Milan somehow…against all odds, didn’t lose to Inter again this season. Having won 2 and drawn 2 vs Inter, Milan have guaranteed they will have won the season matchups against their bitter rival. In a season where many things have gone wrong, this is perhaps even more meaningful even if (and maybe especially) Inter add their 21st Scudetto.
Let’s dive into a few things about the game and then predict…no, SPECULATE about what this might…maybe…could…mean.
The most important thing this season, more than any season under Pioli, has been the squad selection. Don’t get me wrong, Pioli wasn’t perfect in this area either but he did enough other things right that it was a side note more times than not. But first under Fonseca and now Conceição, squad selection has been the biggest determining factor in what type of Milan we see.
Like with all Milan teams of the last 5 years, 9 out of 10 times Leão has to be out there when the game is in the balance. That’s the biggest thing and the thing Fonseca really failed to understand. After that I would argue Theo…yes, Theo…playing and then WHERE Reijnders plays is the next key. Theo is just too unique a weapon to bench. Like Leão, you have to make tactical sacrifices for him but you understand that and act accordingly.
But with Reijnders, I’ve really been banging the drum with this of late, he needs to be in the double pivot. That’s where he’s best in this Milan side because it’s where he best compliments the rest of the team. Like Tonali, he can carry the ball and make line-breaking passes. Then, and this is the big one, he’s really good at finding the available space and making runs into the box as the extra man. He’s a serviceable CAM but not better than Pulisic and not better than João Felix.
If you think about this game and even just the last 3 league games before this, every second half of those games were better for Milan because, yes, sometimes Leão came in, but the other piece was that Milan had a playmaker in the double pivot. For this game, we got that from the opening whistle and Milan went toe to toe with the league leaders. And to be honest, it was unsurprising. This Milan team CAN be this and should’ve been it all season.
Other things I liked in this game was Tammy Abraham and a Mike Maignan that has been missing far too much this season. For Tammy, the amount of work he does and the type of work is so important to this Milan. Like Giroud, he occupies the CBs in ways Giménez and Jovic don’t. He even trumps them in coming back and being part of the buildup, although to be fair to Giménez, he’s had good moments doing this too (and it’s something I want to see him develop).
Some of Milan’s most beautiful football all season, the most memorable plays, have often involved Tammy Abraham. The goal in this game is just another example of him using his skill, smarts, and technique to realize the defender (Bisseck) was off of him and feign like he was going to cut back centrally towards a running Fofana. Bisseck (and GK Martinez) knowing the space was there and able to see Fofana running towards it combined with Abraham’s feign, gave Abraham the room to turn and shoot and held Martinez long enough that he was still moving to the near post and his momentum would never allow him to get to anything cutting across him. I’m not saying he’s a €50M striker, I’m saying these types plays show he’s the type of player Milan needs and are in short supply in world football.
For Maignan, he was locked in all game and having a more organized yet still imperfect defense certainly helped. With guys doing a better job, he was able to focus on smaller segments of the field and the opponent’s attack, which meant he could give those threatening moments more of his attention. This improves reaction times and Mike looked like Mike again. We need more of this.
So does all of this mean Milan is back?! Well…probably not. Although the key here will be who Conceição decides to field. Leão needs to start every game. Like every game. There aren’t many stretches left with games every 3-4 days. Start and pull him early if needed but give yourself a chance to get the lead early because coming back is hard and typically doesn’t end well.
The other thing is getting the CAM selection correct. This needs to be Pulisic or João Felix unless it’s late and Milan has a comfortable lead. These last 4 games has seen Milan play well when it’s been Pulisic or Felix in that role. Reijnders can be the third option but pulling him from the double pivot means Fofana, Musah, or Bondo is the one getting forward and we’ve all seen how that has gone. We don’t want Milan’s best chances falling to these guys. It needs to be Reijnders.
Finally, the CBs have proven to be mostly a wash. Pavlovic has his negative moments but there isn’t anyone on the team who plays with his passion except maybe Tammy Abraham. Gabbia has been better of late but not spectacular. Really, if I’m being honest, I might put Tomori out there and see what happens. Tight up the defense combined with the correct lineup described above, and maybe Milan get hot these last couple of months.
