AC Milan disappointed in their last two games against Torino and Bologna, and unfortunately, it was no different against Lazio where the Rossoneri were again beaten.
Lazio started the game more convincingly and were by far the better team in the first half, creating plenty of chances and that paid off in the 28th minute when Zaccagni opened the scoring.
As has become a commodity, there was no immediate reaction from Milan and eventually things just got worse and worse with Strahinja Pavlovic earning himself a red card in the 67th minute.
It was looking very bad for the Rossoneri until the 85th minute when, out of nothing, Samuel Chukwueze managed to score a great header to bring his side level after he was left unmarked at the far post.
That gave the side some momentum and they had a couple of chances, where they should’ve done more and could’ve done more to win the game, but they failed to do so. After losing the ball easily, for the nth time, Lazio countered and won a penalty with Mike Maignan being the culprit.
Pedro scored the penalty calmly in the 98th minute and helped his side grab all three points whilst also crushing Milan’s Champions League hopes, if any were left that is.
Here are five things we learned:
1. Jimenez not ready for the first team
Alex Jimenez has been given more and more game time in recent weeks, but he keeps being disappointing in both phases of the game. As a result, it is evident now that he’s not ready to be more than a rotational player when other key players are injured.
Jimenez lost his duel with Tavares down the flank and fell asleep on the first goal whilst also offering next to nothing in attack. Disappointing performance, to say the least.
2. Pavlovic and Maignan disappoint
Well, you could argue a lot with both the red card and the penalty and if the calls were right, but unfortunately both Pavlovic and Maignan gave enough to the referee so he could make the calls.
The Serbian also made a poor clearance prior to the first goal and whilst the fault doesn’t fall solely on him, he could’ve done a bit more and been more aware of his surroundings in what was an easily preventable situation.
Then, on the red card, there’s little to say and the fact of the matter is he did not get the ball. Unfortunately, it all started with Fofana sloppily losing the ball, but it was the centre back that paid the price in the end.
Maignan actually had an okay game as he made a crucial save early on and whilst he could’ve done better on the first goal, there were too many individual mistakes from the players in front of him to put any blame on him, really.
On the penalty though, he was a bit rash to come out as he did and make contact with his opponent when he could’ve stayed on his line. Yes, the decision may have been harsh but again, the Frenchman did enough to warrant that decision.
3. Fofana – Musah not going to cut it
The duo were practically invisible for large chunks of the game and when they managed to get on the ball they were really sloppy, unfortunately. Yunus Musah was dispossessed on a few occasions and wasteful in attack. Considering he was subbed off after just 37 minutes, enough can be taken away from it.
Youssouf Fofana was also shockingly poor in the midfield, as his passing let him down on multiple occasions whilst his inflated belief in himself made for some comic relief after he skied a couple of shots.
To top it off, one of the times he lost the ball cheaply was when Pavlovic earned himself the red card, a completely avoidable situation but the Rossoneri’s lack of ideas in the final third proved costly yet again.
Overall, really poor from Fofana who, barring a couple of good games since joining in the summer, has been disappointing as he looks like yet another mistake the management made in the summer.
4. Trio do well off the bench but not enough
Malick Thiaw, Luka Jovic and Chukwueze all came on in delicate moments, but all things considered they did rather well. Thiaw was good defensively and did the job even though his side was a man down.
Jovic had a couple of good combinations with his teammates and oddly enough, made a couple of important defensive interceptions. Despite not making much happen in the opponent’s box, it was still better than what Santiago Gimenez had to offer.
Finally, Chukwueze managed to win the man of the match in our post-game ratings, which was rather easy given all the poor performances, but the Nigerian scored a good goal and got Milan back into the game in a very tough situation – it’s unlucky that they couldn’t even manage to hold onto the draw.
5. Who’s the issue here?
After a couple of months of Sergio Conceicao, it’s time to reflect, mostly because the season seems pretty much finished for the Rossoneri, excluding a Cup run that might result in silverware, although unlikely given the current state of the club.
Conceicao has claimed fewer points per game than Paulo Fonseca did, and after a mixed start, where a lot of positives could’ve been drawn purely based on the energy he brought, it must be said that this energy is gone and Milan are playing worse compared to before he arrived.
Individual mistakes in every game, lack of discipline, and the coach throwing fits and playing the victim sure doesn’t look good.
So despite the players being poor, and they definitely have been, it’s fair to say that Conceicao has also not been the solution the management were looking for because one thing is certain. this team possesses much more quality than a 9th place team in Serie A.
