It was another tough evening for AC Milan as they lost the important clash against Atalanta by three goals to two. In mid-December, therefore, the Rossoneri now risk just having Coppa Italia as a concrete objective.
Milan came back from behind twice and still didn’t even get a draw from the encounter with Ataltna, conceding the winner in the 95th minute. A tough pill to swallow, especially for the fans who have grown tired of Stefano Pioli in recent weeks.
Objectives fading
As highlighted by today’s edition of Tuttosport (via MilanNews), the Scudetto dream is more or less over for Milan, with Inter at +9 and Juventus at +7. Of course, it’s still possible mathematically but the Rossoneri would have to go on a winning strike, while the other two would have to lose as well.
Tactically and mentally, as the newspaper continues, Milan look confused and have certainly not left the crisis behind them. The defence is struggling without key centre-backs available and Rafael Leao’s creativity is missing in attack.
In mid-December, with the deciding Newcastle clash up next, Milan risk finding themselves with only the Coppa Italia left to focus on. This would be a colossal flop given that the Rossoneri entered the season with hopes of the second star, as well as going far in the Champions League.
Issues are evident
While Milan almost are out of everything, they are not out of trouble. Against Atalanta, they were tactically disorganised and this resulted in a confusing defensive phase. And when Milan were overwhelmed in the second half, they didn’t seem to know how to respond.
After Dortmund’s second goal, Milan collapsed, and the same thing happened after Atalanta’s second goal even if the equaliser did arrive. The level of inattention of the goal conceded from a throw-in, furthermore, is very reminiscent of the one conceded at the Parc des Princes against PSG.
Calabria’s sending-off, which triggered the attack for Atalanta’s third goal in the final minutes, is the fifth red card in 15 games. A disconcerting fact. Milan keep making the same mistakes and they don’t seem to have a solution.
I know this is the Internet and you have to take the good and the bad, and opinions diverge, but I was astounded yesterday. Fans ranting at Pioli, of course we know the tune, but also Calabria?
After Tomori, Leao, Théo, Krunic, now it’s Calabria. Every time fans need a culprit. When we had Calabria – Tomori – Thiaw – Théo this season, that defense was rock solid. Even when they were exposed by a weak midfield, like last night, like all season.
The problem is that this management is clueless on football operations and this club has became a circus. Wtf is that story with Zlatan, now a job interview takes three months? Nothing is right since Jerry is here and fired M&M. Everything that happened since then, besides Pulisic, is a catastrophe.
I don’t think the team has shown itself to be solid all season , except maybe 2 or 3 games.For the team to be solid all departments need to be working and the midfield has structural problems which can only be fixed with the transfer market, However it must be said Pioli has messed around with ineffective tactics and played players out of the natural positions neglecting the basics .
Yesterday the team practically played in Bergamo with one CB and a mish mash of inverted FB’s and unclear mechanisms that is painful to watch. Yes , Calabria had one of his horror games but it’s the system that is not letting the players and the team have the confidence to challenge.
Lastly , Pioli had a golden chance to play Simic against Frosinone to bolster him for Atalanta & Newcastle but like many things at the moment he missed it.
Pioli was fine enough with tactics to win a scudetto.
He’s not playing Simic because he’s a kid, playing against other kids in Primavera. Most of them won’t ever play in Serie A. That’s why Primavera players usually get loaned to Serie B. You can play Camarda or Traoré, they’re forwards it’s ok if they make mistakes. You can’t afford that with a centre back, especially against a good team like Atalanta. Pioli watches the players all week long during practice and he makes his choices accordingly.
What Pioli needed to thrive was a new Kessié, a RW and a striker. M&M were looking at Milinkovic-Savic and Loftus-Cheek as a back-up. This management “invested” in guys with exotic profiles that don’t fit the team. Besides Bennacer, no current midfielder is worthy of a starting spot for a scudetto contender/UCL team. The only good operation was to bring Pulisic, and it was a commercial decision at first. Also we have this injury situation. Football operations are a total mess, but we good with sponsors and stadium.
