AC Milan 2-2 Pisa: Five things we learned – naivety and opportunities not taken

Heading into the Pisa game as heavy favourites, despite the injury crisis, AC Milan were expected to clinch all three points. Instead, they only collected one and we learned several things from the outcome. 

The win against Fiorentina was hard-fought, so no one was expecting fireworks against Pisa, but the outcome still came as a bit of a surprise. After a good first half with several chances, Milan tuned out slightly and lost control, resulting in the two goals for the away side.

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In the end, it was Milan that had to fight for a draw and got it thanks to Zachary Athekame, who scored a 93rd-minute equaliser. Nevertheless, it was a disappointing evening for the Rossoneri and below are five things we learned from the game.

1. Leao improving, but his ceiling is higher

The Portuguese international scored twice against Fiorentina, and against Pisa, he managed to get on the scoresheet once again. It was a lovely curling effort from outside the box, making it difficult for the goalkeeper, and he’s certainly regaining form after the injury at the start of the season.

However, he then faded a bit and didn’t really want to take matters into his own hands, trying to calm things down instead of going for a second goal. In the second half, he also hit the woodwork from close range when the score was still 1-1, so it ended up being a pivotal miss.

Bottom line is that whilst the No.10 is improving massively when it comes to finding the net, there are still things he can improve. Especially since we all expect so much from him; he has the quality and can take on even more responsibility.

2. Unusual defensive errors

Milan have been brilliant defensively in recent weeks, so it was rather strange to see them concede twice against a side like Pisa. On the flip side, it’s similar to what we saw in the opening clash against Cremonese, so perhaps something must be tweaked.

One could argue the first goal was rather unlucky as it was a penalty; a penalty that Koni De Winter was unlucky to cause. The harsh truth, though, is that the Belgian should have been more careful and it summed up his entire game.

Then, on the second goal, a lot happened at the same time as Matteo Gabbia was fouled by a Pisa player in the build-up. Meanwhile, Athekame lost his man way too easily, leaving Strahinja Pavlovic in an impossible position to recover.

We won’t dig too much into this as it seemed like one of those days, so unless it happens again next time, we can write it off as a one-off. Still, it’s frustrating to see such issues against a side that has struggled so much.

3. Rabiot and Pulisic absence felt

Without Rabiot in the midfield, something was clearly missing. Ricci was a tad too slow and tame overall, so while he wasn’t necessarily terrible, it’s a different dynamic. With the Frenchman, Milan have more flair, running strength and he also uses his height very well to win duels.

Pulisic also would have helped (duh!), especially since Christopher Nkunku failed to make an impact off the bench and squandered a good opportunity inside Pisa’s penalty box. Not to mention that Santiago Gimenez had his usual struggles (more on that soon).

It was always going to be difficult without the injured duo, and they would be hard to replace for any team, but it’s clearly affecting Milan. If we’re being honest, however, Milan should have won yesterday’s game anyway as they just needed composure in front of goal.

4. Duo disappoint

Santiago Gimenez, as said, didn’t help much throughout the game and questions can also be asked about Alexis Saelemaekers. Yes, he had a good shot from distance and some good moments, but he needed to be more clinical.

Starting with the Mexican, there was almost zero impact, which is impressive in itself, as he struggled to make any huge impression on the ball. There were also some good crosses from Bartesaghi, but Gimenez didn’t position himself well on any of them.

The Belgian, meanwhile, did make some stuff happen with his usual dribbles on the right flank. However, aside from a good squared pass to Leao and that aforementioned long-range shot, he struggled in the final moments (both with crosses and with shots/short passes).

Of course, he also had the perfect chance to win all three points with the final kick of the game, but he wasted the opportunity after failing to hit the target from close range.

5. Lack of concentration must be addressed

I’m sure Allegri will be addressing this as soon as possible, and Modric didn’t seem too happy either, but more of a winner mentality is needed in this team. If any duo can help fix that for Milan, it’s the gaffer and the Croatian veteran.

Last night, the Rossoneri opened the scoring very early on and simply had to kill the game with all of their dominance in the first half. However, instead, they didn’t really push hard enough and seemed content with the one-goal lead.

Then, in the second half, the concentration just went away – while Pisa also improved – as the players seemed certain of the victory in a way. They certainly got punished for their naivety and had to fight hard in the end.

Ultimately, these games will decide where Milan end up in the standings come May, and they need a better mentality if they want to gather as many points as possible.