How do you like them apples?! Ok, I don’t know that I’m THAT excited but it always feels good beating Inter and it doesn’t matter if they’re on the cusp of greatness or a bunch of bums. Milan, after struggling for years to beat Inter, has completely turned it around and has gone 3-2-0 this season against their city rivals, including winning at least one trophy and maybe two if they can take care of business in the Coppa Italia final vs Bologna.
None of this erases the poor league showing, but it does help ease some of that disappointment. Now they need to complete the task come May 14th.
A lot of what we saw in this game are things we’ve seen in every matchup between the two clubs this season. There was a lot of great open play, solid team and individual performances, and tactics that aided Milan’s efforts to turn the tide in a matchup they’ve been on the short end of for a while now. So while I’ll spare you some regurgitating of those themes, I did want to highlight a couple of things I noticed and then pivot to what a lot of the comments in the last post turned to after the game, namely where does Milan go from here starting with this summer.
The thing that really stuck out to me in this game was how much better Milan carried the ball from the back third of the pitch to the front third. It was the exact opposite of what we saw in the Atalanta game last weekend. I think this probably came down to two things: Milan made a concerted effort to do so and because Inter did it slightly – and less effectively – than Atalanta did. On the former, it was one of the things I talked about in the Milan-Atalanta post match as the middle of the pitch was pretty open in that game as well but Milan failed to take advantage of it and ultimately it cost them. With Reijnders being the best suited for this role, he did that in this game and corrected what I saw as his mistake in the previous game.
For the latter, Inter pressed hard all game but they pressed differently. Whereas Atalanta ran a tight man-to-man/man-marking approach, similar in intensity to Inter in this game, Atalanta worked hard to not allow the Milan players to turn with the ball, always pressuring them with their back to the Atalanta goal and rarely allowed the Milan players to turn. Inter on the other hand often allowed the Milan player to receive the ball and turn and I think that is what ended up costing them. Far too often Milan would turn and run with the ball, usually in acres of space and for a while. It rendered Inter’s press essentially worthless.
The other thing I really liked in this game was how much more involved Jović was in the buildup. He essentially did the thing I like so much about Tammy Abraham. That hold up play and providing an outlet and relief as Milan transition to attack. I still think Abraham is better at it but it’s a necessary component especially with one less midfielder out there. It’s something Conceição said as well in the post match conference, in addition to praising Pulisic for a lot of the grunt work he was doing.
Overall, it was a solid performance across the board. Leão was active much of the game, and while the assist didn’t come until the end, he was having success occupying Inter’s focus and opening it up for others. Reijnders as I mentioned above, was much better and he was rewarded with a goal. The much maligned defense, namely the CBs, put in their 3rd straight shift of quality defending and Milan got their 2nd shutout in 3 games. And this, the CBs, provides us a nice segue into the final thing I want to discuss: what does Milan do this summer.
There’s obviously still time and 6 games remaining (5 in the league), while not enough to catch the top 4, is plenty of time for further and continued evaluation of the club. I personally think there is really little to be gained, as we know what this team and Conceição are, but for others it can provide confidence in a particular direction for management to take. I’ve been on the record here, for a while now that I think Conceição needs to stay, both because of his performance (warts and all) and because the alternatives are even worse.
Regarding the players, and building off of the point about the CBs above, this really is a great example of what I often say when people resort to, so-and-so needs to go and/or we need to overhaul the club or improve nearly every position. Frankly, I find the, we have to buy better players argument, lazy and uncreative. The CBs are the perfect example. Many people have said, at one point or another this season, that each and every CB on the team needs to go. That Milan needs to overall the position and the quality isn’t good enough. The lack of clean sheets was all the evidence one needed to make this claim.
Well here we are, 3 games into a formation shift with 2 clean sheets and conceding just 1 goal in the other, and what do you know, it’s the same CBs. What this tells me is the biggest culprit to the previous formation failing was likely Fofana, as when in possession he would split the CBs in a quasi back-3 but would be too detached and it was that space the opponents exploited on the counter, which was often how teams scored against Milan. Milan now in a proper back-3, has switched a CB for the DM and things are suddenly much more sturdy. It’s THIS kind of stuff I’ve been talking about when critiquing Milan and Fonseca before (and his pissing contests!) and Conceição after. Get the right guys in the right formation. Adjust your tactics to fit the talent. You’d be surprised how good you actually are.
