Stefano Pioli has attracted praise and criticism for various things during his time at AC Milan, but one thing that has been an inarguable positive is his ability to get the best out of players who were previously in a slump.
As Sky report, some of the players in the Milan squad have been completely reborn and Christian Pulisic is perhaps the most emblematic case. Last year for Chelsea he played just over a thousand minutes and only one goal, and now he is ‘loving life’.
This year, in addition to having tripled his minutes, he has reached a personal single-season record for goals in his career (12) and will return to Milanello as a champion of the CONCACAF Nations League, where he was captain in the final win against Mexico.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek is no exception, from zero goals last year in London to nine this season thanks to a tailor-made role. His exclusion from the England squad also caused a stir in his homeland because RLC actually seems like a completely different player compared to last season.
Speaking of which, so are Matteo Gabbia and Yacine Adli. The former transformed after his experience at Villarreal and is now to be considered a starter in Pioli’s side having perhaps been a bit of an afterthought.
The Frenchman meanwhile has gone from just 140 minutes accumulated a year ago to almost 1,500 this season. It is no coincidence that he said he dreamed of a national team call-up, because he is in another world compared to a few months ago.
It is thanks to them and to Milan, who are now expecting all their internationals back by mid-week, in good time to prepare with the full group for the match against Fiorentina.
