That was not what I was expecting but considering how things have been going, clearly I…and I’m assuming you…will take it!
In a not at all guaranteed comeback, Milan keeps their outside chance at the top 4 on life support, their Europa hopes alive, and maybe just maybe help Conceição survive to the summer. But we’re still a long way away from all of that, so let’s discuss this game and what it may mean moving forward.
As stated in the matchday, I didn’t care for the starting lineup because I don’t like sitting your best player. And yes, Leão is still hands down Milan’s best player. But that doesn’t mean we didn’t see some good things.
I thought Bondo was very solid as the DM mostly because he kept it simple and did DM things, something Fofana has partially abandoned during the last couple of months. Theo looked good and had 2 assists wiped off the boards due to offsides. The team looked more organized and aside from a terrible pass by Reijnders that spurred a counter that led to Lecce’s first goal, I thought the subpar lineup did ok.
Still, Milan did need Leão to come in and save them and he put in an excellent half. He assisted on the game winner to Pulisic with a beautiful cross to the far post – a pass he makes often but that usually goes out of bounds because no one is there. Pulisic being there is one of the many examples of why, all things being equal, I want players with the appropriate skillsets in the appropriate roles. Musah or Jimenez on the wing or RLC as the CAM, Milan suffer in the end because missed opportunities, either because they can’t convert or aren’t even in the proper position to take advantage of a good play, hurt more than their running or defensive efforts contribute. There are other players for that, we need these positions to generate offense.
Speaking of players generating offense, can I take a moment and just stress how dominating Leão was and what he was doing. Yes, he assisted on the game winner to Pulisic but João Felix’s fluffed shot that ended up going off of the Lecce player for an own goal was perfect and should have been an assist. Before that he found Musah in front of goal and picked him out of the crowd and placed it on a platter, only for Musah to completely butcher the header. Another assist that wasn’t.
Leão’s success, and that of the team, I believe was largely due to being able to practice for a full week, something that hadn’t occurred since before Christmas (Leão even brought up how important the practice time was in the post match presser). There was time to rest and recover, train, go over tactics, but also correct things, things that had turned in to bad habits. Leão’s success largely came from him being wide and using his pace, something that while I don’t know for sure, sure does seem like an item they focused on in training. Even Fofana seemed to play better and more like the September-mid January version because he didn’t get as far forward and stayed where he is mostly needed.
The irony in all of this for me is that these are all things I was pointing out since Conceição took over and yet I feel was largely ignored. Everyone went to, Conceição is a bum or can’t coach or the team is devoid of talent and needs to be rebuilt. Yes, this is only one game but there was tangible improvement in positioning, movement, and execution because Conceição and the players had more time. This doesn’t mean they’re going to win every game. Sh*t, this game needed a comeback. But it does mean, and it’s something I’ve expected and hoped Milan and Conceição could survive until but ultimately couldn’t, that getting out of that game every 3-4 days cadence would help especially considering the circumstances of a new coach and integrating the new coach’s philosophy and new players arriving during the winter mercato.
One last thing that I wanted to point out and that’s that Milan’s best moments in this game mostly came via Theo in the first half (2 assists that got chalked off), and Leão in the second half with the game-winning assist but really should’ve had at least one more on Felix’s mishit that ended up as an own goal (I would add Musah’s botched header as well).
Milan is better when them on the pitch. Period. And this idea that Leão is better as an impact sub needs to stop too. In the last 4 years there’s only 3 left wingers with better goal/assists numbers in all of Europe: Mbappe (170g/a), Vinicius (123 g/a), Son (92 g/a), and then Leão (91 g/a). I’m sure I don’t need to tell you but those other guys have had MUCH better players around them. Heck even Son had Harry Kane for 2.5 those 4 years. So please, just stop. Yes, he’s having a down year and yes he’s not the most defensive-minded winger, but his job is to create and he does that as well as the best of them.
What Happened in Serie A
The top 3 remain unchanged as all 3 teams secured 3 points in their respective matches. But, not all top 3 teams were convincing, as Inter (1st) needed 3 goals to get past bottom of the table Monza (20th), winning 3-2 after being down 2-0 initially. It wasn’t looking great for Inter but they did enough to remain at the top of the table.
Napoli (2nd) held on to beat Fiorentina (8th) 2-1 after being up 2-0. Napoli controlled much of the match and it was one of their better performances of the last month. Fiorentina continue their slide, with this being their 5th loss in the last 6 games (4 of the losses in 5 league games).
Atalanta (3rd) put the BEAT DOWN on Juventus (4th) in Turin, winning 4-0. All the same people who were saying Juventus is a Scudetto contender last week tucked their tails and are now largely calling for Motta’s ouster and for the roster to be blown up. Any of this stuff sound familiar?…
Lazio (5th) drew with Udinese (10th) 1-1 while Bologna (6th) continued their solid form by beating Hellas Verona (15th) 2-1. Bologna have won 3 straight in the league and have only lost 1 in their last 14 games across all competitions. Definitely playing well but it should be noted that a good chunk of this run hasn’t included teams from the top half of the table. In fact, Bologna play 8 teams in the top 10 of the league table in their remaining 10 games, a murderer’s row to end the season. Needless to say I’m skeptical they remain in the top 6 after all is said and done.
