Massimo Ambrosini has praised Tijjani Reijnders given his recent explosion in form, stating that he hasn’t seen anyone shoot like him in Italy for a long time.
Reijnders’ first season in Italy was by no means a bad one as he became an immovable starter under Stefano Pioli, but he certainly was not at the level which he has been consistently this season, especially in terms of attacking output.
This is probably due to the trust that Paulo Fonseca has in the midfielder, along with forming a fruitful partnership with Youssouf Fofana. The numbers speak for themselves: in all of 2023-24 Reijnders had four goals and four assists, this season (after 17 games) he is already on seven goals, three assists.
Ambrosini gave a short interview to the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport to talk about Reijnders and his important growth this season, with his comments relayed by MilanPress.
“He is definitely less shy. I think he has made another mental leap: he is more consistent and more decisive. And I am not just talking about the many goals he is scoring, but also about everything else,” he said.
“The duel with Ederson? It will be a good test for both, as well as for Atalanta and Milan. Ederson is exceptional on a physical level, in the nastiness he shows in duels he seems like a defender, but then he also knows how to finish on goal in the other area.
“It’s a question of interpretation, attitude and application. Like Reijnders, the Brazilian from La Dea is a modern midfielder, especially because he is able to cover the whole pitch. Differences? The Dutchman from Milan has the final pass, the through ball almost like an attacking midfielder.
“And he knows how to score in all ways: with runs in behind, but also with shots from outside the area. Well, it’s been a long time since I saw a midfielder in Italy who shoots like Reijnders.”
“he is more consistent and more decisive. And I am not just talking about the many goals he is scoring” . Couldn’t agree more. That he is scoring is actually overshadowing the leap he’s taken in his overall game especially the reading of games. I think last year I used to ask what does he do and it’s because he used to run into areas and lose the ball or didn’t know what to do with the ball, pass backwards alot. That he couldn’t defend properly or really barge his way through a defence didn’t help his cause (so we ended up looking at GCs to compensate…kinda like with RLC). However his passing has always been his best attribute. This year as he’s now more familiar with his teammates he seem more assured of what to do and when. Forget the goals for a sec his attacking positioning and game awareness has improved markedly as is his ability to play out of a press. I’d still like to see him play better against big teams though on a more consistent basis (yes he played Real and Inter who imo were a bit out of sorts). Still needs to be better on defence though but I’d have to stay this was the improvement I and guess others similar were hoping for.
100% what I’ve been thinking.
I’d add that him scoring more this season is due in parts to his improved positioning. Last season he tries too hard to dribble or waits inside the penalty box and gets nervous, while right now you’ll feel like he’s waiting for the ball to get to him to shoot.
Also he’s getting more through balls and long balls vertically. He gave a nice one to Chukwueze last game and a nice chip to Leao against Cagliari I think.
I disagree a bit on the big teams aspect. It’s not that he always played well against big teams but rather that his good or poor showing were a bit independant of whom he faced.
I would like him to improve his defensive game (pretty much non existant) but we can actually correct this issue by getting Frendrup and or/Ricci which will allow us to play a 4-3-3 with him going back to his natural position as a mezzala. Fofana would also benefit from this and can go back to be more of a carrier rather than a defensive midfielder.
Yes I was going to add the last part but thought the post was going too long. A true DM and then him and Fofana right ahead occupying different spots…..maaannn I’d like to see that in action!!!
Fair point on the big teams too. I want to see him a bit more though. But right now even if on says it’s”just lesser teams” you still gotta perform too right. So to his credit, he’s getting us points on what’s a more difficult thing to do
It’s like so many people hate reijnders
Only his opponents. And some insane Milan fans 😉