Milan came back from 2 down to walk away with a point in Rome against Lazio. It’s a game Milan probably should’ve won but it’ll be worth it if lessons have finally been learned by the new coach. With a game midweek (Europa), let’s chat about what we saw over the weekend.
This was a game marked by two halves, which themselves were marked by different lineups that vastly impacted what we saw on the pitch. Amorim is proving to be suborn by throwing RLC and Estupiñan again, after providing next to nothing in their previous appearances. These players again did nothing and Milan finally started to compete once they were removed from the pitch. RLC in particular has been bad, as he’s been on the pitch for just one of the 7 Milan goals scored this season. Granted, he’s not the creative type but the team is at a literal offensive disadvantage whenever he’s on the pitch.
The team itself was overran all first half and Estupiñan crystalized it with his failing asleep at the back post, a ball he 100% should’ve dealt with. The lack of creative players on the pitch, and a mismatch of characteristics in the double-pivot by Amorim playing Modrić and Rabiot together, meant Lazio didn’t have to fear any attack and could find space in the midfield to do pretty much whatever they wanted.
The second half was like night and day compared to the first, with Milan getting forward and building dangerous attacks fueled by Amorim’s substitutions of Diego Moreira, Yunus Musah, and Christian Pulisic (and got Estupiñan and RLC off the pitch, thankfully). Nearly all of Milan’s most dangerous attacks came after this change and it allowed us to see what a true play maker behind the striker could look like with Pulisic in behind Ramos.
For the first time this season, Milan looked like it could strike from anywhere and play built up on the right, on the left, and up the middle. And while it took about 20 minutes to finally break through, Milan could have easily had a goal or two before that.
One thing in particular that really stood out for me was around what happened before Milan got into the final third and that was just how damn good Musah was, not only in this game but all the games this so far this season. Yes, he ran like he always does but he won back so many balls when Lazio was trying to transition, effectively cutting off their attack but also winning it back in positions on the pitch that left Lazio out of position and scrambling. One of his best performances in a Milan shirt.
Finally, it would be criminal to not bring up the game Moreira had. He came in and essentially played the same position as the Juventus game except on the left side this time, but what he was asked to do was so much different. With Musah next to him, he was allowed to get forward and attack the box, a vast difference compared to the Juventus game with Modrić next to him. With that, I think we got a better demonstration of what he can do. He’s a good dribbler but different than Leão (better 1:1 and doesn’t need to space to exploit), and seems to be a better finisher if those two strikes are any indication. The first one in particular, my goodness. If a coach wanted to teach how you how to time out and strike it first-time from a tight angle, I don’t think you could find a better example of how to do it.
So, while walking out with just a point was somewhat disappointing, if Amorim learns the right lessons from this game then this could be a pivotal moment of the season. Milan has lots of games coming up so tinkering will be needed, but landing on the right combination will be vital. Ultimately, I think the keys are at least one player behind Ramos needs to be the creative type. That means at least one of Pulisic, Hutchinson, and maybe Moreira and/or Modrić. And the double pivot has to contain one of Musah and probably Jashari as the runner (Jashari can do it but it’s not his best role), with Rabiot, Modrić, and Jashari as the distributor. Rabiot as the runner isn’t going to work so Jashari may need to do it with Ricci and Fofana gone.
If Amorim sees these things and adjusts, we can have a really nice run of form here during a very busy part of the schedule, with 14 games between now and the end of November and 19 games between now and the end of the calendar year.
What Happened in Serie A
Ok, time for this week’s Fossa Power Rankings! (I think I’m sticking with this name…maybe):
- Roma (4-0-0,+11 GD, 12pts)
- Inter (4-0-0,+7 GD, 12pts)
- Como (3-1-0,+5 GD, 10pts)
- Milan (2-2-0,+3 GD, 8pts)
- Lazio (3-1-0,+3 GD, 10pts)
Roma (1st) continued their hot start by beating Torino (14th) 0-2 while Inter (2nd) needed another 2-goal comeback to beat Udinese (13th) 5-3. This sets up the first really big game of the season as undefeated Roma host undefeated Inter this Saturday.