Roma (7th) continue their solid run, taking a Soule goal in the opening minute to go on and win 1-0 over Empoli (18th). Ranieri’s men have won 7 of their last 8 games across all competitions, including 6 straight overall. One thing Roma’s run, as well as Bologna’s and Juve’s until this past weekend, has got me wondering if all of these runs have come too soon. We saw Napoli, Fiorentina and Lazio have similar runs back in the fall but all of them suffered negative spells as well. Milan have yet to have one of these positive runs, maybe they get on one and maybe they time it out just right?…right at the end of the season that sees them grab the 4th spot for first time all season after the final matchday of the season?…one can hope, right?
Rounding out the remaining games, Torino (11th) drew Parma (17th) 1-1, Genoa (12th) drew Cagliari (14th) 1-1, and Como (13th)…you guessed it, drew Venezia (19th) 1-1. Perhaps unsurprisingly, all 6 teams stayed exactly in the same spot in the table from the week before. Could be worse I guess…
Now, ratings.
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
SPORTIELLO 6 – Couldn’t do much on the first goal as I think it was just a brilliant strike. But seemed flat footed on the second. Maybe Maignan just needs to play through his poor run of form.
Goal Keeping Overall 6
Defense
WALKER 6.5 – Solid if unspectacular.
GABBIA 6.5 – Maybe could’ve closed down Krstovic better on the first goal but with how far away they were he hedged so Krstovic wouldn’t get by him – a solid hedge – but then Krstovic made a hell of a play.
THIAW 6.5 – Was fine.
HERNÁNDEZ 7.5 – Didn’t end up getting credit for either assist but doesn’t mean he didn’t excel on either play.
Defense Overall 6.5
Midfield
BONDO 7 – Solid all around. Didn’t do anything special but stayed in position and broke up play and the whole team benefitted from it. Solid debut, worth of minutes moving forward.
MUSAH 6.5 – Was ok but did better once Leão and Felix came on and was asked (forced?) to stay back more in the double pivot. Big shock, right? Not being asked to do things he doesn’t really have the skillset for and then doing the things he can do well, well? Rocket science.
Midfield Overall 6.5
Forwards
JIMENEZ 6.5 – I mean, wasn’t bad but didn’t really contribute getting forward. Maybe not a huge shock.
REIJNDERS 7 – Again, ok as the CAM but was better back in the double pivot. Something I’ve been seeing more and more of you realizing is the case. Before all the winter signings arrived he was one of the better options for the CAM but now he impacts the game more from the double pivot. Needs to stay there.
PULISIC 9 MOTM – Funny, he’s in the LW position because that’s where he started the game, but aside from the releasing pass to Theo for the first offsides goal, he did all of his damage at RW after Leão came on. He drew the penalty, made the penalty, then got on the end of Leão’s cross for the winner.
GIMÉNEZ 6.5 – Becoming more and more clear to me that he can finish. Also becoming clear to me that his first touch is kind of garbage and he doesn’t maneuver around the box as well or as much as he should. Things to work on.
Forwards Overall 7
Subs
LEÃO 8 – LOVED how wide he stayed. Was perfect and showed how deadly he can be out there. Made 3 perfect passes, 2 of which ended up as goals. More of this, please.
FELIX 6 – Did ok and even though he fluffed the shot that ended up being an own goal for Lecce, he made the correct run and was in the right place, something we haven’t gotten a lot of with Reijnders as the CAM or RLC before him. And you can’t score if you don’t get in the right positions. It wouldn’t surprise me if he got on a little run here soon.
ABRAHAM 6.5 – The passion, effort, and smarts. I love it. I know he’s not everyone’s favorite but he does a lot of the little things that Giménez isn’t doing and it shows.
FOFANA 6.5 – Better! Stay back, my friend.
SOTTIL 6.5 – I have no idea why he was put in as a RB, probably to get aggressive chasing goals but it was still an odd substitution. To his credit, he did a serviceable job. Proving to be a solid player.
Subs Overall 6.5
Coaching
CONCEIÇÃO 6 – Another early conceded goal from another unforced error but can’t really put that on him. I can put the suspect lineup on him though and he needs to start Leão especially if he can get him sticking to the sideline.
But despite those things, I thought the team looked better. Sure, still far from perfect but they got back to a lot of the basics that are often lost during a downward turn. Bad habits form and you need practice time to get out of it and they were finally afforded some. So while this was better, I’m expecting even more progress this weekend vs Como. Then an international break, something I’m…happy? about?…then Napoli.
Final Thoughts
Better. That’s the word for me after this. Better.
Como on Saturday.
Forza Milan.
gillis
