After a rather shocking 1-1 draw against Cremonese, Milan bounced back with a strong performance against Lazio this weekend. In the end, the Rossoneri prevailed 2-0 quite comfortably.
Milan did really well in the first half and scored the first goal after just 17 minutes, following great press from especially Olivier Giroud and Ismael Bennacer. The latter delivered the finish and asserted himself in the No.10 role.
Just 12 minutes later, Theo Hernandez scored a goal-of-the-season candidate as he ran 84 meters in 12 seconds before firing a rocket past the goalkeeper. A stunning first half, therefore, followed by a very controlled second half.
The only negative, of course, was Rafael Leao’s exit but it seems the winger will be ready for Wednesday, but the final decision will be taken on the day. Down below are five things we learned from the game.
1. Defensive masterclass
The defence did a magnificent job at preserving the clean sheet and neutralizing Lazio’s attack, who failed to register a single shot on target throughout the 90 minutes.
Kjaer and Tomori were as solid as you’d like in front of Maignan, winning key duels and carrying the ball forward. This sort of compactness will be needed against Inter on Wednesday in order for Milan to get anything out of their city rivals.
Calabria and Hernandez also did a great job on both flanks and helped a lot toward Maignan’s clean sheet.
2. Superb from Theo Hernandez
Speaking of great defending, that sure wasn’t the only thing Hernandez did exceptionally on the day. The Frenchman was the sole reason Milan doubled their lead after he ran 84 meters before firing a rocket to beat the goalkeeper.
The left-back did his defensive duties well too, as he kept Felipe Anderson quiet, which isn’t as easy as it may sound given the Brazilian’s brilliant season thus far.
Hernandez will have to be as active on that flank against Inter as he was against Lazio, especially if Leao were to miss the first game. Such exploits by the Frenchman will be key against the city rivals.
3. Midfield dominance
It wasn’t only the defenders that were responsible for the stellar defensive performance. Krunic and Tonali played a perfect game as they covered a lot of ground and did a lot of dirty work off the ball. They were also very involved in the build-up and were looking to play with the ball and help their team keep possession which proved critical.
The duo also did well going forward as they stayed composed whilst in tight spots, but were not afraid to run with the ball when they had the space. Another great display by Krunic and Tonali, in other words, as they have really found their rhythm since Pioli decided to play Bennacer in a more advanced role.
4. Bennacer steps up
Another player that was crucial in this crucial for Milan game was Bennacer. The Algerian pressed really intelligently and was pivotal for his team as he also opened up the scoring.
Bennacer has always shown his excellent dribbling skills and with Krunic and Tonali playing deeper, the Algerian has more freedom in his new role and really has been able to offer some comfort for the team. When he’s on the ball, you know he can get out of a tight spot and is not afraid to be in possession.
Needless to say, he isn’t your typical attacking midfielder, but he’s done a very good job of slotting in behind Giroud. And given De Ketelaere and Diaz’s inconsistency, Bennacer looks like the right man for the job.
5. Positive from Saelemaekers
The Belgian came on in the 11th minute after Leao felt pain in his groin and Saelemaekers managed to somewhat fill the void left by the Portuguese.
He has actually had a good run of form lately and whilst he can’t be compared with Leao, he does offer a great work rate that allows Hernandez to make those forward runs he loves so much.
The Belgian is also more than capable of beating his man and is not shy of being on the ball, as he constantly tries to get into an open position and receive the ball. Hopefully, Pioli can use all of these characteristics and deploy Alexis on the left if Leao were to miss the first leg against Inter.
Our chance to play champions league stays only if juvemerda are banned for next year.
We have slim chances for that to happen, so this team last train In this season are last two games against shiter.
Are you sure? Cause, Inter has tough matches coming up.. Especially against Napoli!
I don’t see Inter losing a single game in the league until the end of the season. Napoli have nothing to fight for, and Atalanta at home is a game they should win.
