A disappointing result against a team Milan is chasing in the table. I’m not as disheartened as others but clearly time is running out to make a chase for the top 4 a realistic goal. But, I’m not counting Milan out and I hope you aren’t either.
Overall I thought Milan played really well for the first 45 minutes, then were terrible for the first 20 minutes of the second half, then were less terrible the last 25 minutes of the game. Which is disappointing to say the least, as I know we were all hoping Milan could get on a little run on top of wanting to beat Juve. It was a game Milan needed to win and they just didn’t get it done.
In the end I think Milan got beat by a team in desperate need of a win, playing at home, on top of wanting some revenge after Milan beat them in the Supercoppa semifinal, less because the magnitude of that particular game but more in how Milan beat them as I’m sure the players were frustrated by how they lost that game. More specifically to the league, Juventus came into the game having drawn 7 of the previous 8 Serie A games. This doesn’t mean Milan didn’t want it, Juventus wanted it too and executed better and in the end that was enough. Wanting it isn’t zero sum and sometimes you get beat.
As for the game itself, there was some bad luck as Juventus’s first goal came off of a wicked deflection and wrong-footed Maignan. Thems are the breaks sometimes. Then for the second Juve goal, Juve won the ball back in the midfield and quickly countered a pressing forward Milan team and Weah was able to use the separation from few Milan players back to get the angle on Tomori and eventually Maignan and basically put the game out of reach.
So with this outcome in the books, I think all of us are still wondering whether or not Milan will be able to salvage this season in the league. As dire as social media and Twitter and god knows what else is saying about Milan and this team and the coach and especially management and the owners, I am still optimistic because there is still time.
Most fans are still in the grace period with Conceição and are eager to see what can he do. I think he’s largely getting things right with his lineup selections and tactics. The effort and enjoyment in playing the game seems to have returned for the players as well, and that can impact things as much as anything else. But results have to start coming and I’m not blind to that even with my optimistic lens. Results are ultimately what matter and while the how does as well, Milan has got to find a way to get on a run and make up some ground.
And that leads us to this last point and that’s what can we expect as Milan chase the top 4. Well, we don’t have a large Conceição body of work with Milan yet, but so far he’s had 5 games in change and has won 3, drawn 1, and lost 1. If these were all league games that’s 10 out of a possible 15 points. That’s just about the pace Milan will need to hit 70 points this season, which is right about where the 4th place team usually sits and is where the current 4th place point total is projected to end this season as well. With winnable games in 4 of the next 5 league games, including 4 at home and only 1 against a top half of the table team (Inter), Milan could easily take 10-12 points in this stretch and I think be within 3 points of 4th. Here’s hoping anyway…
What Happened in Serie A
Napoli (1st) got a big win, 3-2, over Atalanta (3rd) in the biggest game of the round. It was a great back and forth game but Napoli did enough to take all 3 points back to Naples. Clearly the Kvaratskhelia drama and move to PSG didn’t bother Napoli and their lone-competition schedule may be the thing that aids their run at a Scudetto against other teams needing to balance European commitments. Atalanta for their part, are on a little bit of a bad spell in the league after getting to the top of the table, having drawn in the 3 previous league games before this loss.
Inter (2nd) had a convincing 3-1 win over Empoli (15th) and are 3 points back of Napoli but with a game in hand. Empoli have lost 5 of their last 6 games (drawn the other) after I said they were looking good regarding hitting that magic 30 points in the league table as they sat on 19 points after 15 games. Well, now they’re on 20 points in 21 games and things aren’t so certain. A turnaround, even a minor one, would be immensely helpful in their push to remain in the top flight.
Lazio (4th) returned to the winning column with a 3-0 win over Hellas Verona (18th), a boon after winning only 1 of their previous 5 league games. Fiorentina (6th) drew 1-1 with Torino (11th) and are now winless in their last 6 games in the league and 7 game overall. Bologna (7th) continue their good run of form, beating Monza (20th) 3-1 after conceding a 4th minute goal to Daniel Maldini.
Roma (9th) beat Genoa (12th) with a couple of second half goals, 3-1. Claudio Ranieri has turned their ship around as they’ve won 6 out of their last 9 in all competitions, and have 14 out of their last 21 possible league points. They still have quite a ways to go to get into the European spots but anything is possible. Finally, the last of the top half of the table teams, Udinese (10th), lost badly at Como (13th) by a score of 4-1. Como, it seems right now at least, is doing enough to stay in the top flight as they sit on 22 points in 21 games and would sit above the 30-ish points needed to avoid relegation at this pace.
