like that and I, personally, hope to see it again in a couple of weeks.
But first, ratings!
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
MAIGNAN 7.8 Wasn’t directly challenged a whole lot despite Napoli firing off 20 shots in the game. Only getting 4 of them on target will do that. The only real chance Napoli had was super late down 4-0 and Maignan had a great save on a shot from Zielinski from distance. Still, him coming out to get balls and barking orders was lovely to see. Much needed clean sheet for the Magic man as well
Goal Keeping Overall: 7.8
Defense
HERANDEZ 7 Quiet game from Theo but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t effective. There was more than one time when Politano or Di Lorenzo tried to beat him to a ball and well, they failed. Every time. Sometimes a LB has to stay back more and he did that well on this day
TOMORI 7.5 More Jekyll & Hyde…again…but this time it was good. Play of the match for him was when he tracked down Raspadori and blocked his shot right at the last possible moment in the box on one of the few breaks for Napoli. Wonderful play
KJÆR 7.4 Very solid game by the Danish Brick Wall. He ate up space and was particularly good with some long passing out the back, finding teammates and relieving pressure early in the match. Pioli’s philosophy for the game definitely helped as he wasn’t forced to chase very much and left that to Tomori
CALABRIA 8 An 8? Too high? No, I don’t think so. I’ll have more to say about him below
Defense Overall: 7.7 Clean sheet means they did their job and did it well. The reverting back to the old formation seemed to help them more with their positioning and they handled Napoli’s press without much stress
Midfield
TONALI 8 Continuing his run of form both with Milan and the national team, Tonali was on point this game. When he muscled the Napoli player off the ball and found Leão for the 3rd goal, all but icing the game, it was the most symbolic of plays for him and really showed his value. I think Pioli saw what we all saw that Tonali and/or Bennacer play better in the double pivot with Krunic and this was no different
KRUNIC 7.6 Another NOT flashy game but it’s exactly what Milan needs from him. He was a little wasteful the first 20 minutes or so with his passing but was stout on defense and provided Tonali the ability to wonder and make plays. I love him in this role as I think it’s the right role for him as he’s the muscle, the enforcer sitting on top of the backline. As Lisi said in the comments: Krunic is the new Kessie
BENNACER 7.6 Bennacer the CAM? Yep! FotMob had him in the double pivot and Krunic in the CAM but about 10 minutes in I thought to myself, “wow, Bennacer is really high and Krunic isn’t occupying that spot”. Hallelujah! A non-destroyer CAM! I know I thought out loud last season that if Brahim wasn’t going to be the CAM then at least put Tonali there because he brings some offensive capabilities that Krunic just doesn’t have. Well, Bennacer is a solid 2nd choice and he did great with distribution and getting wide and making overlapping runs, one of which resulted in his cross eventually finding Brahim for the 2nd goal. Did I mention he completely shut down Lobotka? Well he did. Bennacer put him there to do that and it resulted in Napoli having a lot of toothless possession. Bravo
Midfield Overall: 8.5 I’m giving them a higher score than what they each individually got or what they average out to because the collective was OUTSTANDING. All 3 players did what they were supposed to and did it well
Forwards
LEÃO 9.5 Co-MOTM He’s back. And boy was it nice! The return to the 4-2-3-1 was perhaps the biggest reason Leão got going again and it had to do with spacing and getting him into dangerous positions. It didn’t matter who was in front of him be it out on the wing or in isolation when Milan countered. I think Rrahmani’s shorts and ankles are still on the pitch after what Leão did to him on that second goal. It was so nice to see him get back to doing what he’s capable of and striking fear in opponents. And the smile…oh the smile
DÍAZ 9.5 Co-MOTM Big Game Brahim! Another big opponent and game and another great performance by the little guy. I almost gave him the MOTM by himself because he single-handedly broke the game open AND gave Milan the space on the scoreboard to find themselves again. The kid works his tail off and no one else on the team can dribble like him and handle tight spaces. And man, I love how he gets in the 6 yard box, not afraid to get in amongst the trees. Kid plays big
GIROUD 7.1 Very workman like and damn near had a goal that just missed wide. I know sometimes he’s invisible in the box and as a striker that can’t or at least shouldn’t happen, but on days like this he occupies bodies and provides the space for others to do their thing. And on this day he did that well so no complaints from me
Forwards Overall: 8.7 Wow. What a way to end the drought and the perfect time to start a late season run
Subs
SAELEMAEKERS 8 Saeledona
REBIC 6 He played
ORIGI 6 He played
BAKAYOKO 4 Immediately went back to bad in this formation and was the reason Milan damn near lost the clean sheet
DE KETELAERE NA He played
Subs Overall: 7 They’re getting a 7 almost entirely because of Saeledona and because they held the clean sheet
Coaching
PIOLI 9 Damn near perfect. The only thing to question on this day is: did Pioli show this formation and approach too soon?…
Well, we won’t know the answer to that question for another couple of weeks but for this game, going back to the 4-2-3-1 brought Leão back to life, provided better play out the back and better transition to offense, and the Bennacer-play as CAM was excellent. Clearly shutting down Lobotka was the #1 goal there but I loved Bennacer’s knack for distributing the ball in the final third, the overlapping runs, and his willingness to cross. It provided something of a threat from that position and was something Pioli couldn’t get from Kessie last season or Krunic (this season or last). Yes, those guys can score the occasional goal but they’re not coherent pieces of the attack and helping to build up play. Bennacer was that and I really enjoyed what he did.
