Milan finished a busy domestic week getting 9/9 points and are currently tied for 1st place in Serie A with Inter. All and all, after integrating so many new pieces I think all of us would have taken this offer of being in 1st place to start October back in the summer and new signings that were coming in bunches. Pioli has the team playing well and Milan have a very important Champions League fixture away at Dortmund in a few days before traveling to Genoa over the weekend.
Waiting to drop this today, Monday, two days since Milan played and with round 7 just completing earlier, I’ll throw out some quick ratings, give a quick summary of my thoughts about the game, and then talk just a little about the rest of the league. Might as well take advantage of round 7 being in the books and maybe give a little opinion piece about what we’ve learned so far.
But first, ratings!
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
MAIGNAN 7.7 Had 4 saves and completed 70% of his long balls. Sportiello did well and we’re glad he’s here, but Maignan is Maignan and I’m glad his injury wasn’t serious
Goal Keeping Overall: 7.7
Defense
HERNÁNDEZ 7 Solid all-around game from Theo. Stayed wider than we’ve seen from him in a while and I for one like that as it keeps the width and provides room for the other playmakers
TOMORI 7.7 I think it’s safe to say he’s found his groove. I mentioned this in the matchday but man, he looks like the 2021-22 version. So good since the red vs Roma
KJÆR 7.5 Much better vs teams that lack above average speed. Definitely his best game in a while since he wasn’t having to chase the game
CALABRIA 7 Kind of invisible. But I’ll take it. Means he did his job
Defense Overall: 7.5 Played together and kept their lines about as well as they have all season. Lazio’s lack of oof helped but still, quality showing
Midfield
REIJNDERS 8 Attaboy! All over the pitch. Guy never seems to tire. And oh, that one off the woodwork. Someone in the chat during the match mentioned being cursed and HOW DARE YOU. He will NOT be this season’s CDK
ADLI 7 Kid can pass. No doubt about it. But he could’ve gotten carded after an early stomp on a Lazio player. Then like 5 minutes later he raked another Lazio player’s leg. How he didn’t end up carded is beyond me. Kid has talent, and while he doesn’t need to be Gattuso in defense, he HAS TO be better than he’s been
LOFTUS-CHEEK 6 Left injured early and never looked quite right even in those 30 minutes he played. Indications are that it’s a groin injury and he should be back after the mid-October international break
Midfield Overall: 7 Reijnders was the star of the midfield and one of the stars of the game. Makes smart passes and always keeps the ball moving. I’m liking the kid more and more
Forwards
LEÃO 8.5 MOTM A little sluggish to start (who wasn’t) but turned it on and was just toying with Lazio down the left. It was vintage Leão. Even when he neared the endline, he’s so good with his left that the keeper has to stay glued to the post and that just leaves a wide open lane for Leão to play it behind to a trailing runner for tap-in goals. No one can stop him when he’s playing like this
GIROUD 6.5 Just wasn’t in-sync with anything. Almost scored on the cross that came off the keeper and that Reijnders damn near put in on the rebound, but his flicks and give-and-gos just didn’t work. Wonder if we’ll see Okafor start midweek vs Dortmund
PULISIC 8 Smart. Smart, smart player. Smart movement, smart reading of the game, smart positioning. Love watching him play
Forwards Overall: 7.7 Slow to start but could’ve put 3 or 4 in by the end of it. The balance of the attack means we aren’t seeing this version of Milan – the Leão show version – but when needed, it’s there
Subs
MUSAH 7 Kid is starting to cook and we’re all seeing the full skillset get put on display. Strong, fast, smart passing, great on the ball, and then in this game, that settle-and-fire shot he had. Fun player
POBEGA 6.5 Nice appearance. Played smart balls and helped kick start the second goal
FLORENZI 6.5 Loving the minutes he’s getting, especially if it gets you-know-who off the pitch
OKAFOR 7 His goal vs Cagliari we saw the smart little touch to take it away from the keeper and bang it home. Here, he ran to the open area, opened his hips, and banged home his second goal in as many games. Quality striker play. With Leão and Pulisic on either side of him, kid is going to find himself a lot of space to score and so far he’s taking advantage of it
CHUKWUEZE NA He’ll get his chance…it’s coming
Subs Overall: 7 Subs came on and Milan didn’t miss a beat. The depth of this team…just *chef’s kiss*
Coaching
PIOLI 7.5 Had his team play wider than it had been in a while and maybe Lazio running with a 4-3-3 played into that, since it feels like teams are always trying to overload their midfield to try and stagnate Milan’s offense.
With Sarri having Lazio stay back more than crowding the midfield, Milan enjoyed a lot of the possession, a lot of it centrally initially and it was slow to start. But, after a 0-0 halftime score Pioli started attacking down the flanks and it paid dividends as Lazio’s slower CBs couldn’t keep up or keep tracking of all the movement. Leão doing his thing down the left and players making runs and trailing runs meant the goals were there for the taking. All and all a good effort by Pioli to adjust and it paid off
Final Thoughts
Milan is playing well and they’re getting contributions from multiple positions, especially up front. So far it’s:
Leão: 3 goals, 3 assists
Giroud: 4 goals, 3 assists
Pulisic: 3 goals, 1 assist
I mean, come on. Balance in the attack is a wonderful thing.
As for the other positions, Reijnders is finding consistency, Okafor is starting to knock at the starter’s door, and Musah is making a case to start as well and will with RLC slated to miss some time. In defense, Tomori’s form is reaching levels from the Scudetto season and they’ve now only given up 1 goal in 4 matches since his return after the Inter game. After a shaky start for the backline, things are starting to stabilize. For those of you who had Tomori playing like a rock star and anchoring the backline, tip of the hat to you. I know I didn’t have that on my bingo card.
A quick note on the rest of the league: Inter started slow and then brought on Lautaro Martinez, who decided he was going to play in god-mode and ended up scoring 4 goals in the final 25 minutes. I don’t mean Inter scored 4 goals in the final 25 minutes, I mean LAUTARO did. Crazy stuff.
Juventus and Atalanta played to a draw and that gave Napoli a chance to move into a tie for 3rd along with Juventus (Atalanta is just one point back). Fiorentina beat up on Cagliari and they are tied for 3rd as well. Roma managed to not sh*t the bed again and has moved up all the way to…13th. Lazio, who Milan just beat, is all the way in 16th. But fear not, the bottom four teams are SO bad that Roma and Lazio and everyone else who normally occupy the middle-to-bottom of the table will be fine.
So, what do I think of the other teams? I think it’s Milan and Inter’s to lose. Napoli still have lots of quality but it’s hard to repeat and luck doesn’t always follow you from one season to the next. Still, I think they probably finish 3rd but the battle for positions 4-7 in the table, now THAT’S going to be fun. Lazio is likely out of the running for that, Roma has its work cut out for them, and Fiorentina can’t play defense. If you’re the betting type, maybe go find out the odds on all those teams fighting for Europe and put in a flyer.
Lastly, and speaking of betting, I did my first Whip-Around in Lisi’s place this past round and for those of you wondering, I finished 7/10. THAT’S RIGHT! Now I’m debating if I should keep doing this or retire as a WINNER…
Next up: Dortmund on Wednesday
Forza Milan
gillis