I agree Pioli was fine with Tactics in the Scudetto season and half of last season but this season you cannot deny he had a hand in contributing to the current state of the team despite the injuries.
Theo is not a CB ,and he should know that better then anyone else, Simic is the only other available CB who would be of great value to the club if introduced and groomed for the future. This was the moment , after seeing play in the summer he definitely was worth the chance. Many clubs play kids and some manage to establish themselves if given a chance .
Regarding Benna I agree he is the only bonadfide CM .
Well said!
But remember actually winning a Scudetto apparently doesn’t make a player “Scudetto winning quality” and actually getting to the semi-finals of the champions league doesn’t make a player “champions league semi-final quality”.
No. Such crude methodology.
It’s all about our imaginations.
Imagining a player who finished 16th in La Liga could come and BECOME a Scudetto winner.
Who wants to BE a Scudetto winner when you can dream of BECOMING one.
That’s the magic of the transfer market. The dream v the reality.
Pioli got the players he asked for in a 4-3-3 which he started the season with. Problem is, last season with Tonali and Kessie (before that) we had a proper defensive presence. So now he’s trying a differrent system every game with players that aren’t accustomed to.
Reijdners and RLC and great players but they are not defensive midfielders to play in a 4-3-3. Bennacer was out and we didn’t even have a proper 6, so Pioli started Swiss-Army-Kniving Krunic/Musah/Reijnders there….
Gotta get the lineups and tactics right.
“Pioli was fine enough with tactics to win a scudetto.”
There was never such thing as “Pioli’s tactics”. It was all about grinta of Zlatan and the support of Maldini. Pioli just took the credit for their work. Tactics? LOL. Pioli’s vocabulary lacks that word.
We haven’t won Coppa Italia since 2003, winning it shouldn’t be seen as a failure. With Pioli, even Coppa Italia is a distant dream.
This is what happens when you sack the soul of the club and sell the heart of the club and replace with a bunch of cheap imports/Chelsea rejects and hope they are up to the job….which clearly, they are not.
and we are still looking for more cheap imports !!! you couldn’t make it up ??!!
Juan Miranda from Betis……imports from la Liga never seem to work for us, Chuk, Samu etc….so why are we getting another one ??!!……errrr because he is cheap.
Adams from Montpellier…..WTF are we looking at him for…..oh because he has scored a few goals in the incredible ligue 1…..and more importantly he is cheap.
there used to be a club on the other side of milan who loved cheap imports and made whole teams of them……….now thats us ??!!
As opposed to what? spending 60mil on a transfer every time Chelsea style? Not delivering under this coach and being in a financial hole with the money we didn’t have?
By the way, the “soul of the club” wanted a “chelsea reject” at the club (RLC).
So if so worse than last season does that make us worse than last season?
Or is that too simple?
It’s all Krunic and now Calabria’s fault for not making the new players play better?
Not prepping Simic for the Frosinone match is a sorely missed opportunity. Not sure if Simic, Bartesaghi and Romero will ever play in Coppa matches. How long can Theo remain as the key player for 2 positions (LB and CB) since none of our CB are coming back soon? What happens if he is injured for playing game after game? It only means that we lose a player for 2 roles. And when that happens, we will be putting Simic and Bartesaghi to fail for not preparing them enough when we can. Winning the Scudetto is not just about game tactics. It is the coach’s strategy to manage the entire season and to optimize the full squad. Our biggest problem every year is our injuries. The reason remains unspoken of. One reason why we won the 21/22 Scudetto is we were out of Europe early. And if we were to go far in Europe like last season, we struggled in the league and can’t even qualify for CL on our own merits. The Coppa is a good opportunity for those lesser-played players to get matches so that they will be ready when we need them. Unfortunately if the Coppa becomes important now, I doubt our coach will have the courage to use them. The ‘health’ of our coach’s ‘first team’ will thus be stressed even more and more injuries will happen.
“especially for the fans who have grown tired of Stefano Pioli in recent weeks.”
Are there any people left in the whole wide world who aren’t tired of Pioli yet?