AC Milan have no time to reflect or rest after their draw against Borussia Dortmund because they are back on the field in 48 hours against Genoa.
According to MilanNews, head coach Stefano Pioli is thinking of some changes in the line-up with three or four alterations compared to the draw in Dortmund, starting with the defence where Alessandro Florenzi could come in for Davide Calabria.
In midfield, Yacine Adli is likely to return to the regista spot with Yunus Musah and Tijjani Reijnders alongside him, while waiting for Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Rade Krunic to return.
In attack, both Samuel Chukwueze and Noah Okafor should be seen again from the first minute, with tomorrow’s training session expected to give more clear indications.
Probable Milan XI (4-3-3): Maignan; Florenzi, Thiaw, Tomori, Theo Hernandez; Musah, Adli, Reijnders; Chukwueze, Okafor, Leao.
Unavailable: Bennacer, Kalulu, Krunic, Caldara, Loftus-Cheek.
Doubts: Florenzi-Calabria 51-49%, Thiaw-Kjaer 80-20%, Adli-Pobega 70-30%, Chukwueze-Pulisic 60-40%, Okafor-Giroud 60-40%.
Analyzing Milan’s Performance: A Call for Structural Criticism
As passionate Milan fans and commentators, it’s crucial that we provide constructive criticism regardless of whether we win or lose. Let’s take a closer look at our recent match against Lazio, where we need to address some key issues.
Giroud’s Role: One pressing question is why Giroud consistently starts games when he often doesn’t perform. Okafor brings a different dynamic to that role and should be given more opportunities. As for Jovic, his sporadic appearances won’t yield results; we need a well-thought-out plan to keep the squad active and motivated.
Leao’s Brilliance: Amidst the concerns, Rafa Leao continues to shine in the final third. He’s been a standout player, much like last year.
Pulisic’s Performance: Pulisic’s contribution was lacking for about 65 minutes in the Lazio game, and we shouldn’t shy away from criticizing this. We can’t win games when key players like Giroud and Pulisic are invisible for the first part of the match.
Midfield Assessment: Tijani is emerging as our best midfielder, but consistency and finishing need improvement. RLC covers ground but doesn’t make a significant impact. Krunic is decent, but nothing special. Adli is showing promise, while Musah is performing well. Pobega should come off the bench, not start.
Defensive Evaluation: Tomori and Thiaw have excelled, but Hernandez, although contributing offensively, has been average defensively. Calabria needs improvement. Florenzi is doing okay, but with more game time, he should improve.
Formation and Substitutions: Pioli needs to make substitutions earlier, rather than waiting until the 70th minute. A change in formation might also be in order. Consider a 3-4-2-1 with Tomori, Thiaw, and Calabria in defense. In midfield, Hernandez, Musah, Adli, and Tijani. In the final third, Leao in a free role, Chukwueze alongside him, and Okafor as the striker.
In conclusion, we must provide constructive criticism to help Milan thrive. Pioli and the coaching staff should consider both wins and losses as opportunities for improvement. The recent victories against Lazio and Cagliari had some question marks, as discussed earlier. It’s time to evaluate and evolve for a more successful season ahead.
Well said.
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Okafor was playing Austrian league last year, Okafor already has adapted well for the short time, but to expect more at this point is unreasonable.
Giroud has 7 G+A in 8 games, so it is not like he isn‘t performing.
Thanks for taking time to write this. But there is a fundamental question, why our team struggles and play inconsistent football all these years? We got one of the best squad’s and talents, but still as a team we are not good enough, No cohesion, coordination or anticipation among players. We don’t play as a unit, only way we penetrate opposition defense is by using the pace of leao.
Look how Inter is, even if the lose some odd games they have a signature style of play where everyone contributes. they build their game from Sommer, to Darmian to Dumfries to Dimarco to barellla to hakan to thuram to lautaro in a coordinated cohesive way and we lack that chemistry. That’s the difference between a motivational speaker and a real coach, yes Inzaghi is a brilliant coach. The point is to get a world class coach and see the difference in playing style to player improvement to consistency.
I agree with this. Pioli has done a great job getting us to this point especially coming out of the banter years but I think alot of us have recognized this might be his ceiling. Patterns of play are important when motivation or enthusiasm of a new squad, players fades. Otherwise we revert to leao and crosses to giroud
Thanks for taking time to write this. But there is a fundamental question, why our team struggles and play inconsistent football all these years? We got one of the best squad’s and talents, but still as a team we are not good enough, No cohesion, coordination or anticipation among players. We don’t play as a unit, only way we penetrate opposition defense is by using the pace of leao.
