AC Milan 1-0 Hellas Verona: Five things we learned – same struggles and second-half response

Santiago Gimenez guided AC Milan to victory against Hellas Verona on Saturday evening, finding the back of the net with an easy header. While there are positives to take from the game, the Rossoneri also could have done a lot better. 

It took Sergio Conceicao’s men 75 minutes to find a way through against the league’s worst defence. Gimenez bagged his second goal for the club, and his second consecutive in the league, certainly showing why Milan paid good money for him.

Below are five things we learned from the game…

1. Still struggling against low blocks

It has been evident all season long, even under Paulo Fonseca’s guidance: Milan really don’t like playing against sides that sit back and defend. In fairness, not many teams do and even the best in the world can be held to draw, or narrowly snatch wins.

The problem with Milan, however, is they haven’t identified the right solutions to give it a proper go. Or at the very least, even when they find ways through low-sitting defences, they don’t use those solutions anywhere near enough.

Malick Thiaw had some really good vertical passes last night which completely opened up Verona’s defence, but no other player dared to hit these. Matteo Gabbia should have tried more, the same goes for Youssouf Fofana.

Then, of course, we also need to see a lot more movement from all of the players. Milan were far too static at times against the Bentegodi side and didn’t have any pace to their game. We all know that to break down a low-sitting defence, fast passes and surprises are needed.

2. Gimenez knows where the goal is

Milan signed Gimenez to score goals and so far, he has delivered on that front with two goals in two league games. It was an easy tap-in last night to seal the win but at the same time, he was in the right place at the right time. None of the ‘drop down to help the midfield’ nonsense.

He also had a goal that was disallowed for offside, but it was another moment that showcased just how clinical he is when given the chance. Milan need to understand his abilities better and actually try to put him in good chances.

It was really only on that offside goal and the winner that the Rossoneri played to his strengths, which are attacking the depth and freeing himself inside the box. More vertical passes in behind the defence are thus needed, as well as crosses into the box.

3. Pre-match tactics must improve

Once again, as has become a theme under Conceicao, Milan were very poor in the first half and lacked any sort of enthusiasm. Things changed for the better in the second half, especially thanks to the entrance of Alex Jimenez and Rafael Leao, but the Rossoneri simply cannot afford not to turn up in the first half.

Conceicao clearly has some work to do here as the negative trend is becoming a pattern. It’s also linked to whether he will actually field the ‘Fantastic Four’ from the first minute consistently, as that would certainly guarantee attacking firepower.

Balance is everything, though, and Milan are yet to find theirs along with a proper identity. Everything will become so much easier once that is in place, as you won’t have to make changes every interval to adapt to the opponent (the opponent should be adapting to a team like Milan!).

4. Quality off the bench

As much as we can question Conceicao’s abilities from the first minute, we must praise his eye for substitutions. Many were a bit surprised to see Jimenez replacing Kyle Walker last night but the Portuguese manager was certainly proven right on that one.

Christian Pulisic also came off the bench, along with Leao, and that is saying something given the starting eleven actually wasn’t too bad. The January window has helped a lot and hopefully the addition of Warren Bondo will further strengthen the squad, as will Ruben Loftus-Cheek when he’s back in action.

Of course, there are still some doubts that the management will need to fix in the summer to avoid another season of ups and downs. The lack of a left-back deputy is one, a proper No.6 is another, so there is some work to do.

5. Maignan’s questionable form continues

Unfortunately, following the howler against Feyenoord, it was yet another questionable evening for the goalkeeper. He fumbled a few ‘easy’ balls and was far from brilliant in his communication, which we aren’t used to seeing from him at all.

It’s clear that he’s more prone to mistakes now than when he arrived at Milan, which is far from ideal. Perhaps getting the contract renewal in place – expected to be signed in the coming weeks – will ease his mind as the recent mistakes clearly have nothing to do with quality.

We all know what Maignan is capable of on his day and it’s just a matter of regaining confidence, even if that is easier said than done.