Milan won big in their debut 2023-24 Coppa Italia match and the real question, or questions, revolve around how to interpret the result and giving it the proper context.
Clearly Milan gave this match the attention I think we all wanted to see which was playing mostly B-team players and even getting some minutes for some of the Primavera players. Pioli did this and then some as we saw five Primavera players get minutes, three of them starting out the gates. I’ll say a little about these kids and all of the players below, but needless to say it makes gauging where Milan are – the Milan fighting for the top 4 – somewhat difficult as there wasn’t a lot of the first team playing.
Cagliari did come out and play mostly starting or rotational players, so it was at least a respectable team they fielded. Still, we can’t forget that Cagliari is staring relegation in the face in league play and so we must ask just how good of a test was it for Milan?
Perhaps thinking about this in the inverse would provide better insight in that if Milan had lost, what would’ve been the narrative? Surely there is some overlap with a win and the idea of it being in the eye of the beholder. Still, I think a good faction of the Milan fan base would’ve been upset at a poor performance and that Milan didn’t take things as serious as some might think is worthy for a team struggling to find their footing. Let’s not even get into what the #PioliOut folks would’ve started doing…
Where I land is probably somewhere in the middle, as a loss wouldn’t have been the end of the world but I think a win at least moderately helps in that it continues to build confidence and extend Milan’s better run of form. We don’t have to look back too far to find a team that was struggling to consistently put up good performances.
That last piece I think, at least for me, is the biggest takeaway. Milan had struggled to put together a string of good performances for about two and half months. They have now won four out of five, drawing the other, and have 13 out of a possible 15 points during that stretch. Jovic is finding his form, Leão finally got on the scoresheet, and Milan has managed to stay mostly injury-free during this stretch. I don’t think I need to remind you all that the only two healthy CBs at the moment are still only Kjær – the 4th choice CB to start the season – and Simic, who was and technically still is one of the stars of the Primavera. Gabbia is back but surely won’t be available to start for another week or so.
Staying alive in the race for the Scudetto, even if just barely, and now advancing in the Coppa Italia, show that the squad has some fight left. With round 19 in the league coming up this weekend, we’ll officially be at the halfway mark of the season and by the end of January, Milan will have five more games under their belt (four in the league, one Coppa). The next month should be very interesting as guys start to come back from injury and AFCON concludes. Dare I say maybe even a late season run at a trophy could be at play?…
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
MIRANTE 7 – Had a very solid reaction save early that while yes, was hit right at him, he managed to parry it over the bar and keep Cagliari from getting an early lead
Goal Keeping Overall 7
Defense
JIMENEZ 7.5 – Kid looked good in his debut! Made confident runs, made smart decisions, and the stage didn’t seem too big for him. Also, am I the only one who thought he looked and ran like Saelemaekers?…
HERNÁNDEZ 8.5 – One of my biggest concerns with him playing CB is that it takes away his ability to affect the game going forward. Well he didn’t let that stop him for this game. An absolute dime for the his first assist, and a smooth run and drop off for his second
SIMIC 7.2 – Quietly solid. And that’s ok. Has the size to make his presence known and a lot of confidence in his movements. I think he’s earning a place in the rotation
CALABRIA 7 – Solid in defense, solid getting forward and making himself available. No complaints
Defense Overall 7.5
Midfield
ADLI 7.3 – Good game, was less of a liability on defense. I know some people see this performance and want him to play more but the reason I think he did well was because it was the Coppa AND it was vs Cagliari – i.e. the game was slow enough for him. He isn’t afforded as much time as he often needs when playing better opponents and it depletes the value he brings with the ball at his feet…and only magnifies his defensive inadequacy
REIJNDERS 7 – I’m gaining a lot of appreciation for how much this guy runs. Always putting in the effort. Now if we can only help him stop turning into Saelemaekers when he enters the 18yd box because his finishing is woeful (two Saelemaekers references in the same post?! Lisi is going to be happy)
ROMERO 6 – Looked a little bit lost. Ok, maybe more than a little bit. CAM is definitely not his position. He’ll get his chance now that Chukwueze is away at AFCON. Let’s hope he takes advantage of it
Midfield Overall 6.8
Forwards
TRAORÈ 7.5 – Solid for most of the day as he stayed wide and worked hard but then had a heck of an effort to get that shot off with a defender draped all over him. Nice to see him get rewarded with a goal
CHUKWUEZE 6.3 – I don’t know. Maybe he finds his form at AFCON because I’m sure not seeing it
JOVIC 9 MOTM – Two really nice goals. The first one he had a splendid touch to knock a spicy cross down and then one time it. Then for the encore somehow managed to get enough on it while failing away to help make the day worse for a struggling keeper. He’s looking really good and for a guy a lot of people wanted to write off (not me!), he sure is looking like someone who might end up being one of the best signings of the summer
Forwards Overall 7.5
Subs
FLORENZI 6.7 – Very Florenzi game. No complaints
LEÃO 7 – Looked motivated. Looked selfish. Looked determined to get out of this funk he’s been in. And he did
PULISIC 7 – Did Pulisic things
BARTESAGHI 6.5 – I was happy to see him out there since it’s been awhile. He’s got a lot upside and never looks rattled.
ZEROLI NA – Not enough time to rate but no complaints. A couple of nice appearances without any glaring missteps
Subs Overall 6.8
Coaching
PIOLI 8.5 – Hard to complain about really anything and ended up playing this just right. Rested guys, played young players. Some may say he shouldn’t have risked Leão or Pulisic late…and maybe I’ll give you Pulisic. But I think he totally wanted to try and get Leão going again and it worked. His confidence in Jovic is paying off and he got a lot of young kids some valuable playing time in the perfect environment. I know a lot of people want to write him off but Milan is showing signs of life and it appears Pioli is on the verge of another resurrection
Final Thoughts
Milan maybe, just maybe, might be on the verge of a nice little spell. For better or worse, crashing out of Champions League appears to have freed the team and they’re playing looser and with more confidence. If they can just hold the fort down a little bit longer and they’ll have a lot of their main players starting to return from injury.
They have some very winnable games on the horizon but also a couple with some teams fighting for the top 4, with Empoli this weekend followed by Roma next weekend. They’ll have either Atalanta or Sassuolo for the next Coppa game mid-month, then travel to Udinese while hosting Bologna to end the month. They’re 9 points back of Inter now, let’s see where they are come February 1st.
Forza Milan
gillis