Como (3rd) beat Parma (17th) 2-1 to make it 3 wins in a row, this on top of their first ever Champions League win midweek. Safe to say they’re feeling pretty good right now. Surprise top 6 team, Cagliari (5th) upset Atalanta (11th) 1-2 in Bergamo. Definitely the most shocking start for a team in Serie A, even more than Lazio’s hot start.
Frosinone (7th) got themselves another point by drawing 1-1 against Genoa (19th) while Juventus (8th) lost 3-2 in spectacular fashion to Sassuolo (9th). With 4 goals scored after the 82nd minute, and 3 scored from the 89th minute onward, this definitely takes the crown of game of the season so far. Exciting stuff in what is turning out to be the most exciting league in Europe.
Napoli (10th) got back in the win column after beating Bologna (16th) with the very Allegri score of 1-0. I’m sure they’ll happily take anything at this point. Lecce (12th) got their second win of the season, beating Monza (18th) 3-2 while Fiorentina (15th) finally got their first points of the season, beating Venezia (20th) 2-4 in their first game since firing their skipper.
Now, ratings.
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
MAIGNAN 7.5 – Nothing he could’ve done on both Lazio goals as his teammates let him down.
Goal Keeping Overall 7.5
Defense
GILA 7 – Thought he and De Winter could’ve communicated better on Lazio’s first goal, as De Winter was in a better position to maybe take the opponent running down the middle and Gila could’ve helped close down the attacking player on his right who fed the cross. A work in progress to be sure.
DE WINTER 7 – See above.
PAVLOVIĆ 6.5 – Was fine but as I’ve been saying, one of his more impactful traits is contributing offensively and that part of his game has been absent so far this season.
Defense Overall 7
Midfield
CHUKWUEZE 7.5 – Another solid game but why is he slowly transforming into Gervinho appearance-wise?
MODRIĆ 6 – Maybe his worst game at Milan? Needs a runner next to him.
RABIOT 6/7 – Not good in the runner mode. Maybe this is the Juventus version of him I remember. Much better once Musah came on.
ESTUPIÑAN 5 – Didn’t provide anything and then fell asleep at the back post for Lazio’s first goal.
Midfield Overall 6
Forwards
LOFTUS-CHEEK 5 – Standard RLC game.
CISSÉ 6 – A lot of those concerns I have about his game really showed themselves.
RAMOS 6.5 – Got like zero service again and is proving he isn’t really a poacher. Amorim is going to have to figure out how to get him involved.
Forwards Overall 6
Subs
MOREIRA 9 – Wow. Just wow. The technique on both goals but especially the first was sublime.
MUSAH 7 – Probably needs to start most games. Thing I like most about his role in this Amorim side? How he’s NEVER in the box. It’s perfect.
PULISIC 7.5 – The best he looked since the hot start last season. As you know, I’ve been down on him but we all know he’s one of the few truly creative players on the team. Let’s see if he can continue it.
HUTCHINSON 6.5 – Got the tiniest of glimpses of him. Want to see more. Need to see more.
CAMARDA NA – Nice seeing the kid out there again.
Subs Overall 6.5
Coaching
AMORIM 5/8 – Terrible starting lineup and let’s hope this is the last lesson he needs about RLC and Estupiñan. But the correction was as good as the starting lineup was bad. There’s enough with the team and how they play to give me some hope but the results in 3 of the 4 games so far could have had some different outcomes had the opponent been a little bit better in front of goal. So, Amorim needs to tighten that up.
Final Thoughts
A good result all things being equal but how Milan does in their next league game will make these dropped points better or worse. So, Milan need to take care of business this weekend in league play.
Milan host Benfica Wednesday (tomorrow) at 3pm EST/9pm GMT at the San Siro to kick off the Europa group stage.
Forza Milan
gillis
*If you haven’t seen it yet, the season preview dropped earlier this month and you didn’t get a chance to read it, go check it out!*