Look how Inter is, even if the lose some odd games they have a signature style of play where everyone contributes. they build their game from Sommer, to Darmian to Dumfries to Dimarco to barellla to hakan to thuram to lautaro in a coordinated cohesive way and we lack that chemistry. That’s the difference between a motivational speaker and a real coach, yes Inzaghi is a brilliant coach. The point is to get a world class coach and see the difference in playing style to player improvement to consistency.
Saying Giroud often doesn’t perform is not accurate. He has 4 goals and 3 assists in 7 games. That’s productive. Same with Pulisic with 3 goals and an assist. Nobody is decisive every game. But you go 1 or 2 games without a goal on here everybody says you suck.
I agree he can use a rest here and there and maybe get subbed off earlier in games where he is not doing much, but he is still overall our best option at striker.
I also disagree about RLC. I think he’s been our best midfielder this season. He is strong and wins a lot of battles and also gets forward well too.
Love Reijnders game, but his finishing is a real problem.
Florenzi has earned the starting spot. He has been much better than Calabria, who has been very poor this season. I’d even rather see Kalulu at RB over Calabria.
Ahem, you seriously need to take a look at the Sofascore stats on the various players for the Dortmund match.
Leao had 62 touches on the ball, the MOST of any Milan player.
Leao was dispossessed 22 times, the MOST of any Milan player.
Leao had a 68% pass completion rate, which was the second worst of any Milan player – only Pobega’s 48% completion rate was worse.
With all of those touches on the ball, Leao had ZERO shots on goal.
I don’t know what match you were watching, but the one I saw was one where Milan REPEATEDLY sent the ball down the left side, Leao and Pobega’s side, and between the two of these two UTTER BOZOS, the ball would get turned over, Dortmund would mount a counterattack, and fortunately, the Milan defense was stiff enough and/or the Dortmund players were bad enough shots that no goals were scored by Dortmund.
Yes, I called Leao an UTTER BOZO.
Lots of people would readily call Pobega an UTTER BOZO for his performance in that match, but Leao was no better.
Somebody who completes only 68% of his passes and loses the ball TWENTY TWO TIMES in a match, somebody who the team obviously EXPECTS to be the LEADER of their attack (why else would Milan keep starting their attack down the left side?) and yet doesn’t ever even get off a shot on goal needs to be called out for having a really, really bad game.
The ONLY thing that Leao’s fans remember are the two big chances for scoring that he created, passes that could have been assists had they been finished. They don’t remember the rest of the horror show that he produced.
Oh, and you think Pulisic had a really bad game? I will readily admit that he did not have a great game, but he at least go a shot off on goal, which was on target, and unfortunately went straight at the keeper.
The biggest problem with Pulisic in this match was that he HARDLY GOT THE BALL compared to Leao. Pulisic only had 30 touches on the ball for the 69 minutes that he was in the game, which, prorated to 90 minutes, is still close to HALF as much as Leao got.
Pulisic was dispossessed 11 times, but had a 98% pass completion rate for this match. Pulisic was hardly the turnover machine that Leao and Pobega were on the left side.
The Pulisic I saw was actively engaged in counter pressing in the midfield, so much so that he often seemed to be a fourth midfielder and it looked like Milan was playing a 4-4-2.
Leao counter press? Help his team out by playing defense? Not on your life.
Jesus – this schedule is something else. Are we in a race to finish the season early or something?
Right, this schedule is so compact. And next week is internationals (Deschamps gunna play the Milan guys every second).
Then Coppa will start up soon too. Wild
Hence Sarri’s comments… it is pretty crazy when you think about it. Our October is dense.
Just don’t get it do you so called fans …
Don’t write off Olivier Giroud…never do this ..
This man lives inside or around the 18 yard area ..
He doesn’t need great pace ,,providing he has pace around him …technically he is the best around ,yes even at his age ….Goals will come again ,,just hope he starts against Genoa …Just hope he weighs in with a couple of goals ,to keep some of you marauding dogs at bay …Why is this man still getting called up for his country…He is going through a barren spell at the moment …What player does not !
The good news is I believe strongly that we will win the scuddeto this season ,,,just as we did two seasons ago …Short memory most of you .
I said then if any of you remember that when we signed Olivier we could achieve this ,,indeed we did .
Do you remember last season ..Yes I do ..Olivier Giroud again partially responsible for us reaching the semi final of the champions leauge ..
