A 3-0 win? Vs a minnow? At home? What the hell is going on?!
It was a welcomed sight and outcome to be sure, but I’m not convinced we saw a changing of the tide for this Allegri-led Milan vs smaller teams. Let’s dive in.
It was a nice 3-0 win and pretty comfortable at that even if Milan didn’t break through until just before the halftime whistle. They got two more just after halftime and the comfortable win was in hand. All of that was good.
What was less good was how Milan came out of the gates with more of that meandering Allegri attack. Nothing aggressive, nothing indicating they wanted to take the game to the opponent. This is the stuff I’ve been crying about for some time since Allegri came back. It’s not advantageous to play this way against weaker sides, particularly at home. We’ve already seen it this season with dropped points against teams they absolutely should’ve beaten.
For me, what was even more disappointing was that Hellas Verona seemed like they wanted to get out and play for large chunks of the game. Yes, when Milan starting moving into their final third, they dropped everyone back and really packed it in but I never felt they were parking the bus as a default tactic. With a more offensive approach, and Hellas willing to press and get up the pitch, Milan could have exploited this with aggressive progressive passes and generated a ton of chances. Instead nearly all the chances, especially in the first half, came from dead balls (mostly corners). Playing it safe, kicking it sideways and backwards is a dangerous way to play against small and bottom of the table teams.
So you guys don’t think I’m just a Debbie-downer, here are some things I liked about the game. The obvious was Nkunku breaking the duck. It was a gift to get the penalty where he did in the box and the position he was in but it definitely was a penalty. He got to take the penalty kick and nailed it. Duck broken. As is somewhat common when a breakthrough happens, more goals come and he followed a wonderful effort and shot from Modrić that Montipo barely kept out and Nkunku made a good trailing run and tapped in the rebound. I don’t know if the floodgates are indeed open (time will tell) but it’s good to see him get on the scoresheet because Milan need goals from the position.
Another good thing was seeing Pulisic get yet another goal, this time the opener on a corner after a wonderful flick-on by Rabiot. I don’t know that Milan has a smarter offensive player than him, and he’s definitely one of the smarter players on the team along with Modrić and Rabiot. Pulisic seems to just read the game in ways others don’t and always gets himself into advantegeous positions. One stat that I think emphasizes this is that he’s 10 goals in all competitions on just 21 shots (48% but 8 for 15 in the league – 53%), with 14 of those (66%) on target. Yes, his finishing is and has always been good but you get those percentages by making good runs and getting into good positions to tap in crosses or rebounds. Most goals don’t come via the spectacular, they come because you’ve done most of the work before the final touch is needed.
Finally, seeing Jashari more is only cementing my hopes for him. He’s got a stoutness to him defensively but his vision and willingness and desire to play the more vertical and progressive pass is exactly what Allegri Ball 2.0 needs. I hope Allegri doesn’t reel it in with him, restricting his desire to play that way nor do I want to see it result in him playing less than he should because Allegri wants to play it conservatively. Time will tell here but I know I’m excited for Jashari…and worried about how Allegri will use him.
What Happened in Serie A
It’s a good thing Milan won because all the other top 4 contenders did too. In fact, only one team in the top half of the table lost, two drew (to each other), and the rest won. Good thing Milan took care of business.
Inter (1st) got a Lautaro goal about halfway through the second half to beat Atalanta (10th) 0-1 and stay at the top of the table. Napoli (3rd) also won, easily beating beating Cremonese (12th) 0-2. It was a quality result in a game I thought for sure would be a letdown after winning the Supercoppa. Roma (4th) beat Genoa (17th) today 3-1 to remain in the top 4.
Juventus (5th) continued their solid form, winning their 4th straight game and 7 of their last 8 by beating Pisa (19th) 0-2. Spalletti has really turned things around for them but let’s see how long the new coach bump lasts. Como (6th) got back in the win column after beating Lecce (16th) 0-3. Bologna (7th) drew 1-1 to Sassuolo (9th) and are winless in their last 4. Rounding out the top half of the table, Lazio (8th) also drew Udinese (11th) to the same 1-1 score line.
Finally, Cagliari (14th) beat Torino (13th) 1-2 and Parma (15th) beat Fiorentina (20th) 1-0, bringing Fiorentina back down to earth after their surprising 5-1 defeat of Udinese the round before. The bottom of the table is just weird and almost as tight as the top of the table. It should get really interesting for this lot as the calendar begins to shift into the spring months.
Now, ratings.
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
MAIGNAN 7 – All I could find was this praise Jesus pic, although he didn’t need him as Hellas only managed 1 shot on target the whole day.
Goal Keeping Overall 7
Defense
TOMORI 7 – Solid.
DE WINTER 7 – Solid.
PAVLOVIĆ 7 – Solid.
Defense Overall 7
Midfield
SAELEMAEKERS 7 – Are we back to flailing shots into the stands Saelemaekers?
LOFTUS-CHEEK 7 – I like when he’s just a box-to-box guy. Yes he’s been showing up in the box here and there but Milan isn’t relying on him for offensive. That’s the key.
MODRIĆ 7.5 – The 10 days off seemed to help him the most. January is busy for Milan with the Como round 16 game to make up. Allegri needs to manage him.
RABIOT 7.5 – Played really well. Great flicked header that found Pulisic.
BARTESAGHI 7 – Quietly solid. Crazy how consistent he’s been. And he just turned 20 years old yesterday!
Midfield Overall 7.5
Forwards
NKUNKU 8.5 MOTM – He broke the duck! Well, the league duck. But still! It’s something.
PULISIC 8 – Him and Modrić consistently make the smartest movements of the team. Always seem to be in the right spots at the right times.
Forwards Overall 8
Subs
JASHARI 6.5 – Love his vision and willingness to make the more aggressive pass. Can’t wait to see more of him.
FOFANA 6 – Actually nice getting him back. He’s been working well with the RWB and anytime he’s not shooting, the better.
ATHEKAME 6 – He played.
RICCI 6 – He played.
ODOGU NA – First league appearance! Congrats!
Subs Overall 6
Coaching
ALLEGRI 6 – Winning 3-0 and getting a 6 for the rating?! Wahhhh?
Yes, I think Hellas Verona’s game plan really helped Allegri out as I mentioned in the editorial above. What happens if the minnow doesn’t want to play an open game? I worry Allegri Ball 2.0 isn’t up for the challenge and what a shame it would be if we missed out on a winnable Scudetto because Allegri was too scared to attack a provincial side…
Final Thoughts
A much needed win and a convincing one at that. Need more of these and hopefully we can get a whole bunch of them between now and the end of January.
Next game on Friday at 2:45pm EST/7:45pm GMT vs Cagliari at the Unipol Domus. No fun.
Forza Milan.
gillis
