Ok. That didn’t go like we wanted. And yes, I am disappointed even though I don’t really care about the Coppa Italia. With the season this team has had, it would’ve been a nice pick-me-up as we near the end of the season – a pick-me-up in confidence, money, and some form of European play for next season. But they didn’t get it done so let’s talk about it.
The first 45 minutes or so saw a very fun and open game, with both teams getting into the other’s final third. Leão was the difference from the league game last Friday, as he was motivated and causing Bologna a lot of problems. Bologna had a couple of solid build up plays that ended when Maignan shut them down. After halftime though is where things changed.
Bologna continued their press but started to press even higher. With more guys pressing a bit more forward on the pitch, over the top was there to be exploited. Bologna countered that with having Skorupski, their keeper, play aggressively off his line and attack balls over the top. With where they were forcing Milan to attempt this from on the pitch, it provided Skorupski an easy read to choose to attack and break up the play or to stay back on his line.
So what could Milan have done? Well the more straightforward thing for me would’ve been to bring in Tammy Abraham to play a hold up role and playing off of him. Bringing in João Felix and switching to a 4-2-3-1 also could’ve helped, as the 3-4-2-1 lacked a CAM who could break lines with his dribbling or passing. Milan also could have invited pressure deeper in their final third so they could then go over the top to make Skorupski think twice about coming that far out to try and clear it if sticking with the same lineup was preferred. There are surely other options but those are the ones I can think of right now.
Defensively Milan did pretty well, forcing most of Bologna’s shots from outside the box. The play that resulted in Bologna’s goal was a very close offside run by Orsolini (he looked on but it was close), but defended well by Theo, as he had a great sliding tackle. Unfortunately the ball fortuitously found Ndoye and he made a nice play to get a shot off from close range near the 6 yard box.
It was a very frustrating way to concede a goal. Don’t get me wrong, Bologna executed well and credit to them. But that Bologna scored on a play that all things being equal, Milan defended well and were a bit unlucky, is frustrating. I’m sure Bologna fans feel that way about Pulisic’s goal in the game last Friday that gave Milan the lead. Although Milan was generating chances at that point in the game, Bologna initially stopped a João Felix shot and it deflected and landed nicely for Pulisic, who slotted it home. Sometimes the bounces go your way.
Overall this had a very similar feel to the previous game, with a high pressing Bologna side trying to create turnovers deep in the Milan half and dangerous opportunities. I don’t know that that part of it worked super well, but it did make it hard for Milan to have much meaningful possession at times. Leão being out there did change things, especially initially, but Bologna eventually shut that down as well. It was a close game and Milan got the short end of it. It was not some catastrophic display, but what comes out of this might be…
Things rightfully pivot to what happens now as we head into the summer. With 2 games left and still a viable path to 5th, what will making 5th or not making 5th mean for the club? Does it matter? It is kind of a grey area.
I don’t know if finishing 6th and making Conference League changes anything (probably not), and finishing completely out of Europe almost certainly points to big changes. Post game comments from Furlani seem to support this happening already even before the final league table is complete.
I have a hard time guessing what Gerry & Co. might do. I feel this management is going to make a change, not because they believe it’s warranted, but because they think they have to do something. And that scares me…making a change for the sake of making a change and not having a real vision or plan. THAT is how you end up back in a banter era…
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
MAIGNAN 7 – Maignan has returned to form over the last 2 months and this game was no exception. While many others gave average or mediocre performances, his was solid.
Goal Keeping Overall 7
Defense
TOMORI 6 – Those ugly unnecessary challenges he occasionally does reared their ugly head again after not seeing them since he returned to the starting lineup. Thankfully it didn’t prove to be catastrophic but it needs to go back to the do not use bin.
GABBIA 6.5 – The biggest play he was involved in was the non-call when he got deliberately elbowed in the chest. I like VAR and I think it needs to be better applied, including cases like this. Cheap shots will continue unless they get punished, even retroactively in the form of fines and suspensions. It’s not why Milan lost but it would’ve changed the game. Get dirty play out of the game.
PAVLOVIC 7 – Good solid game all around.
Overall Defense 6.5
Midfield
JIMENZ 6 – This form has gradually dropped over the last few games as his impact has faded. Milan is going to need to reevaluate their right side in the offseason and surely look at how they can utilize his skillset. Maybe a late game closer?
FOFANA 6 – His and Reijnders inability to break the press was part of the reason Milan struggled so much. Probably needed him to play further back and try and get Reijnders forward. Instead it was flipped for the most part and Fofana wasn’t able to deliver.
REIJNDERS 6 – Invisible. Thinking about that big payday with ManCity?…
HERNÁNDEZ 6.5 – Not exactly standout but had one of the better games on the team. Was solid getting forward and defending.
Midfield Overall 6
Forwards
PULISIC 6.5 – Next to Leão, was the only other player who got himself or a teammate into a dangerous position. Getting held and the ref calling him for the foul and then carding him for dissent was a turning point in the match, as Milan started to struggle after that.
LEÃO 7 – Milan’s best player for the game. Nearly every dangerous moment offensively came from something he did. Problem was almost no one decided to help.
JOVIĆ 6 – Just didn’t do enough up top despite trying to be the one to come back to help and distribute. He can do that but it’s not one of his strengths and his play just wasn’t game-changing.
Forwards Overall 6.5
Subs
WALKER 5 – Wasn’t good at all. Had a couple of bad plays where he didn’t continue a run and then had a terrible switching of play ball that went out when Milan desperately needed possession.
FELIX 6 – Couple of nice moments but not very impactful.
GIMÉNEZ 6 – Hard to rate him as Milan couldn’t get him the ball.
CHUKWUEZE NA – Same great energy as last game, unfortunately not much time or impact.
ABRAHAM NA – Should’ve started.
Subs Overall 6
Coaching
CONCEIÇÃO 5 – The start was fine as was the lineup…mostly. The problem lay in the adjustments, as Milan just couldn’t charge back the way we have seen them do many times under Conceição. I talked a lot at the beginning about what I thought might of helped, so nothing more to add on that here.
Now Milan has to win out and maybe get a result or two from others to get to Europe…if that’s still the goal. Will it matter for Conceição? Probably not. This fact is depressing. I like him and I don’t know that there’s a better solution within Milan’s budget. Sigh.
Final Thoughts
This loss bummed me out more than I thought it would, mostly because of what it likely means for Conceição and this summer. Milan are back in Rome (or maybe they never left?) this Sunday for round 37, as they take on Roma. A win there makes the final round very interesting in the chase for Europe, something I’ll dive into in the matchday post on Sunday.
Forza Milan
gillis