At this point, it’s obvious that the issues are coming from the top. The club seems like a toxic workplace now, where nobody seems happy and motivation is understandably missing.
A situation that needs fixing desperately.
We need more Italian players and less Italian refs… The whole league should be officiated by Englishmen or Spaniards or something – guys outside of the broken Italian system… And I actually don’t mind Lorenzo and Stefano’s idea in the pub chat – bring back Galliani…
So, by the letter of the law Maignan’s foul was a penalty, but I just don’t understand that rule. I’m referring to a situation where the attacking player is well wide of the goal, the GK rushes out, the attacker then just kicks the ball beyond the end line or away from the goal, then the GK makes contact, the attacker goes down and the penalty is called. What if Mike doesn’t touch the attacker? The ball is WAY gone. There is no chance for that to be a goal scoring opportunity. I see this so many times. GK rushes out, attacker punts the ball away at the last second some place they won’t be able to get to it anyway, GK makes contact, penalty. This needs to change.
It’s really simple though. Are you allowed to trip opponent players? Even if he doesn’t have the ball? Nope. Mike tripped the guy. Clear foul. End of discussion.
“a Cup run that might result in silverware, although unlikely given the current state of the club”
Milan can win the Cup. Vs Inter they have already won twice this season (and Izaghi’s focus is on the Scudetto race and the UCL), and the final will be against either Bologna or Empoli. Not unlikely, by any means.
Considering the CURRENT shape of AC Milan, getting past inter is very unlikely. But even if we get into the final, Bologna one of the likely finalist, isn’t actually a worse team than us.
Does anyone think we would be lucky enough to not lose once in the two Inter matches? One draw could be possible in some alternative universes but let’s face the truth: we’re already out. Inter is a 100x better team than we are. And that will show on the scoresheet.
Tactics and GRINTA will always beat individual talent.
You can have a bunch of individual talents (although ours lately haven’t really displayed whatever talent they supposedly have) but if there is no collective play, no understanding between players, no combinations and more importantly, no willingless to win and fight for every ball, then we’re at the mercy of every team.
This current AC Milan has no coach, no leader inside or outside the pitch and no allegiance to the shirt. The players have already gave up and don’t care anymore, and why would they ? They would get their paycheck anyways and can leave during the summer if they’re so unhappy. The coach does seem to care, but there isn’t much he can do, and it’s clear his methods aren’t working. And the club is still profitable, so the ownership must still be happy right ?
Well said. Did Leicester win the EPL years and years ago because they had the best individuals? LOL. No, no they didn’t. What counts most is the attitude. And that is the one thing we’re missing most.
The problems at the club are far deeper than the coach and players at this point. Until the management is replaced with people who actually know what they’re doing, it won’t matter who plays or who coaches. It’s gonna be more or less the same.
That’s why I’m surprised Reijnders renewed so quickly. I would have put the breaks on to see what changes take place in the summer.
Reijnders had a contract that lasted till 2028. He signed till 2030. He had a long contract regardless, so waiting wouldn’t have given him any leverage.
It makes no difference in case of a transfer. If he asks to leave this summer they will let him leave with or without the extension. If he doesn’t want to leave you can’t sell him with or without the extension.
The only differences is that he got a big pay raise doubling his salary. Let’s see if he will continue to play well and improve or he will be like every other Milan player who got an extension and play like sh!t.
“Let’s see if he will continue to play well and improve or he will be like every other Milan player who got an extension and play like sh!t.”
Your point about the extension is interesting and it’s true that both Théo and Leão form dropped after their contract renewal and Bennacer was already removed from his 2020 form by the time he renewed but does correlation mean causation ? I think there are many reasons to their form drop (and not necessarly good ones)
Théo renewed in 2021 if my memory serves me right and up until the 2022 World Cup he was pretty good with us. You could say he never came back from Qatar.
Leão DID drop after his contract renewal in 2023.
Or maybe they were always these types of players who have a very short prime.
BTW I’m not saying I agree or disagree, but this subject of players’ performances linked to their contract renewal is interesting in a way.
Tomori, after his renewal he has been awful.
Kalulu, after his renewal went from a starter to the 5th choice CB under the same coach.
Tonali, after he got his salary doubled post scudetto season, he was poor in 22/23. People talk about Reijnders not being able to defend, they should go watch how many goals Milan conceded because of Tonali and Bennacer in that season.
Saelemaekers had a drop off after his renewal, etc.
The only player that got an extension over the last few years at Milan and kept up with the same play or got better was Giroud . Even though he was getting older and closer to 40 his production was going up in each of his 3 seasons at Milan.