Now, ratings.
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
MAIGNAN 8 – Vintage Magic Mike. Reaction saves, turning-into-a-wall saves, full extension saves. This performance had it all. I thought he maybe could’ve stopped Hakan’s shot that’s how locked in he was.
Goal Keeping Overall 8
Defense
WALKER 6.5 – Stayed back most of the game and had a couple of nice moments. Also had a whiffed clearance that almost resulted in a goal if not for Maignan.
GABBIA 7 – Quietly solid all game.
THIAW 6.5 – Was mostly solid but had a couple of late challenges and a really bad 1 on 1 moment late against Thuram. Like Walker, was probably lucky it didn’t turn into a goal.
HERNÁNDEZ 6.5 – Was ok, nothing stellar nor poor.
Overall Defense 6.5
Midfield
FOFANA 7 – Been MUCH better since Milan crashed out of Europe and they’ve gotten a little more training in including the international break. He’s been staying back and doing the DM work.
REIJNDERS 7 – I hope any non-believers are starting to convert. This is his best role on the team with the others currently on the squad.
Midfield Overall 7
Forwards
JIMENEZ 6 – I almost wanted to go lower but I don’t think he did anything catastrophically wrong. Plus, picking fights with Inter is always a plus.
PULISIC 6.5 – MUCH better than the Napoli game. Better movement, more involved. Solid option at CAM with his complete game.
LEÃO 7 – Like most times, even him just being out there alters the game. Didn’t assist or score but don’t know where Milan would be in this without him.
ABRAHAM 8 – SOOO glad he got that goal. Hard worker, great attitude, seems like he really wants to stay. He’s got 14 g/a in 1601 minutes this season across all competitions, or 1 g/a every 114 minutes (for reference, last season Giroud averaged 1 g/a every 123 minutes). Before you say it’s been mostly unimportant games, 6 of the 14 have been against Inter (2), Lazio, or in Champions League. That’s not nothing.
Forwards Overall 7
Subs
SOTTIL 6 – Very much a squad player, huh? Not a bad thing. Puts in the blue collar shift, doesn’t break the books. And for Milan, is Italian and there aren’t many on the team. Maybe they can swap him for Adli.
FELIX 6 – Not the best game but didn’t get a lot of time with both teams starting to play for the draw (it was 1-1) with the second leg looming.
GIMENEZ 6 – I think he’s a talented player but looking like the wrong type of player for a Leão-focused Milan. Might have to end up selling by the summer of 2026.
CHUKWUEZE NA – Good energy again. Playing motivated.
BONDO NA – Like Sottil, nothing flashy. Hard hat type of guy. I like him.
Subs Overall 6
Coaching
CONCEIÇÃO 7 – Earning points against Inter always results in a good rating. As mentioned plenty of times above, squad selection was and is the key. Notice how we don’t have to talk about how great this substitutions were and how they changed the game? Play the correct guys in the correct roles FROM THE GET-GO.
As for the strategy of the game, it was a familiar approach with a more defensive right side to counter Bastoni (and Dimarco usually but he was out) and with all the correct guys out there Milan went blow for blow with the vaulted Inter midfield. Yes, there were some guys missing for them but I just have to point to the other games this season to show that this approach works regardless. The key now is, will Conceição learn to do this vs the other teams?…
Final Thoughts
The chase for 4th in the league is just about dead and not really worth thinking about until Milan can string together some convincing wins combined with the other contenders dropping points. But Milan needs to just play better and give management some hard decisions to make. What if they finish in a European spot? What if they win another trophy? Does Conceição stay? That would be 2 trophies this season, the thing Milan Twitter always claims is the only thing that matters…
To put it bluntly, I don’t trust management to blow up the team and try and start from scratch. I mean, they had a damn good foundation and blew that to sh*t. It’s usually better to stick with what you know. Pioli’s firing is a still-to-fresh example of that.
Important game on Saturday vs Fiorentina.
Forza Milan
gillis
