After a disastrous start to their Champions League campaign, AC Milan stabilised themselves with some positive performances domestically. With confidence growing, the Rossoneri aimed to get their first points in Europe but it was never going to be easy against Bayer Leverkusen in Germany.
Indeed, it turned out to be a bit overwhelming for Milan, and they really struggled in the first hour of the game as they were mostly defending and trying to soak in the pressure. This eventually resulted in Leverkusen getting a deserved goal 51 minutes in.
After that goal, the Rossoneri actually woke up and started creating chances, but they failed to convert. It is fair to suggest that the Diavolo should’ve at least gotten a draw out of the game because even though they were on the back foot for the first hour, they managed to create enough to get something out of the game.
The game ended up being rather frustrating to watch with the Rossoneri showing lots of positives in the final half-hour. However, this narrative of playing well for short periods in such big games is becoming a frustration – if it was not already as it has been the case for a few years now.
Once again, Milan failed to reach the level required and questions have to be asked about whether the Diavolo can compete with the best European teams for a whole game.
Regardless, given the poor start and the opponent, we did see some interesting things in this game, but more is required and Fonseca has little room for errors in the rest of the Champions League fixtures.
So without further ado, here are five observations from the game itself:
1. Maignan, unfortunately, not enough
Mike Maignan was easily the MOTM in our post-game ratings – he made several important saves to keep Milan in the game and was unlucky on the goal as the ball rebounded in Boniface’s feet, he is not to blame for this, though.
It is another case where the Frenchman has proved his value in a big game, and once again, he showed he is a true leader at the back. His distribution deserves a mention too as it started some interesting attacks.
Hopefully, he stays injury-free and continues to be a crucial piece of the Milan defence, as he proved how crucial he can be, even if the Diavolo were on the wrong side of the result.
📊 The stats from the loss against Bayer Leverkusen pic.twitter.com/9lKwTdPQiq
— MilanData📊 (@acmilandata) October 1, 2024
2. Defence performed well, all things considered
It’s probably weird to pick out defensive positives from a loss, but Leverkusen were, and probably are one of the best teams in Europe. With this in mind, they were always going to create some chances, especially when playing in Germany.
Therefore, credit has to be given to the Diavolo – they defended well, keeping a tight line which caught the Leverkusen players in an offside position on a few occasions, and for the majority of the game the defence seemed focused and did well with players doing their work at the back well. Youssouf Fofana also deserves a mention for shielding the defence well.
If anything, the goal was rather unlucky to concede as the Germans had a clearer chance which they missed earlier.
Overall, we saw good structure, especially given the defensive display we saw against Liverpool at the San Siro, and it is a defensive performance to build upon, that’s for sure.
3. The Attack failed their teammates
The defensive display was quite good from Milan, so it’s rather frustrating that the issues came from the attack – an area where we should’ve seen better efficiency, especially given the Rossoneri had managed to score 9 goals in the last 3 games before Tuesday.
In the first half the attack barely produced anything – barring a few Leao moments, but he too was disappointing when it came to the final third.
Tijjani Reijnders had a good game, but by his standards, his ball control failed him a couple of times. The most notable occasion was where he should’ve scored as he went through the defence before failing to release a shot. In games like this nobody is going to wait for you, and unfortunately for the Diavolo, the Dutchman now knows that.
When Morata came off the bench he did well to bring energy to the pitch, but then when he had the chance to make the most of a rebound from Theo’s shot he failed to at least hit the target.
Creating those chances is hard enough against a compact team, and Milan need to start finishing them off if they want to fight for trophies. In many ways, this is exactly why some fans were not happy with the Morata and Abraham signings since they’re not exactly poachers that score 20+ goals a season.
However, we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt as they’ve not disappointed thus far.
4. Fofana has arrived
Suggesting that we might have witnessed the best game in red and black from Fofana since joining in the summer transfer window is certainly not outrageous. He commanded the midfield and in the second half, he involved himself with the attack more, showcasing that he can shoot and beat players and overall, help his side create a few chances.
On top of that, he continued to be solid defensively, helping his team not trail by more than a goal and it was a very impressive performance with him finally showing what he’s all about – albeit the delay in his ‘arrival’ so to speak was expected.
Assuming this wasn’t a one-off, Fonseca should be really happy with what he saw against Leverkusen and Fofana will indeed be a key piece for this Milan squad. This will then allow the likes of Reijnders to focus on attacking whilst the Frenchman helps lock the defence.
5. Same old Chukwueze
The Nigerian is an enigma at this point as he had the occasional good moment last year, but never managed to find continuity. With Fonseca’s arrival, we saw the coach trusting the winger in pre-season, and in fairness, Chukwueze repaid him with some very good performances throughout the summer.
Since the start of the season, though, we have been witnessing the same Chukwuze that was seen throughout the whole of last season – a player failing to beat his man, despite clearly possessing the pace and dribbling abilities, and in general, failing to make any impact whatsoever.
Against Leverkusen, he couldn’t even cross the ball and offered nothing as it seemed like every Milan attack was doomed when the ball was at his feet. At this rate, the management probably needs to think about how to get the highest transfer value they can for him and look for a proper deputy to Pulisic.
The most important thing is that this team is improving. Hope we carry the anger from this defeat towards our next matches.
Couldn’t agree more.