Finally, the matchups of mid and bottom of the table teams, Cagliari (14th) beat Lecce (17th) 4-1 and Parma (16th) drew 1-1 against Venezia (19th). Cagliari are the hottest of these 4 teams, having won 7 out of 9 possible points the last 3 games after losing all 5 of their previous games. It’s a nice little streak they’re on to get a little breathing room from the relegation zone.
Now, ratings.
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
MAIGNAN 6 – Got wrong-footed on the opening goal as the ball took a nasty deflection off of Royal. I think he could’ve done better on the second Juve goal even if a save was still unlikely.
Goal Keeping Overall 6
Defense
ROYAL 6 – Wasn’t bad but seeing Kalulu play well, in his secondary position, just reminded me how little he contributes to the team.
GABBIA 6.5 – Did fine returning to the starting lineup.
TOMORI 6.5 – Left on an island trying to chase down Weah for Juve’s second goal. In the end got beat by a solid shot and placement (as did Maignan). Otherwise was solid.
HERNÁNDEZ 6.5 – Did ok. Little bit of a step down from previous games in terms of impact. Had a couple well-struck balls that ended up not finding anyone and had a header at the far post that I thought he did a decent job with but just couldn’t get enough behind it.
Defense Overall 6.5
Midfield
BENNACER 6 – Didn’t do anything wrong per se but it feels like Milan are at a disadvantage with him on the pitch. I don’t know if he’ll return to form but I wish he’d try finding it coming on as a substitution (I know bodies are thin in the midfield and at winger and it’s as much a reason for his playing as anything else).
FOFANA 7 – Best game under Conceição. I thought he defended and recovered the ball well in what was a designed sitting-back game plan. Would’ve loved one of his through balls to a streaking Leão.
Midfield Overall 6.5
Forwards
MUSAH 6 – Did ok but when Milan really needs him to do winger stuff his toolbox is just short of what’s required. Very similar to Saelemaekers as winger in that regard.
REIJNDERS 6.5 – A little better than last game as I thought he pushed the ball forward a little bit more than he has been under Conceição. But he’s still not impacting the game like he was before with Fonseca. It’s almost like he’s scared or hesitant to get forward and into the box as much.
LEÃO 6.5 – Had a couple of nice runs down the left side when Milan countered but just wasn’t able to do much once he got down into the 18 yard box. Yes, I think he could’ve done more but he’s a winger and he needs guys to play off of and feed the ball and too often there just wasn’t enough bodies getting forward.
ABRAHAM 6 – Had a solid first 10 minutes, then vanished for the next 65 minutes, then reemerged for his last 5 minutes before getting subbed off. Ultimately, a striker needs to be fed the ball, be it in the box or coming back to help in the buildup. I thought he got the ball initially, then either Juve took him away or Milan stopped utilizing him but either way it wasn’t for the better.
Forwards Overall 6.5
Subs
JIMENEZ 6 – Did fine.
CAMARDA 6 – Mostly invisible.
TERRACCIANO 6 – He played.
JOVIC 6 – He’s alive! And had a couple of productive touches, which considering he’s been missing since August, is…good?
Subs Overall 6
Coaching
CONCEIÇÃO 6 – I thought Conceição did ok. I liked the gameplan as they seemed to anticipate Juventus coming out aggressive and it resulted in a solid and fun first half. Not sure what happened at halftime as the air was sucked out of the team, which was very different from the other games under Conceição. Regardless, Juventus took advantage even of it even if it was an unfortunate deflection that opened up the scoring for them.
I’m still high on Conceição and he needs time to get his philosophy accustomed to and put into place at Milan. Man, I’d love just 6 points back from those first 4-5 games that Fonseca threw away. Although maybe he’d still be here if he didn’t so maybe not?
Final Thoughts
Games are aplenty but wanted to get out some ratings and share just a few thoughts before Milan get back on the pitch tomorrow against Girona in Champions League. We’ll go over where things stand with the completion of the Champions League games today in the matchday post, so stay tuned for that.
Until then, Forza Milan.
gillis