Remember Bologna Inter last season? Anything can happen..
Hmmmm pls Milan should try and sign ritsu Doan,either Noah Okafor or Kerem arktogun this player are the players Milan need bcos they are utility players and Nicolo zaniolo with baldazi they are perfect players I feel and suggest that can give Milan a boost pls let’s hurry up sign those important players to perfect our team
Does every review require transfer speculation/fantasy football?
I agree. Got tired of these kind of transfer comments on every articles. Out of context and uncalled for.
Who is Kerem Arktogun?
Not to sound negative it was almost the exact same performance as against Cremonese!
The difference is we got that goal early on, and that goal came from a mistake from Lazio. The other goal came from a piece of brilliance and lucky deflection.
Also Tomori made a crucial error every bit as bad as Thiaw and Kalulu did against Cremonese. He just got lucky that Lazio didn’t score.
The point is that there was not this huge gulf between either the players who played across both matches, or Lazio and Cremonese.
Matches come down to moments. Against Cremonese had Saelemaekers‘ goal been onside it would’ve been a completely different game with completely different reviews.
So for me the lessons are:
1. we’re still not creating enough in games and this is probably are main area where we need to strengthen.
2. Leao’s injury shows why even resting players doesn’t guarantee anything so we may as well make hay while the sun shines, plus Guardiola has shown over the years that over playing players can actually avoid injuries (probably because bodies get into a rhythm).
3. Our “first team” as not as superior to our “back ups” as the media and fans claim.
4. Lazio is not as superior to Cremonese as the media, fans and even Pioli seems to think.
5. If only we could play play offs against our direct rivals for the champions league as they’re the only games we seem to be able to win!
I agree with one or two of the points, but Jesus man, some of the things you say…
Lazio not that superior to Cremonese… right! There’s just the small issue of a whopping 40 points difference between them in the table.
And I mean you saw Theo’s once in a lifetime solo goal and still came here to write that “there was not this huge gulf between the players”?!
Yeah, I’m sure Theo Hernandez and Balo-Toure are more or less the same quality 😅
There might not be a difference between an amateur and a world class player for 89 minutes of a match, but that one-all-important-minute is all it takes. That spark of genius.
Well the reason for my comparison between Lazio and Cremonese is more a reminder of why Milan cannot afford to keep underestimating teams.
Lazio are obviously better than Cremonese but the gaps are incremental. So the key is we can’t afford to treat teams like Cremonese (or indeed Spezia) lightly or as guaranteed wins.
And again because there’s not this huge gap between the Milan players – some are more capable of individual brilliance than others – but overall it’s not as simple as this or that player let the side down.
These incremental differences are all the more reason for NOT rotating, or at least NOT making wholesale changes. They immediately send the wrong message but more importantly those little incremental differences get lost in a sea of changes. Form, team cohesion, and, yes, individual magic, are needed to beat ANY team.
It’s these subtle differences that get lost in arbitrary reviews, player ratings and fantasy football.
3. Our “first team” as not as superior to our “back ups” as the media and fans claim.
LOL. If Piolie had fielded CDK & Origi against Lazio we would have lost instead of the 2-0 win. For sure. Don’t be delusional.
Is that Origi who has actually won and scored in the champions league?
Or is CDK who is considered to be one of the best players at his age in Europe?
What players are needed to reach the right “level”?
Let’s look at some players who have won titles over the years:
Giaccherini? 2 Serie A titles.
Iaquinta? 1 Serie A title and World Cup.
Brocchi? 2 x Champions Leagues and 1 Serie A.
Are these the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious godlike players you had in mind?
Or just players who were part of well run and tightly knit teams?
The only problem with both Origi and CDK is that we might be better off if we only had one of them because they’d get more playing time.
That is the main problem with the Milan squad. It’s too big and this encourages Pioli to make too many changes when he rotates.
