After a 3-week international break, Milan traveled to Sassuolo to try and take home all 3 points but saw their effort come up short. A draw isn’t the worst thing, especially in a place they haven’t won in since Pioli’s Scudetto clincher back in May 2022. But a draw doesn’t excite the fan base and questions are starting to surface about Amorim’s longevity at the helm. Let’s dive in and talk about it.
This will be shortish compared to most. I won’t rehash a lot, as many of the same issues are plaguing the team, namely a lack of umph in the attack and some leaky defense. I appreciated Amorim trying something new even if it didn’t work. Some of the players he chose didn’t help his cause, but mostly it fell flat for the same reasons Milan has lacked any sustained offensive spark.
I liked the taking-on of the opponent Milan did, as that did create some modest opportunities, and I’m loving Moreira’s movement in and around the box. If Milan can ever get to the point of really getting some quality shots on target, I can see Moreira cleaning up a lot of goalie spillage. Pulisic played ok, as he brings a spark few others on the team have. But there’s still one major issue and that’s the lack of service to Ramos up top.
This is something Milan has struggled with for a long time. Dropping €80M for a striker doesn’t all by itself solve an absence of goals from the striker position. He seems a bit off, sure, as the few chances he has he’s just missed scoring multiple times this season. But he needs more than one good ball a game and Milan’s offense, with those 1 on 1 take ons, isn’t generating opportunities in the box. Milan sits 10th in Serie A in total crosses with Inter leading the league. Inter is also the league’s high scorer, which for me doesn’t come as a surprise. And, despite Milan being 3rd in the league in scoring, they’ve scored 7 fewer goals than Inter, or one less a game.
So, how can Milan improve it’s offense and generate better scoring opportunities? I think it has to come from a formation change…yes, another one.
Moreria is really good and I like him a lot, but he’s not a wide guy who’s going to whip in crosses. If he remains the wingback in a back-3 formation, then crosses from the left will be sparse. Chukwueze is a bit better but he also wants to take on the opponent and get the ball on his left foot to shoot, so not a dearth of crosses coming from him either. Since Milan lack any real playmakers in the middle of the pitch besides Pulisic, I think going to a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 could work to help generate more balls into the box based on the need to get wide and utilize one of their best players in Ramos to score more goals.
The RB situation in a back-4 makes me uncomfortable with Athekame gone and now Saelemaekers injured, but if Gila or Tomori can do it then the tradeoff might still be worth it. Naturally, Bartesaghi should start at LB because Estupiñan should only start when Milan are in Bulgaria for Europa (and if there’s one thing Bartesaghi can do, it’s cross).
Other formations can still be useful, and I love a in-game formation change for situations like holding a lead, but until Amorim gets the type of players he needs, he’s going to need to get creative. He can still work-in his tactical ideas, and even run his preferred 3-4-2-1 when the situation calls for it, but he’s got to find a way to get some wins under his belt, if just to keep the media off his back.
What Happened in Serie A
Time for this week’s Fossa Power Rankings!
- Inter (5-1-0,+10 GD, 16pts)
- Roma (4-2-0,+11 GD, 14pts)
- Lazio (5-1-0,+7 GD, 16pts)
- Como (3-2-1,+3 GD, 11pts)
- Milan (3-3-0,+6 GD, 12pts)
I know some of you may quibble with my top 5 but it’s MY top 5 and I still think, all in all, Como is better than Milan. I also don’t think Cagliari is top 5 for real, so I didn’t include them even though they’re sitting in 4th. Looking at these specific teams, Como and Cagliari, Cagliari is playing lights out and has a +3 goal differential, while Como has been struggling but is also sitting at a +3 goal differential. I don’t think either team will continue on in their current forms as the season progresses, meaning both teams will regress to their respective means with Como playing better and Cagliari dropping closer to midtable.
The other team making waves but I’m still not convinced on is Lazio. They’re playing really well despite little spending and a mass fan protest going on. A lot of their bigger names have moved on but maybe they’re getting a similar type of response from the players Milan did during Maldini and Pioli years?…a less is more type of thing where they have the right pieces that make the sum of their parts stronger? Time will tell but it’s something to watch for as the season progresses.
As for the games, a bunch of duds for the most part. Even the round’s best match up, Roma at Como, ended in a 0-0 draw with each team generating about 1xG each. Everything else was pretty much par for the course.
One thing to note for those keeping score at home, Allegri’s Napoli, who at the time of this writing have just lost to Villarreal in Champions League, have only won 3 of 8 matches across all competitions including 4 losses. Now 2 of the 4 losses are in Champions League, but their league form isn’t anything to write home about. For those of us who think Allegri’s time has passed, this isn’t surprising but admittedly the season is still young. For those of you who believe in Allegri, the young season provides you some hope even though Allegri has no established record of strong finishes, at least not in the last decade. Like with Lazio, time will tell…
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 – Solid but don’t feel super comfortable with him at RB.
GABBIA 6.5 – Was fine until the injury. See you in late December.
PAVLOVIĆ 7 – Got forward a bit more but still isn’t impacting the offensive side like we’ve grown accustomed to since he arrived.
ESTUPIÑAN 6 – Why he played for this game and not the Europa game this week is mindboggling.
Defense Overall 6.5
Midfield
CHUKWUEZE 6 – Probably his worst game of the season. Thought he was really invisible.
MUSAH 6.5 – Played ok.
RABIOT 8 – Another banger of a goal.
MOREIRA 7 – Always in and around the box. I like, I like…
Midfield Overall 7
Forwards
PULISIC 6.5 – Needed to do more in the final third because he’s basically the only creative player who started.
RAMOS 6.5 – Needs service.
Forwards Overall 6.5
Subs
DE WINTER 7 – Played well coming on for an injured Gabbia
MODRIĆ 7.5 – Played well with Musah and Moreira on the pitch.
CISSÉ 6 – Best attribute is his shooting. Sadly, didn’t really get to do that so his impact was nil.
JASHARI 6.5 – Glad he got some minutes. Want to see him more.
HUTCHINSON NA – He played.
Subs Overall 6.5
Coaching
AMORIM 6 – Liked the switching it up even if it didn’t produce like he and we all hoped. I do think part of the problem was personnel, some of it self-inflicted errors like shipping off RB Athekame before realizing a back 4 or even a 4-2-3-1 could be useful until January or even next summer when he could get more players better suited to his preferred formation. And, as I stated up top in the editorial, Estupiñan should not be starting over Bartesaghi in general but certainly not in a back 4. So, two different self-inflicted errors hurting his ability to find wins so far in his first season at the helm.
Final Thoughts
This post match was very Amorim-centric. But I think that’s where the focus needs to be. I like him, I think he has the right demeanor for the job. I don’t know if he’ll succeed but at least he’s trying something different and interesting. I see enough promise and am willing to give him time, at least one full year and into his second baring some catastrophic collapse. But I don’t know if the media or Gerry & Co. will be as patient. So, he’s got to get some wins because 3-3-0 is very Allegri-esque and nobody wants that.
Milan travel to Austria to take on RB Salzburg for Europa League on Thursday at 12:45pm EST/6:45pm GMT.
Forza Milan
gillis
