Well, that didn’t go as planned. Like much of the season, unfortunately. With Milan’s chances at a top 4 finish gone except mathematically…although that will be here soon enough…there are few things to play for remaining. But, before we get to one of those said things, the 2nd leg of the Coppa Italia semifinal vs Inter, let’s briefly chat about the 1-0 loss to Atalanta.
Unlike so many games this season, I don’t really have a lot to discuss because overall I think Milan simply lost. Sure, there were things they could’ve tried or changed, but overall sometimes you just get beat. Sometimes the other team has the right defense or counter punch and just executed enough and better than you.
The things I do wish Milan did was start Tammy Abraham or at least bring him in earlier. I think Reijnders should’ve been told to carry the ball more, effectively beating his man and running with the ball. I think if not him then Pulisic should have. Sure, we saw moments of it during the game but it wasn’t intentional. Absent of this, João Felix could’ve been useful as all of this reminded me of Spalletti’s Napoli. They too took away the outside by playing tight man to man and effectively leveraged the sideline to help defend against wide play. They essentially dared Milan to beat their guys 1 on 1 (or sting them on the counter) and Milan did in almost every meeting they had that season. But in this game for the most part, Milan couldn’t replicate it.
So where does this leave Milan? Well Champions League is out of reach. Europa is in play, and sadly so is Conference League, but Europa might be more easily attained via the Coppa Italia. I think Milan is playing well enough to beat Inter on Wednesday, because these non-Pioli teams seem to understand how to beat Inter better than he did AND because Milan look better overall these last 3 games (and especially playing in the 3-man defense, warts and improvement notwithstanding). I still stand by not really caring about the Coppa, but if it ups the chances that Conceição stays then I guess I’m on board.
Conceição staying or not really is the most important question as this season wraps up. The politics of keeping him are dicey to be sure, but I’m still unconvinced that Conte, De Zerbi, or Allegri would be much better (I’d reluctantly take Allegri between those options but yuck). Sarri I like but would take a full season to really bear fruit and back to back down seasons is hard to withstand in the media and with a good chunk of fans. Italiano isn’t leaving Bologna, at least not for Milan, and just about any other name carries risk if you’re looking for someone with a definitive track record at a big club both in general but also in Serie A. And we haven’t even gotten to player movement and acquisition and what might happen there.
We obviously have time still to see how things play out and time to discuss, as this is going to be one of the more consequential summers in about 5 years because the drop off has been so severe this season. Maybe one good thing in all of this is that Milan is clearly better, at least on paper, than what they achieved this season, so a regression upward is probably in the cards. But Cardinale & Co. will have to be better than they have been but man…that track record has me nervous.
What Happened in Serie A
We’re going to mostly bypass this section for this post match since only 6 of the 10 games of the round have been played with the death of the Pope (no! Loved Pope Francis). So we’ll have to catch up next week.
What I will say here is Inter (1st) choked late…and it was a choke and I don’t want to hear about they’re competing on multiple fronts. They are. But giving up the winner in the dying minutes is choking…so they choked, losing 1-0 to Bologna (4th currently). Napoli (2nd) won unconvincingly, beating Monza (20th) 1-0. Both teams are now tied on points at the top but Inter own the tiebreakers.
Bologna sure seems like they might pull off 4th but the tough matchups continue to come until the end of the season. The odds are still against them but they’re not insurmountable. Should be interesting.
Now, ratings.
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
MAIGNAN 6.5 – Wasn’t to blame on the goal as it would’ve been a superhuman stop, but didn’t exactly excel. Still, happy to see him out there after the scary collusion last week.
Goal Keeping Overall 6.5
Defense
TOMORI 6.5 – Like Maignan, played well but not extraordinary.
GABBIA 7 – Under the radar solid
PAVLOVIĆ 7 – Solid. Heck of a block to save a goal in the second half.
Defense Overall 7
Midfield
JIMENEZ 6 – Couple of good moments but mostly mid.
FOFANA 7 – Threaded some beautiful balls and reminded us he has that in his toolkit.
REIJNDERS 6.5 – Just out of sync for most of the game. I also wanted to see him take on guys more as he was one of the few guys on the pitch who could.
HERNÁNDEZ 6.5 – Pretty big drop off from last game. With Atalanta taking away the sidelines, it really limited his impact.
Midfield Overall 6.5
Forwards
PULISIC 6 – In a game where Milan needed guys to make some individual 1 on 1 plays, he just didn’t.
JOVIĆ 6 – Needed to do more and probably do better on that one really good chance he had. Yes it was a tough shot with where the ball was relative to his body but got to get that on target.
LEÃO 6.5 – Did well when he got the ball but didn’t get it nearly as much as he should.
Forwards Overall 6
Subs
FELIX 6 – A moment or two where he maybe could have done something but didn’t.
SOTTIL 6 – Was fine.
ABRAHAM 6 – Didn’t do much but I wish he was given more time.
CHUKWUEZE NA – He played.
GIMÉNEZ NA – He played too.
Subs Overall 6
Coaching
CONCEIÇÃO 6 – I thought everything was mostly fine as the team looked better and more compact. More sturdy. I would’ve started Abraham or at least gotten him in there earlier. The lack of a CAM hurt the team as Atalanta did the thing I was worried about (and mentioned above in the intro), namely taking away the outside by playing tight man to man and leveraging the sideline to help defend. We’ve seen booting deep balls over the top work before, especially during the Pioli years when we would somehow get all 3 points. But not on this day.
Final Thoughts
Kind of weird week with Easter and the Pope dying and the games being postponed and rescheduled. Then of course tomorrow is the 2nd leg of the Coppa Italia against Inter and maybe one more opportunity to win…or at least achieve, something this season.
Until tomorrow…Forza Milan.
gillis