We’ve seen countless times over the years how the exact same players perform at different levels in different scenarios sometimes with the exact same team
Chelsea went from 1st to 10th to 1st in 3 seasons with basically the same squad.
Pioli took the exact same squad players that had struggled for years and turned them into league winners.
Origi and CDK have been absolute dog sh#.t.
Origi has always been crap. That’s why he was 4th or 5th choice striker at Liverpool
Yes which means that something isn’t working.
My guess is that it’s a lack of playing time. We’re talking about highly tuned athletes playing at the highest levels where a millisecond makes all the difference.
Any rustiness off the bench is going to have a major impact.
My solution is focusing on a core of about 16-17 players and using the same players (it doesn’t matter who) across multiple positions: 3 x CBs for 2, 3 x FBs for 2, 3 x CMs for 2 and then a few attacking options.
Chelsea under Mourinho rotated Duff, Cole and Robben (only the latter was world class but they still won titles and broke records).
Response.
Is that Origi who has actually won and scored in the champions league?
Or is it CDK who is considered to be one of the best players at his age in Europe?
What players are needed to reach the right “level”?
Let’s look at some players who have won titles over the years:
Giaccherini? 2 Serie A titles.
Iaquinta? 1 Serie A title and 1 x World Cup.
Brocchi? 2 x Champions Leagues and 1 Serie A.
Are these the godlike players you had in mind?
Or just players who were part of well run and tightly knit teams?
The only problem with both Origi and CDK is that we might be better off if we only had one of them because they’d get more playing time.
That is the main problem with the Milan squad. It’s too big and this encourages Pioli to make too many changes when he rotates.
We’ve seen countless times over the years how the exact same players perform at different levels in different scenarios sometimes with the exact same team
Chelsea went from 1st to 10th to 1st in 3 seasons with basically the same squad.
Pioli took the exact same squad players that had struggled for years and turned them into league winners.
“Is that Origi who has actually won and scored in the champions league?
Or is CDK who is considered to be one of the best players at his age in Europe?”
The same duo that has made zero difference on the pitch the whole season where they have played 20-30 matches. Not once have they had a positive effect on the result. Not once.
Sure, Origi has won things. Does that make him score goals for Milan? Nope.
CDK can be labeled as “the greatest prospect ever to play football and will be the GOAT” but that still doesn’t change the fact that his scoresheet shows a big fat zero and has shown zero growth during the last 6-9 months.
Well that fact that Origi has won things and isn’t performing for Milan should lead you to question – why?
But I guess it’s easier just to give up and fantasise about replacements.
As I said above my guess is that it’s a lack of playing time. Any rustiness is going to really impact a player at that level especially when the manager changes 6-8 first team players and replaced them with 6-8 rusties.
And even still it was our “star” starter, Brahim, who missed an open goal against Cremonese. It can happen to anyone!
If only football was as predictable as a computer game.
“Well that fact that Origi has won things”
Never as a starter. Like you said it yourself: Even Brocchi won silverware. Does that make him a superstar? No. He just happened to be in a great club at the right time.
don’t forget Salad would have scored a goal as well if Giroud had ducked.
One thing milan or pioli must learn: dont change the winning team!! Thats why Napoli get the campeon italia or good performance from Inter.
When it comes to dribbling ability in tight spaces, no one on the team is better than Saelemaekers. Doesn’t say much about the rest of the squad ability. He has improved his technical ability so much since his 1st day at Milanello. At the beginning he was just a hard working player who can run a lot, and now he can beat his mean with ease. He just gotta keep things simple and not over dribble. I actually like him much better playing more centrally than on the wing.
We still need an upgrade on the RW and AM but Saelamaekers should definitely be part of the future plans of the club.
I agree with you. Improvement skill already have on saladmaker, theo and leao but not with diaz. No improvement with him on 2 years loan. Wear no. 10 shirt you should do your magic. Magician. If you choose useful player id go with krunic than diaz.