One last thing I noticed was Pioli didn’t use a high press/high line but he also didn’t sit in a low block – AKA park the bus. He seemed to apply the pressure once Napoli got over the halfway line, almost waiting so his counter attack could have enough room to unleash Leão. With the better spacing coming from the 4-2-3-1 and guys staying wide (look at Calabria’s run on the first goal and how he drug his man out of the way so he couldn’t help with Brahim and kept him out of the passing lane), the middle of the pitch opened up with passing and shooting lanes wide enough for a 18-wheeler. It’ll be interesting to see if we see this approach again in the Champions League ties.
Final Thoughts
Just a few more things I wanted to highlight here as we wrap up.
First thing, how about that picture of Leão laughing and Politano?! Haha! What a clown. He was one of MANY Napoli players flopping and complaining, increasing as the game wore on and the Milan goals piled up. For a team that has walked through the league this season (but not Milan!), it was a shocking display of pettiness…and I hope we see it again because that would mean Milan is in the Champions League semifinal!
Next, is Calabria. I, we, everyone has bashed on him and with good reason. He hasn’t been good this season AT ALL. He was never really fast and even then he’s lost a step. He’s lost his man so many times that it’s resulted in goals or corners which then led to goals. It’s been bad. But…BUT! Pioli coached him up and put him in a position to succeed against a guy who’s been setting Serie A on fire this season: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. What was the position?…
He basically did what basketball coaches do when a dominate player has no weak hand and told his defender to shift his body and give him his weak side. Calabria’s posture was like Kawhi Leonard in the pic above but even MORE pronounced than that. It was like lay-out-the-red-carpet-for-him-to-go-left-pronounced. And what did Kvaratskhelia do? Not a f**king thing.
I hope Napoli extends him again and pays him even more because this guy is going to basically be a one-and-one, kinda like El Shaarawy. He’s even just as one-footed if not more (he’s more). It’s not that he’s going to be bad but after that initial burst onto the scene he’s going to be a role player by the end of next season…like El Shaarawy did after bursting onto the scene and scoring double-digit goals in the first half of his first full season starting.
Maybe Leão can show Kvaratskhelia how to use his weaker foot like in the pic above. Can’t believe people have been comparing him to Leão…clowns.
Anyway, lots of positives to take away even against a team who didn’t need to have this league-win. It’s one thing to not want to show your cards with a two-legged Champions League affair around the corner, but no one wants to get spanked that like, especially at home. The worst part about this for Napoli, a team who has not dominated Milan over their last 2 very good seasons (this one and last), is that Milan has life again. I’m not saying Milan will beat Napoli over the two legs for Champions League, but it wouldn’t surprise me. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit.
Case in point, if you didn’t see this, apparently Spaletti had some issue with Leão celebrating and began to lecture him before Maldini got involved. Again, what a bunch of clowns.
Anyway, I have no idea how they’re going to go but these Champions League ties are going to be fun that’s for sure!
Milan have Empoli on Friday before the first leg of Champions League a week from Wednesday. Gotta get those league points.
Forza Milan
gillis