So with this in mind, and limited resources, I don’t think Milan have to do much this summer. Keep Conceição. Swap Tammy for Saelemaekers. Find out if Giménez can be productive on this team and if not, move him. If someone backs a dump truck up full of money for Reijnders, take it and reinvest it wisely (this makes me nervous with Cardinale & Co.). Figure out what to do with Theo and Maignan. Keeping them is fine if what people are offering isn’t enough and you don’t think you can adequately backfill as Champions League (and maybe a Scudetto) are worth more. With Maignan in particular, who I absolutely love, he would be the wisest to move because it’s the easier position to replace. Again, all things to consider including the many ones I didn’t mention (Chuk, Sottil, Walker, sell Royal if you’re sticking to the back-3, stuff like that).
Ok, with that out of the way. Now, ratings.
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
MAIGNAN 8 – Another great game by Maignan. Was all over the place and while a couple of his better stops came on plays deemed offsides, the stops were still top notch. Then of course that stop of the de Vrij header late. Mamma mia!
Goal Keeping Overall 8
Defense
TOMORI 7 – It’s been a nice turnaround for Tomori since switching to the back-3. He’s been utilizing his speed well and covering the parts he’s responsible for, plus plays with an emotion similar, if not exactly the same, as Pavlovic.
GABBIA 7 – Solid all game. Let’s hope the neck strain is minor.
PAVLOVIC 7.5 – Best of the back line. As good as the others but willing to get forward more and involve himself in the buildup. It looks odd…his long, stringy body, but it works! Just got to make sure there’s cover since he’s doing it on Theo’s side.
Overall Defense 7
Midfield
JIMENZ 7.5 – His best game in a while and that’s excluding the assist. He attacked and carried the ball well throughout the game. His lack of speed worries me, as I get flashbacks to Calabria (but Jimenez is better!), and he can lose his guy sometimes. But he’s young still and considering Real’s buyback clause, I’m fine waiting another year until he really breaks through.
FOFANA 7 – I don’t know that it’s fair to say I’ve been surprised he’s played so well in this new formation that requires him to do less DM work, as we’ve seen his other skillsets, like his passing, earlier this season. But it’s still surprising to me nonetheless since he was brought in specifically for the DM role.
REIJNDERS 8 – Much better game than last game despite a couple of poor decisions in the final third. I don’t expect him to be perfect but I feel like his decisions in the final third are 60/40 good and I want 70/30 or 80/20 ratios. Why am I being harsh? Because I think he can get there and truly be one of Europe’s best midfielders.
HERNÁNDEZ 7 – Solid all game. In both facets too!
Midfield Overall 7.5
Forwards
PULISIC 7 – Might be a tad high but after listening to Conceição’s press conference after the match, he praised Pulisic’s hard work and sacrifice for the team. That’s great! I’m glad he did and Milan won 3-0. But I’d rather have, say Fofana, doing that work and Pulisic helping to pull the offensive strings along with Leão.
JOVIĆ 8.5 MOTM – I don’t know that I’d take him over Tammy, or even Giménez, but mad props to him for seizing this opportunity and providing Milan with a goal-scoring threat up top. He’s working hard off the ball, keeping the CBs busy but also coming back to help, which has been key with one less midfielder in the formation. And of course the finishing has been clutch.
LEÃO 7.5 – Ran hot and cold during the match but had a couple of great balls back across goal and of course the layoff to Reijnders for the 3rd goal.
Forwards Overall 7.5
Subs
THIAW 6.5 – Wasn’t worried at all when he came in, as I’ve said many times this season, any one of the 4 CBs is fine.
LOFTUS-CHEEK 6 – Little bit rusty and slow. Maybe he shows something so we can sell him this summer.
ABRAHAM 6 – Solid in limited time. Was part of the buildup in the final goal, helping to pull the CBs to the edge of the box and delivering a nice flick to Theo.
BARTESAGHI NA – Bart! Love when he gets to play and want to see him get more minutes next season.
FELIX NA – He played.
Subs Overall 6
Coaching
CONCEIÇÃO 9 – Too high? I don’t think so. Plus, he’s still undefeated vs Inter, now 2-2-0 against his former team as a player.
The key for Conceição really has been what I mentioned in the matchday, this tucking of the wide player on the right regardless of the formation and not playing as high a line as Pioli. He’s shut down Inter’s two most common origins of attack: their left side (Bastoni and Dimarco) and Calhanoglu (Asllani)/Barella/Mkhitaryan. How good was this? It was the first time Milan has shut out Inter since a 0-0 draw in the 1st leg of the Coppa back in March 2022 – a span of 13 games – and the first time in a win since late December 2017 – a span of 24 games! Milan should keep him purely on this fact alone!
#ConceiçãoIN
Final Thoughts
Beating merda is always good and we need to savor this as one of the true positives of the season. Let’s see what they can do these final 6 weeks and hope management can take their heads out of their asses when the offseason arrives.
At Venezia on Sunday EARLY here in the states and especially me! (4:30am). Total bullsh*t.
Forza Milan
gillis
