AC Milan have been performing very well in the league so far in 2024, something which the underlying numbers also demonstrate.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport recall, Milan opened their 2024 account in Serie A with a 3-0 win at the Stadio Carlo Castellani against Empoli, agame unlocked by Ruben Loftus-Cheek with a lovely team move.
Another PlayStation-style goal arrived against Udinese, again with the signature of Loftus-Cheek. After a quarter of an hour Rafael Leao found Theo Hernandez down the left and his cut-back to the English midfielder was perfect, as was the finish.
The left side also produced a similar goal during the Coppa Italia defeat to Atalanta when Theo and Leao combined, the latter firing a lovely shot inside the far corner, and yet they ended up losing 2-1 with another trophy target vanishing.
Milan lack consistency, even over the course of 90 minutes, but when they are on form they show some beautiful and entertaining football. It was seen against Roma, with the goals in the 3-1 victory coming from nice interplay.
What stands out above all is the three-way triangulation between Theo and Giroud, the back heel assist for his compatriot’s shot under the crossbar, but Yacine Adli’s opener (after the close exchange between Pulisic and Reijnders) and Giroud’s header (from Kjaer’s nod-down) deserve mentioning.
In the last four rounds of Serie A, Milan have had a passing accuracy in the final third of the pitch of 77.3% per game on average, while that figure in the first 17 games 71.8%.
Aside from the general improvement in passing accuracy (88.1% vs 86.4%), it is interesting to note the clear change in terms of long passes (61% accuracy, compared to 48.2% in the first 17).
The direct consequence? An increase in shots, going from an average of 12.8 to 16.3 per game. These are clear clues of how the Rossoneri are finding themselves again.
