Well, that was something.
I waited to write this until I had a chance to rewatch the match, which I did, and while it provided some clarity I think it was mostly a tactical miscalculation by Pioli and a very efficient and ruthless Inter that did Milan in. Yes, there’s more to it than that, and we’ll dive in a little bit below. But the bottom line is that the miscalculation by Pioli, vs Inter, has gotten old and something needs to change. With their next Derby della Madonnina not until April 2024, a lot could change by then or we can see Simeone Inzaghi take Pioli’s lunch again and extend their run to an unpresented 6th win in a row vs Milan. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
With the busy schedule ahead, including the first Champions League Group Stage match tomorrow vs Newcastle United, there isn’t much time to sulk and getting back on the pitch ASAP will do the players – and us – some good. But we’ll save that for tomorrow. Now, let’s chat one last time about the slaughtering Milan endured.
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
MAIGNAN 6 Conceding 5 goals in the match maybe warrants a lower score but I honestly don’t think any of them were on him
Goal Keeping Overall: 6
Defense
HERNÁNDEZ 5 Had a couple of good runs but was caught out of position quite a few times (like a lot of the team was). Stupid, stupid penalty to give up to Lautaro with him chasing a ball in the box and his back to goal
THIAW 4 Worst day as a Milan player. Did well at times to get back and chase down the play but then poor technique let him down. To be fair, Pioli did him no favors as he was left on an island with very little help
KJÆR 5.5 He did relatively well when Milan was back in their own 3rd and not in-transition. The problem? There was lots of transition and he just didn’t make it back in time to defend
CALABRIA 5.5 Fine day for the midfielder
Defense Overall: 5 Poor all around. Had trouble getting back and even more trouble finding guys to mark in the box
Midfield
REIJNDERS 6.2 Another subpar game for Reijnders. In the game vs Roma he was getting physically taken out of the game but in this one I think Inter’s midfield overwhelmed Milan’s and Reijnders just couldn’t find the space to operate
KRUNIC 6.5 I don’t think he was specifically poor but it wasn’t his best game. Having to drop back and try to hold the line was a tall order for the DM
LOFTUS-CHECK 6.2 Much like Reijnders, just overwhelmed with Inter’s midfield. Sure, he’s big and strong but there were just too many black-and-blue shirts around him to do much so he had minimal impact
Midfield Overall: 6.3 They did well when you considered how outnumbered they were for most of the game. But then you think about what happened and how they were manhandled – because they were outnumbered – it spelled doom for them as a group
Forwards
LEÃO 7.5 Best Milan player on the pitch on this dreadful day. Showed why he warrants the attention he receives from the other team and had wonderful finish for Milan’s only goal and the VERY brief belief that Milan had a chance in this game
GIROUD 7 Had a good game. I saw some people ripping on him and I don’t get it. He’s not a world-beater, ok sure, but he did what he could battling 2 CBs for most of the game and had another wonderful assist
PULISIC 6 Worst game so far in his still young Milan career. He looked tired and didn’t have much spark. I couldn’t tell if that was due to Inter or his travel from international break. Either way, he didn’t impact the game the way he had in the previous 3
Forwards Overall: 6.7 Didn’t do too bad when they got the ball in dangerous positions. The problem? They didn’t get the ball very often in dangerous positions
Subs
CHUKWUEZE 5.5 Came on a provided more energy than Pulisic but little else. Still, probably time to start him from the get-go and see what he can do (and to give Pulisic a break)
FLORENZI 6 It was nice finally having a RB in the game 77 minutes in
JOVIC 6.2 Looked eager and hungry and now I’m curious about what he’s going to be able to do this season
OKAFOR 6.3 Kind of shared the forward duties as Pioli brought in him with Jovic and Leão still out there. Not a lot of opportunities but needs more playing time moving forward because these 20 minutes a game aren’t enough
MUSAH NA If Pioli does want to play with a back 3 then plug in Musah as a mezzala in a diamond-shaped midfield in 3-4-3. Couldn’t be any worse!
Subs Overall: 6 Individually better than the guys they replaced for the most part but aside from Chukwueze, all the others came on with the outcome pretty much decided
Coaching
PIOLI 1 Might have been his worst tactical game during his time with Milan. Just dumb, dumb, dumb. Even Inzaghi in the pic above is like, “I got this fool”…
I’ll talk more about this below
Final Thoughts
I won’t spend a lot of time here talking…I mean, losing 5-1 says PLENTY, but I did want to say just a few things.
As you may have noticed, for the player ratings, I spoke often about the players as doing “ok” all things considered. The considered part was the game plan and how it set Milan up to fail. Inter deserves credit as they were extremely efficient and made Milan pay with just about every opportunity they had. But in my eyes the biggest factor was Pioli’s game plan.
The decision to play a high line without Tomori or Kalulu was problematic from the get go. Even if you don’t rate their quality or defending they at least have the speed to give Milan a chance. When in possession, Milan moved Calabria to the middle, dropped Krunic into a back 3 with Kjær and Thiaw. This made Milan very slow at the back and very narrow everywhere but the very top. With the attackers more advanced it failed to provide Milan a numerical advantage in the midfield since Inter play a 3-5-2 and pretty much defeated the purpose of this tactical decision. With Inzaghi having Inter drop some and allowing Milan to have possession and letting them get up to pitch some before applying pressure, this took away getting any balls over the top to Leão as there was no room, and it played into his overloaded midfield and allowed lots of space for Inter to counter-attack. Throw in Pioli doing him a favor with that high and slow backline and Milan was doomed.
I talked about some of this in the matchday post. While I was optimistic the attack would help keep Inter from bombing down the pitch and committing a lot of guys forward, I didn’t think for a second Pioli would play so narrow. Numerous times Inter won back the ball just inside their half of the pitch, they’d release Thuram or Lautaro and the plethora of Inter midfielders would charge down the pitch and Milan had trouble figuring out who to cover. Aside from Thuram’s wonder strike, which was also during a transition, all the other goals from open play came from Inter-countering/Milan-scrambling to find Inter players to put a body on. Even the best defenses will concede when faced with that prospect throughout a game.
Pioli hung his players out to dry and while Inzaghi deserves credit for having Inter ready, this wasn’t some master class in tactical exploitation. Inzaghi wants to overload the midfield and counter. That’s what he always wants to do. Pioli just helped him do it.
Next up, Tonali visiting and the expectations and excitement of Champions League football.
Forza Milan
gillis