Yes all players regardless of age need a rest from time to time ….To win the scuddeto again we will certainly need the services of Olivier again ..
I also have great faith in our squad ,,,and our manager pioli …
I have been involved with football for a very long time …How many of you think we will win the scuddeto this season …not many by reading your messages…We are not out of the champions league either ….it is a tough group…yes we perhaps should have won both our games ..Results sometimes go against the grain look at Newcastle agains PSG
YES even Mbappe was not existent..I watched the complete recording of that match …
So get real and start believing, just as i and indeed Olivier Giroud does .
4 goals 3 assists…
Hey buddy, go motivate your kids at home.
Everyone here is motivated enough, we believe enough, however we are not foolish or blind to see and criticise the perceived spots of concern.
I believe in Pioli, he will win us the Champions League.
I’d like to see more variety of position up front, as we saw in earlier games. Leao and Pulisic should be switching sides for 5-10 minutes per half to throw off the defenders. Pulisic also didn’t come centrally in the middle third as much as he has in some games – that’s really where he is at his most dangerous. With Reijnders, RLC, and Musah all being versatile midfielders the wings should be free to operate in those spaces and have the closest midfielder move wide. The team was just a bit too predictable yesterday.
I believe Milan will win the Scudetto.
I think most folks watch the ball and that is their assessment of the game. For e.g. Puli gets blown up as non-existent for 65 min. Well he certainly wasn’t getting good service from midfield (which is in chaos right now so understandable).
He did track back, win many balls and start many attacks that went to the left. Could he be better? Yep.
Now take Chuk. Many call for him to start (me included this weekend). When he has the ball he is all action. But just watch 5 min of Chuk (not the ball). Dude is lost. Even with the ball his passing is late if it comes at all. I want him to start so Puli can rest and so he can build an understanding on live games or we can learn he is a bust and plan accordingly. Note that I am hoping for the best outcome of him being another Leao
I personally think Giroud is carrying a knock. Everything is off, but most of all his balance. Note that we don’t _knoe_. I want to see Okafur because he is fitting in well off the ball (i.e. in the system) and is part of Milan this year and three years from now. It’s exciting.
Calabria looks to be carrying a knock as well but I’ve honestly not watched him enough.
Adli … was not a fan of him coming along so fast. I was wrong. He improves on defense each game while bringing a consistent offensive pressure. I hope to see him start again this weekend.
Also, remember our midfield is 2/3 youngsters with few minutes at this level. So Puli, Giroud and Leao will starve a bit for service. The other teams are talented pros too and the slimmest of margins allow them to exploit said youngsters. I’m willing to live with it (despite what I may yell at the TV in the moment) because their development is what gets us that Scudetto.
Finally remember that “fan” is short for fanatic. Most of us are not rational. None of us know how training went today or the convo between Coach and player that informs the lineup and tactics. So we are largely uninformed fanatics 🙂
Thus thanks to Oliver et al for the info we do get that allows us to rage and riot between matches.
Cheers.
Chuk doesn’t raise his head to look for a teammate, as soon as he receives the ball, he just goes direct, to dribble and shoot, that’s partly because Calabria doesn’t make the right run to free up space for him, and Chuk right now needs to calm down and properly integrate himself with our style of play because right now, he plays like shit.
Chuk doesn’t raise his head to look for a teammate, as soon as he receives the ball, he just goes direct, to dribble and shoot, that’s partly because Calabria doesn’t make the right run to free up space for him, and Chuk right now needs to calm down and properly integrate himself with our style of play because right now, he plays like sh*t.
Milan fans acting like an experienced manager who knows more than Pioli is the worst thing i ever see.
Theo should sit. One more yellow and he misses the Juve match.
If he sits and gets the chance to play against Juve, I’m sure he’ll get booked and miss Napoli…we’ll definitely lose him in of the big games just a question of which one would he be much needed
On the rewatch. i have no criticism or feedback. How we didnt score seems impossible. giroud missed a goal, pogeba missed a point blank shot, reijndeers, chuk, that theo header…leao had way more amazing plays than i recalled, the pass for that theo header was insane.
They do need to consider the midfield. Going into that game with four available was not realistic. i know this wont be so back and fourth but they need to consider a solution as musah coveraged the most ground of anyone on the pitch and he hasnt been getting enough minutes to be doing that back to back.
Sorry i should mention….I already knew Tomori was that, but for thiaw to show what we see pieces of in that environment was impressive. And terrifying if certain teams were watching.