After AC Milan secured their progress to the final eight of the Coppa Italia last night they will have had an eye on tonight’s game between Atalanta and Sassuolo at the Gewiss Stadium.
Luka Jovic scored twice in the first half and Chaka Traore netted his first ever goal for the club to propel Milan into a 3-0 lead against Cagliari, with Rafael Leao then adding a fourth goal off the bench to cap a 4-1 victory and secure a quarter-final spot.
Looking at the bracket, it was already known that Milan would be playing the winner of Atalanta-Sassuolo in the next round next week at San Siro, and the game between La Dea and the Neroverdi took place tonight.
In the end it was Atalanta who triumphed in the round of 16 clash, and the protagonist of the evening was Milan loanee Charles De Ketelaere. He scored a brace that proved to be decisive, while setting up Aleksey Miranchuk for the other.
The Rossoneri will thus play their Lombardy neighbours at home next week hoping to avenge the 3-2 away defeat in the league. That will be a contest for a semi-final sport, where Bologna or Fiorentina await, with Inter having been knocked out.
Can’t help but to wonder if Leao and CdK would be able to cook up front in a two striker formation.
Leao is on record as having said he doesn’t like playing inside…
Probably I’m in the minority, but I hope Atalanta doesn’t buy CDK and a proper coach has the opportunity to evaluate and properly use him next season.
6 g 5 a in 21 games this season under a proper coach using him in a proper position.
The kid played as a striker at Brugge and scored goals, he plays up front for Atalanta and score goals, but some genius used him as a midfielder last season.
Yeah 2 goals in 16 matches in Serie A games. Big bravo. He hasn’t been great for Atalanta.
Why people just can’t read what is written and respond to what was written instead of trying to exaggerate and sensationalize things.
Where does it say he is great?
I said I want a proper coach at Milan to have the opportunity to properly use him in a position where he is most suited to play based on his characteristics. That didn’t happen under Pioli last season.
He has 2 g and 4 a in the same league where Milan supposed best player has 3 g and 5 a even though CDK has played 200 less minutes.
11 goal contributions in 21 games in all competitions says that he can play. And that’s coming after he was misused for a year that led to him losing confidence.
In 4 months he has contributed 10 more goals than in 10 months under Pioli. That says something.
Pioli usually brings out top level in players, look at Pulisic for example who was deadwood before joining. CDK just lacks the mental strength and also s bit of talent, we just overspent and took an L on that transfer.
What did Pioli bring out of Pulisic? He is the same player that he was at Dortmund, Chelsea, and the US NT.
The difference between Pulisic at Chelsea and Pulisic at Milan is that he gets to play regularly at Milan. He is not competing with 3 other players for the same spot. He has been mostly healthy, and he doesn’t get to work with a different coach every 3 months.
Pulisic is who Pulisic has always been. Pioli does nothing to bring the best out of him except pencil him in the starting lineup every week.
In his first year with Chelsea, Pulisic scored in the FA Cup Final, and was away on a break, running towards his second when his hamstring popped and his muscular problems started.
People also seem to forget that during their UCL championship run, Pulisic was fouled so often that he went three straight games being fouled 8+ times, including one match where he tied Messi’s record for most fouls suffered in a UCL match (11).
In addition, during that title run, Chelsea scored three goals in the semifinal tie with Real Madrid. Pulisic scored one, in spectacular fashion, and assisted a second, laying a pass on a platter for Mason Mount to finish from close range.
Before he ever reached Milan, Pulisic played in a UCL final, three FA Cup finals, an English League Cup final and two DFB Pokal finals, in addition to captaining his national team to multiple CONCACAF titles. During that time, his club teams have won the DFB Pokal, the UCL, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup.
If CDK can’t make it at Atalanta, he’s not going to make it at Milan. You can’t just make an entire team around CDK. Nobody does that anymore. Maybe he’s just an outdated player. Either way, his contributions for Atalanta have been below par, especially in the league.
Pioli has revitalized many players, especially those who left Chelsea and Madrid.
And it’s not about “goal contributions”. It’s about end product. 2 goals in 16 games isn’t it. He’s not even the best player in Atalanta.
Those ex Chelsea and Real Madrid players were buried deep on their benches before they came to Milan. What revitalization? They just finally got a chance to play at a club regularly, because either were not good enough for those clubs or there were better players in front of them at those clubs.
Going from Chelsea or Real Madrid to Milan or EPL and Spain league to Serie A in today’s football is a step down.
Tomori started from the time his plane landed in Milano. What did Pioli do from the airport to the stadium to revitalize him?
What did he do for Giroud besides playing him every 3 days, while he was playing once every 3 weeks ar Chelsea.
Same with the rest of them.
Kessie might be the only player that improved under Pioli.
“Why people just can’t read what is written and respond to what was written instead of trying to exaggerate and sensationalize things.” Bro u must have hated last summer 🤣🤣🤣
The requirements of being a lone striker in Italy are way different than in Belgium. He’s playing a second striker in Atalanta’s 3-5-2 system, as he did at Brugge for half of his final season. The othe half he spent being move around from striker, the wings and even midfield (and he did score some goals from all of those positions to be fair). Unless we’re hiring Cvnty Conte or any other 3-5-2 manager, and in the process throwing out Leao, I’m not sure CDK will ever fit in.
If the current coach can revitalized and properly used players like Giroud, Theo, Pulisic, Jovic, Leao, Okafor, Reijnders, Tonali, Kessie, Mike, Kjaer, etc but not CDK then the problem is NOT the coach but the player.
CDK had two goals in the league all season. Trust me. He’s not that good. We don’t want him back. I’m worried Atalanta may not actually redeem his contract.
Ok come-back at the end of season
Oh I will. He’ll have probably 5 goals in total for the league. Messias level.
He won’t be here. These guys disappear when it comes to evaluations time.
Many, many, many are still missing from last summer
I can’t believe some people still hope for CDK to return to Milan. Good riddance. He is a mediocre player who did well in a sub-par league and completely flopped in Serie A, both with Milan and with Atalanta (only 2 goals in Serie A with Atalanta, 1 assist with Milan). I hope this brace and assist in Coppa (who cares?) will motivate Atalanta to redeem their option to buy. I don’t want CDK any close to Milan.
Time for a revenge for that 3-2 lost.
But without Tomori and Thiaw, i hope Kjaer, Simic, and Gabbia put their best form to stop Atalanta players.
for all the CDK haters out there, CDK has 6g 5a in 1200 minutes in all competitions where as the $90m Leao has 5g 5a in 1500 in all competitions.. not a Leao hater but just putting the stats out there