With a round 21 game today, not much time to get out a post match but since I wasn’t able to get one out after the last game against Fiorentina, I didn’t want to go 2 straight games without sharing some thoughts. So let’s quickly dive in.
Now I was able to share some thoughts about the Fiorentina game in the Como-Milan matchday post but the more important thing was that I shared I was less concerned about the gameplan in this game against Como and how Allegri would have his men perform tactically. The game, like others vs top teams, allows Allegri to revert to his default and erases any need to deviate. So, we got a committed gameplan to stay back, absorb, remain firm in defense, and then patiently wait to sting them on the counter.
Aside from the corner where Como scored, Milan largely pulled off this plan. Nothing came from open play and while some might point to Maignan’s god-like performance as saving Milan, THAT is part of the gameplan: using one of Europe’s best keepers to complete the lockdown. It makes sitting back that much more enticing when you have someone who can pick up the breaks in defense and exemptional attempts by the opponent. Pioli used it too vs a smaller subset of teams but used it nonetheless (one of his follies was not using it against Inter more and it cost him a lot of those games).
Como for their part, took the bait. Like Cagliari a few games ago, they came out and wanted to attack-attack-attack and spent a TON of energy. The difference here was Milan was committed to the approach and while they conceded vs Cagliari, the commitment to the approach in this game allowed for better scoring opportunities, perhaps counterintuitively, because Milan continued to sit. Como got tired just like Cagliari but because Milan was sitting back and not trying to own possession, when they got to attack they had the whole pitch in front of them, whereas vs Cagliari they allowed them to back their tired legs into a low block and Milan couldn’t breakthrough.
These are ultimately the things I talk about knowing how to approach the opponent and picking a path and not in-betweening the approach. If you’re going to sit, then sit. If you’re going to try and win possession and attack, then field an attacking lineup and get the extra guy forward.
A few things before moving on to the rest of the league and player ratings.
I can’t stress how glad I am I was dead wrong about Rabiot. I take a lot of pride in being able to evaluate talent, especially young talent, and being able to spot a good player when others move on. Rabiot isn’t young but I definitely doubted his impact and importance to this Allegri-coached side. Modrić is Modrić and has been great, especially early in the season. But Rabiot is probably beginning to take the lead as the most important new addition to the team this season. He’s been that good.
Other things I wanted to acknowledge is, Leão doesn’t look fully fit. I know him and Pulisic have been banged up and it’s part of the reason they kind of each take a game off when the other starts, but Milan needs him healthy especially if/when they revert to a winger formation. Allegri needs to rest him this weekend, completely if possible, and start getting him healthy so Milan can benefit from that explosiveness that dominates the left side and his opponents. Despite all of this, he’s still getting it done. So, while some people be hating, he be producing. He’s now at 10 goals and assists in 1,022 minutes compared to Pulisic’s 12 goals and assists in 980 minutes. Not a huge difference there and it’s been continuing to shrink.
Finally, need to shout out Mike Maignan again. You’ve all seen it and have acknowledged it: Magic Mike is back. How back? He leads the league in prevented goals at 7.7, with 16 conceded goals out of an 23.7 expected goals (xG). Numbers can be deceiving, like I don’t think people are readily thinking Leão is playing about as well as Pulisic this season, but in the case of Mike Maignan they certainly are. He’s as big a reason Milan has bounced back this season as anyone or anything else. I hope the renewal pans out like reports suggest.
What Happened in Serie A
A very quick round up of the round 16 games that had to be made up.
Inter (1st) got the win by beating Lecce (17th) 1-0 on a 78 minute goal by Francesco Pio Esposito while Napoli (3rd) dropped points, drawing with Parma (14th) 0-0. It was Napoli’s third straight draw in league play. Finally, Bologna (8th) used 3 first half goals to hold on and win 2-3 against Hellas Verona (20th).
Now that all the games in hand have been played, here are the teams in the top 6 currently holding down European spots:
- Inter (1st): 46pts (+26 GD)
- Milan (2nd): 43pts (+17 GD)
- Napoli (3rd): 40pts (+13 GD)
- Juventus (4th): 39pts (+16 GD)
- Roma (5th): 39pts (+12 GD)
- Como (6th): 34pts (+12 GD)
Sh*t is tight.
Now, ratings.
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
MAIGNAN 9 – Yep. Near perfect. Como had an xG of 2.88. They had 1, mostly because of Maignan. Superb.
Goal Keeping Overall 9
Defense
TOMORI 7 – Another solid game and his versatility and speed are being underappreciated by a lot of you. This 3-5-2 has been a lot less restrictive because of him and he deserves his props.
GABBIA 7 – Really solid after a couple of rusty outings after the injury scare.
DE WINTER 6.5 – Not bad, just not as good as the other two. Hard to know if it was his man on the goal conceded. It looked like it was likely his but could have been Bartesaghi’s too. They need to move away from this zonal marking as it’s costing them.
Defense Overall 7
Midfield
SAELEMAEKERS 8 – Deserves the hockey assist for the second goal with a beautiful long ball to Leão to spring the counter. Oh, and he won the ball back that lead to the PK for the first goal. Great game.
FOFANA 6.5 – I think he has the yips when he’s about to shoot. Do you know what the yips are? It’s this but the best example is when a golfer can’t seem to make a putt say inside of 3ft.
MODRIĆ 7– Good game. Needs another rest though. Hopefully we don’t see him this weekend.
RABIOT 9.5 MOTM – He had an xG of 0.08 in this game. I mean, come on…that’s insane for a midfielder who scored brace in the game.
BARTESAGHI 7 – Quietly solid. Like I said with De Winter’s rating, hard to tell if Bartesaghi needed to be on the guy who scored for Como or De Winter but they all need to be better on corners and dead balls in the box.
Midfield Overall 7.5
Forwards
NKUNKU 7.5 – Goals in 3 straight games played (4 goals in total). Is he starting to catch fire? Is Milan going to get their money’s worth? Maybe. The PK he scored on wasn’t great so he’s going to need to be better there. Still, liking the hot streak.
LEÃO 7.5 – Has a goal or assist in 3 of his last 4 games. He’s getting hot too and no one is talking about it.
Forwards Overall 7.5
Subs
FÜLLKRUG 6.5 – I’m loving what he’s bringing. Exactly what Milan needed. Let’s move to that 4-3-3 or better yet, a 4-2-3-1.
LOFTUS-CHEEK 6.5 – Better than he had been of late.
RICCI 6.5 – Blue collar effort.
ATHEKAME NA – I’m liking seeing him more and more. Makes the switching to 4 at the back easier since Milan is light on RBs.
JASHARI NA – He played…but we should see more of him this weekend. His last start was a dud, hopefully we see a performance more indicative of what I believe him to be.
Subs Overall 6.5
Coaching
ALLEGRI 7 – This grade is a little hard for me to settle on. I mean he went with this default, but getting 3-1 wins over teams in the top 6 isn’t easy and for that he gets the credit. But again, reverting to his default is easy, changing it up vs Lecce this weekend is the real challenge in my eyes. But he played this one exactly right, so I can give him his flowers for that.
Final Thoughts
Great game, great game plan, great execution. It was nice to see. But now I’m worried because, and I can’t stress this enough, the team 17th in the table is coming to town. Oye vay…
Until Sunday. Game at 2:45pm EST/7:45pm GMT.
Forza Milan.
gillis
