Yacine Adli put in a very solid performance during last night’s draw against Atalanta, and after the game he provided an honest reflection on his recent moment.
Stefano Pioli put his faith in Adli from the first minute last night against an Atalanta side that have plenty of quality and creativity down the middle, and the faith was repaid by a dynamic and defensively sound performance.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) recall, at the end of the match Adli said something that caused some eyebrows to be raised: “I was disappointed because in Monza last Sunday I had a terrible match, I wanted to show that I belong to Milan and that I can play here.”
Between the lines, there is a lesson: if you make a mistake, admit the mistake and react immediately. Adli did it last year – he didn’t play, but he didn’t feel sorry for himself – and against Atalanta he played the match that Pioli asked of him.
He let his team-mates give him the ball, he didn’t force things, he often found a free man without holding the ball too much, but above all it was his work in the non-possession phase that was most impressive.
Defensively Adli didn’t get into difficulty and he closed down Koopmeiners brilliantly to deny Atalanta’s first concrete opportunity.
“We gave everything and tried to move, it’s always difficult to play against Atalanta, they are always man for man,” Adli added after the game.
For him, the balance of the evening was certainly positive: “We didn’t lose the two points on this occasion, but we lost them in matches in which we could certainly have put more soul.”
Pioli decided to use the Frenchman over Yunus Musah or Tijjani Reijnders and he can be satisfied with his choice after the game. If Adli keeps playing like this, then the midfield department looks very strong with Bennacers, Musah and Loftus-Cheek, and rotations are possible.
Let’s be honest here. He’s currently our best midfielder. While playing out of position.