As much as Giroud’s decline in pace was frustrating at the end. You couldn’t fault his commitment, desire and football intelligence.
At 38 on his way out of the club and on the eve of his final tournament for France. He put his hand up to go Australia for that ridiculous friendly with Roma. Letting stars like Leao and Maignan avoid the trip.
“ The problems at the club are far deeper than the coach and players at this point. Until the management is replaced with people who actually know what they’re doing, it won’t matter who plays or who coaches. It’s gonna be more or less the same.”
💯💯💯 SPOT ON. I would ADD – OWNERSHIP to this thought. Everything in life starts from the TOP – and that is Redbird. Fire Moncada, Ibra and Furlani and Gerry will hits bring in another Moncada, Ibra and Furlani. Point is nothing will change unless Ownership is changed and the philosophy on how to operate this club.
1) Conceicao makes Fonseca look like Pep Guardiola.
2) Theo was more responsible for the first goal than Pavlovic. It was Theo jogging back while the slower Lazio player runs by him. Same great effort from Theo. Will this “tough, no-nonsense” coach discipline him at all. Nope. Just like after the Feyenoord disaster. Theo will be starting the next match of course.
3) Giminez should not be starting every game for this team. He may be a more clinical finisher than Tammy, but he is 100% reliant on service from others. He cannot create anything. Tammy at least can create for himself and others. He’s got better pace, he’s a good dribbler and passer. He may miss some shots that he should finish but he can create a lot more. With the offense in the state that it is in right now Giminez is almost useless.
4) The players hate playing for this coach. It’s clear from the body language of almost every player and not just the lazy ones but the players who work their butt off.
5) Conceicao should be fired immediately. He’s clearly not going to be back next season so why prolong the misery. He’s just going to continue to destroy our best players the longer this goes on. Pulisic, Reijnders , Leao, Fofana, they have all gotten dramatically worse under him. Don’t let this continue. Put an interim coach in there for the rest of the season. DOesn’t matter who. Literally anyone would be better for the team.
Average points:
Conceicao – 1.4
Fonseca – 1.58
Average goals:
Conceicao – 1.3
Fonseca -1.52
Average goals conceded:
Conceicao – 1.3
Fonseca – 1.
Watching this team play you can see there is no strategy. At this level just telling players to play harder is not a solution. They are organized like a hs team. Leão’s comments last game about just kicking the ball long is very telling. ACM does not create space as there is very little movement. The back line seems incapable of making a tight pass to break a line or to switch play.
Amazing how we dismantle scudetto winning squad in less than 5 years. Now we would consider selling Leao, Theo and Mike who is the core of the scudetto team
The Milan I once lived so much back in the days is really breaking my heart to say the least but I see one problem in the whole of the Milan issues and that’s purely management problem and I’d like to analyze it briefly for a better and quick understanding on why management issues is the major issue we’re having in Milan.
– if not for a management issue, why on earth would Milan fire a Fonseca whose records speaker far more volume than this very lackluster and less understanding coach called conceicao?
– if not for management problem, why would there be a change in coach so abruptly even when it was obvious the team hadn’t felt so badly as it’s the case now?
– if not for management problem, why has Milan always stuck with very well below average coaches since the last days of our own amiable and enviable Carlo Ancelotti?
If not for management problem, why wouldn’t Milan employ the services of good managers like Roberto De Zerbi long before now and despite even Guardiola himself calling him the next generation tiki taka coach that understands everything football?
– if not for management problems, why have we continually engaged the services of none world class players as against classy likes of pirlos, the shevchenkos, the inzaghis, the seedorfs, the gattusos and their likes?
My humble suggestion: let’s there be an a total overhaul of the entire Milan’s poor thinking management and then the coach with his coaching staff and replace them all with better thinking ones as well can’t continue to tolerate such high level of mediocrity and absent mindset in our beloved Milan team especially now that time surely do not wait for anyone going by the recent standard of play of most serious big teams across big leagues of the world and the huge numbers of trophies they’ve recently added to their coffers while we only sit outside the professional box like spectators only good to watch what fine jobs others are doing for which they’d be getting nice accolades.
Things, Milan must change that’s the only way forward
Until Gerry sells nothing will change.
This is SYSTEMIC. Not about one coach or one player. It’s about OWNERSHIP
It’s the ORGANIZATION and it’s Philosophy on how to run a football club as an a whole. No matter who we bring in – doesn’t really matter. We will not win consistently and consistently challenge for titles.