Following a 2-0 win against Bologna on the road, AC Milan hosted Torino in the second game of their 2023-24 season and the first at the San Siro.
It is a fixture has been favourable for the Rossoneri in recent years, especially at home, and it was no different this time out. In the 33rd minute, Pulisic continued his hot form as he combined with former Chelsea team-mate Ruben Loftus-Cheek to make it 1-0.
Torino did manage to equalise after just 3 minutes, but that didn’t last long as ten minutes later Milan were awarded a penalty that was converted by Olivier Giroud to double the score, followed by a lovely Theo Hernandez goal to make it 3-1 going into half-time.
In the second half, Milan were awarded another penalty in the 65th minute and Giroud got his brace to round off the scoring. Here are five things we learned from the game…
1. That’s more like it
After a rather underwhelming start to the season against Bologna, Rafael Leao picked up the pace against Torino and played a much better game earning himself the Man of the Match award in our post-game ratings.
The Portuguese winger was much better on the ball and involved himself in a lot of the attacks as well as managing to get an assist on Theo Hernandez’s goal.
It still, however, feels like the winger isn’t at full fitness and his end product wasn’t the greatest but it was much better than against Bologna, and with him sharper and Pulisic on the right Torino were powerless to stop Milan’s attack.
2. Made in Chelsea
Pulisic continued his hot form as he racked up another goal after combining with Loftus-Cheek, who also played a solid game showing off his physicality and ability on the ball as he made a lovely play for the assist.
The duo impressed with their movement on and off the ball and they seemed integrated well within the team as the chemistry looked to be there, especially the Pulisic-Giroud link which didn’t produce a goal on the night but looked dangerous.
Loftus-Cheek is seemingly picking up the pace and it will be exciting to see him in a few weeks time when he has gained a bit more understanding and fitness. The talent is there and Pioli will have to get the best out of the Englishman.
3. Positive inversion
Theo Hernandez played a very good game and managed to get his first goal of the season after a lovely combination with Leao. We saw the trend of inverted full-backs continue, something we analysed recently.
The Frenchman did stay wide a lot of the time trying to exploit his pace, but there were moments where he went inside and that looked dangerous as he combined with Giroud or Reijnders through the middle bringing a lot of sharpness to the attack.
On the right-hand side, Calabria tended to go inside more as he isn’t known for his pace and isn’t as efficient down the flank. Through the middle, however, he combined well with his team-mates and was an extra body to ‘bait Torino up the pitch’, as Pioli said.
The Italian is also still building up the chemistry with Loftus-Cheek and Pulisic, but it’s obvious that being an inverted full-back suits him as he is not afraid to play with the ball and doesn’t have to rely on his pace in that position.
4. Like fine wine
Olivier Giroud got a brace and whilst both goals came from the penalty spot the Frenchman was composed enough to convert them and played a tidy game overall, playing with his back against the goal a lot.
Giroud is turning 37 in a month, but he’s off to a great start with three goals and an assist after just two games. Pioli will be hoping that the Frenchman can be as prolific going forward.
The coach has the depth to allow the striker to rest so hopefully fatigue will not be an issue, and another striker signing could further increase the chance to rotate.
5. Finally competitive
Whilst Milan did manage to win the Scudetto two seasons ago and did fairly well in the Champions League last season, the team were never really that competitive in terms of depth.
A couple of injuries or a suspension was enough to destabilise the team, not to mention there were holes in the starting XI to begin with.
However, this has been addressed during the transfer window after the arrival of multiple key players such as Chukwueze, Okafor, Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek and Reijnders to name a few.
Despite the departure of Tonali, the Rossoneri possess a depth they haven’t had in probably a decade or so. It will be up to Pioli to bring everybody up to fitness, but now the Italian has the tools to be competitive on more than one stage.
