The game against Udinese was a must-win for Milan, following the defeat against Fiorentina, and they succeeded even if it wasn’t easy. The red card didn’t stop them from putting in a very good display, with several positives to take from the clash.
There were quite a few changes to the starting XI with Rafael Leao, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori benched in favour of Noah Okafor, Samuel Chukwueze and Malick Thiaw. Furthermore, Theo Hernandez also wasn’t available due to suspension, with Filippo Terracciano starting.
The Rossoneri started the game well with an early goal in the 13th minute, courtesy of Chukwueze who found the bottom corner with a nice finish. Then, in the 29th minute, a controversial decision resulted in a red card for Tijjani Reijnders and Milan were forced to focus more on the defensive and preserve their lead.
Fortunately, the defence held up well and with a bit of luck – as well as two disallowed goals due to offside – Milan managed to keep the clean sheet and grab all three points. Below are five things we learned from the game…
1. Turning point for Chukwueze?
The Nigerian winger has struggled to find continuity ever since joining the Rossoneri in the summer of 2023. Furthermore, following a positive pre-season in the US this past summer, many expected a new player for this season.
At the start of this season, though, that certainly wasn’t the case. The performance against Udinese was thus a nice (as well as necessary) change, scoring the only goal of the game with a lovely driven shot and playing well overall.
Of course, after the red card, he had to work a lot defensively after the red card as the game changed completely. Nevertheless, a really positive performance and a crucial goal that might help the winger turn his fortunes around.
2. Defensive solidity helped seal the win
Excluding the two disallowed goals, Milan’s defence held up well and given the circumstances did enough to secure the win in a very tough situation. Emerson Royal played one of his best games in red and black, if not his best, as he was very energetic on the right flank and did not commit any uncaused errors.
Malick Thiaw and Strahinja Pavlovic kept the line high enough after the red card, and Fikayo Tomori’s absence wasn’t felt at all. Filippo Terracciano also did enough on the left to help his side win all three points.
3. Fofana stepping up
The Frenchman continued his positive form, having proved to be pivotal in that midfield in front of the defence. Yesterday evening, he really acted like a leader for the team and it felt like he couldn’t be dispossessed.
In the second half, he had to do a lot of defensive work because of the red card and didn’t feature much in the attacking plays, but he did a lot of dirty work to get the pressure away from his penalty box which in the end was important to help seal the result.
Hopefully, we’ll see more of his attacking work rate in the coming games as he has shown that he’s not afraid to carry the ball forward. So far, he’s truly stepping up to the expectations Milan had for him when they bought him.
4. Pulisic and Okafor shine
The American picked up the assist for Chukwueze’s goal, and he certainly had no issue playing in a more central role this time around. Following the red card, he did well when in possession to keep the ball and helped a lot defensively without the ball.
Okafor also did well and was unlucky to be subbed off at halftime because of the red card. But the Swiss international played to his strengths down that left flank as he managed to beat his man on a few occasions. Of course, he was the man behind the goal with a fantastic run.
The winger has previously struggled when given a spot in the starting XI, but this time around he showed the qualities we already knew he had. As for Pulisic, he’s just been world-class this season and there’s not much more to say.
5. Fonseca got his tactics right
The coach might have been a bit controversial with some of his comments, but despite benching some key players against Udinese, he seemingly got his choices right as Okafor and Chukwueze were crucial for the goals whilst Terracciano, Thiaw and Pavlovic also did well at the back.
The attitude shift was also seemingly visible compared to what we saw from the team against Fiorentina, which was a shameful performance to say the least.
It will now be interesting to see how the team performs in the Champions League against weaker opponents where the three points are a must, but also in the league where continuity is needed to keep up with the likes of Napoli, Juventus and Inter.
Fonseca got the tactics and the lineup right. Milan played as a team without the divas.
Even Billy Costacurta agrees:
“The player who played instead of Leao yesterday played better than Leao!”
“Costacurta spared no criticism of the Portuguese star and supported Paulo Fonseca for leaving him on the
bench:
“Physically, Leão is top 10 in the world. But what else do you have besides that?
Goals, shots. assists?
He is not even in the top 100
Worldwide!”
“In terms of leadership, is he among the top 150?
In my opinion, NO.”
Alessandro Orlando spoke to @MilanNewsit:
“I don’t like Leao. He has great qualities, but he’s so inconsistent and moody that as a coach, I wouldn’t rely on him.”
Media doesn’t babysit Leao anymore.
Well the demands for him are high because we all know that he could be so much better if he always gave his best and as already mentioned by you and Costacurta that he is physically top 10 in the world. I don’t accept all the bad excuses either as he is our best player in that sense and therefore it is to be expected that we set the bar high for him. Even more so that he did it himself as well if he want to become the best player that he can become.
I like Leao but he is also extremely frustrating as a player and as Orlando i would at least be somewhat apprehensive in regard of being too reliant on him.
1. Udinese is a tomato can. We heavily rotated our squad, man down for an hour, yet we were barely bothered for most of the game.
2. I’m questioning Reijnders’ utility. I caught up with the game after he was sent off yet his absence wasn’t felt. Fofana does all the defensive job and dominates pretty well and Morata is the one who build up our attacks.
3. Fonseca managed to built a team that has another tactic than pass the ball to Leao
4. Even though they weren’t bad, we need better fullbacks, especially a Theo deputy.
5. We need a striker who can strike.
“I’m questioning Reijnders’ utility. I caught up with the game after he was sent off yet his absence wasn’t felt.”
Milan went from being dominant in the first 30 minutes to not being able to get out of their own half after the red card, or string more than 2 passes together, but Reijnders’ absence wasn’t felt.
Go watch the game before the red card, then come and comment.
Even after the red card we seemed fine, we never seemed in danger for much of the game. And had Morata and especially Abraham been a bit more clinical we might have won by a big margin. Our defending was ok and we still managed to build up some dangerous looking attacks.
But maybe I’m too harsh.
Udinese scored 2 goals that were taken away because of a hairline offside.
The way penalties are called in serie A there should have been a penalty on Pavlovic in the 2nd half.
Milan did nothing going forward after the red card and hunkered down defensively defending with all 10 players.
They went from dominating the game to being dominated but I guess Reijnders absence wasn’t felt.
If we’re gonna bring refereeing into this, Udinese dime a dozen fouls that should have been yellows or reds. Offside is offside. Milan didn’t do a lot but they backed on purpose, they weren’t “pushed”.
We did have Morata’s counter and Abraham’s horrendous shot where he hurt himself.
Exactly, Reijnders is really nothing special but they’re making him to be the second coming of Gullit. He’s in his prime and if that’s it from him then ok, we got ourselves a good rotational squad player with a bit of flair and elegance but that’s about it. No end product. I rate Bennacer (the healthy one) higher. Additionally to creativity, he also dictates and wins the ball.