AC Milan produced the best performance of their season so far against Lecce, and it came thanks to some of the squad’s leaders.
La Gazzetta dello Sport begin a report by stating that we don’t know how many games Luka Modric will play between now and the end of the season, as it’s impossible to make predictions with a coach as unpredictable as Ruben Amorim.
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However, with him on the pitch, San Siro witnessed the best Milan performance of this year. The Croatian is one of the veterans the Portuguese coach brought back after benching him against Benfica and it paid off.
The four pillars
On the eve of the match, something filtered out from Milanello: the coach was leaning toward a starting XI based on a few key pillars. The names are as follows: Modric, Adrien Rabiot, Christian Pulisic and Mario Gila. Alexis Saelemaekers deserves a mention too.
After the break, Milan will have a crazy second half of October with seven games in eighteen days, and never more than three days between matches. That’s when rotation will be needed, but not in the final match before a three-week break.
Regarding Modric, Amorim was very clear, deeming intensity-based games as not being the best for the 41-year-old. To get Luka to perform at his best, possession is essential, that much is already clear.
This time, the choice was spot on as Milan dominated proceedings from the first to the last minute, and the Croatian brought out his classic repertoire: invaluable in defence, intelligent in build-up play.
Rabiot was also decisive. Adrien may not be in top form yet but in midfield he resoundingly won the match against the Apulians and even had the satisfaction of scoring. Meanwhile, Gila does exactly what he was bought to do: he pushes the defensive line up and is very competent in building out.
Finally, there’s the man of the match. Pulisic ended a very long drought that had lasted since December 28 of last year, the date on which he scored his last goal in a competitive match. The stints against Lazio and Benfica had given good indications, and he scored a lovely goal last night.
Luka, Adrien, Mario and Christian: ‘quality and experience’ are always the best recipe when you need to get out of trouble.
Just wanted to remind everyone how bad Man U look under Carrick… sooo, just a reminder
What Ac Milan needs to do is start scouting central mids. You can’t rely on a 40 year old, and Musah is not good enough. Jashari also not good enough. That and a new left footed AM.
Jashari is the real stinker, with few redeeming qualities.
Musah has fantastic defensive qualities, able to chase down and stop attacks through the middle. He still shows shaky decision making on the offensive side, and needs to be paired with a veteran midfield partner, ideally Rabiot.
As the match against Lazio proved, against the strongest offensive teams like Inter and RB Leipzig, Musah is ABSOLUTELY the defensive destroyer that has to start in place of Modric.
And, as the Benfica match showed, the ONLY time Musah and Jashari should start together is against the weakest low block relegation teams
How good Jashari is you can take facts into account and not feelings, he was layer of the season in a league that produces way more quality then Serie A.
If he does not show this season then I would say sell him as we run in a situation where neither player nor us benefit from it. He can do well elsewhere and hopefully we find out nd someone that fits
I’m just repeating the comments of Football Kush, who’s a lot more of a hardcore Milan fan and analyst than I am.
He pointed out that Jashari has a terrible first touch, which limits his effectiveness in a league with tighter marking and defenses.
It means he won’t be able to move the ball in tight spaces.
A player can have great success in easier leagues like the Eredivisie, Belgian Pro League, Swiss Super League, and MLS with a bad first touch, and then struggle against tougher defenses.
I’ve seen this so many times with so many players.
Jozy Altidore was the classic American player who grew up in MLS, had a horrible first touch, and yet found great success in the Eredivisie scoring goals, but then struggled in the Premiere League, and went back to MLS.
Gimenez was another such player with a bad first touch who succeeded in the Eedivisie who then struggled in a tougher defensive league.
I dunno, you would think whoever does the scouting for Milan would take a serious look at this one quality of a player.
Pulisic is the only American player I’ve ever seen with this magical soft first touch and decisive second touch on par with anything Messi has ever done. If only he stayed healthy for an entire season, he would be world class.
That’s why Pochettino needs to leave him out of the USMNT roster until the next World Cup
And, in case you were wondering, Pulisic has not a trace of MLS training in him – he’s a BvB Dortmund product.
I thought we were interested in Richard Rios then it cooled off. That’s definitely a player worth having in this team.