1/ We’re dependant on Morata. The team is simply not good when he doesn’t play. We obviously gotta start him often (hopefully…) but we gotta find a way to be effective without him or to channel his spirit.
2/ The 4-2-3-1 is simply not for us, Loftus-Cheek failed as an AM, Reijndeers failed as an AM, we have no one who can play there. Better stick to 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 (if Fofana can play as a 6 that is).
3/ We’re weaker that Leverkusen. It’s not like we had a silver bullet we forgot to use, they simply are a better team with a better coach.
4/ Fofana is clearly improving and yesterday’s second half was actually pretty good (better than any of our midfielders performances since 2023). Some Monaco fans said to me that he has tendencies to choose games where he shines, but he seems motivated to play with us, hopefully he continues to improve.
5/ We could have put a cone instead of Royal and we wouldn’t have noticed the difference.
I agree with most of what you said especially regarding the formation as Milan cannot play 4231. We simply don’t have the right players for it.
Therefore, you are 100% correct that we should stick with the 442 or 433 formation. Hopefully Fonseca realizes that after so many failed attempts at playing 4231. Sigh! Smh
But this is where I disagree with you: I don’t believe Bayer Leverkusen is a better team than Milan. Atalanta dominated Leverkusen and Liverpool and outplayed them both at home and in the Europa League finals.
Milan has a better team than Atalanta. The only difference is that Atalanta has a better coach who uses the right tactics and formation to beat these teams.
If Milan played with a 442 with Morata and Abraham or a 433 we would have had a better result against Liverpool and Leverkusen.
Well yesterday Lille defeated Real Madrid, does that make Lille a better team than Real Madrid ? I pretty much doubt it.
No one believed Atalanta could defeat either Leverkusen or Liverpool and I still think the 2 laters are better than the former (more titles, better ranking in their respective leagues, better players,…). But in football it is not always the favourite who win, otherwise what’s the point of having the game. What Atalanta did what amazing, they clearly prepared themselves very well, were confident, and perhaps their opponents were a bit overconfident.
I still maintain that overall Leverkusen is better than Milan for the following reasons:
1/ Alonso is a better coach than Fonseca.
2/ Outside of Theo and Maignan (perhaps Leao and Pulisic as well) I don’t see any of our players starting with them
3/ Their best players (namely Wirtz) are better than our best players
4/ They don’t have as many weak/bad players as we do (Royal, Chukwueze,…)
Maybe we could’ve won anyways, and the Liverpool game was poor by every standard, but I think Leverkusen was rightfully the favourite.
I agree with 1-4, 5 is harsh I think most RBs would struggle against Boniface (without any support from midfield or RW).
The fact is Fonseca sets his teams up to concede crosses presumably with the plan being to defend them from the centre.
If that is the case maybe a Gabbia and Pavlovic combo might work.
Or we move to 343.
There is a core of talent here. Pulisic, Theo, Fofana, Maignan, Gabbia, Leao(needs to work harder and learn to shoot better) and possibly Reijnders and Pavlovic. Build around them with the right players and Milan will do very well. Morata and Abraham are very important right now too but I don’t think they are long term solutions.
If we signed a midfield general like Xhaka then it would transform the team.
Yes agreed
Samuel is not as worst as you described him , ur new player Royal who could not cross one simple cross all he could do is to pass back all the time. Kalulu is better than him
Between Chukwueze and Emerson, Emerson will get more breathing room because he is new to the team. Chukwueze is officially a lost cause. He should move on to another club. There-is-no-hope-for-him-here-at-Milan.
I still believe we did very bad moves regarding Kalulu and Salemakers. Both are better than what we have Rojal and Cukwatze. Anyway, good result keeping in mind we practically play with 10 players when LFC is in.
These are decisions that are made because of the obsession with the transfer market.
Kalulu and Saelemaekers, Royal and Chukwueze, Milan and their fans, are just victims of the transfer market.
It’s almost impossible to tell what to do, who is good or bad, and what the plan is, with the chaos.
I generally prefer stability and sticking with what we have so would probably prefer to put Kalulu and Saelemaekers behind us and use them as (another) cautionary tale.
It’s difficult to see how Royal and Chukwueze will ever reach the levels required due to a combination of limited game time and ability.
Perhaps the solution is to focus on youth. Sell these players in January and give youth a chance.
At least stop pretending we’re competing for some big signing when all we’re doing is focusing on quantity over quality.
A lot of our fans cry after Kalulu. Go watch that space cadet on Sesko’s goal, he is totally lost and doesn’t know what is happening around him. Juventus better hope Bremer injury isn’t long term or they will see why Kalulu was available for them to pick up.
LOL…this Redbird Lover…man I swear. How much they paying you kid??? 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Juro is obsessed with RedBird.
What does RedBird has to do with Kalulu being a poor defender that most Milan fans were criticizing while he was at Milan for 4 years, but he leaves Milan, plays one good game and right away Milan made a mistake by letting him go?
Get your head out of RedBird arse, not everything is about your obsession with RedBird.
Most fans criticise most players so you’re not unique.
But all of that criticism ensures that we’ll never have a team.
And our rivals will sign our players (who apparently aren’t good enough for us!).
I listed a few former players the other day which included Darmian who now plays for Inter, and someone even dismissed Scudetto winning Darmian….
It’s all pointless really.
“But all of that criticism ensures that we’ll never have a team.”
Then why do you keep on bashing Reijnders then? It means YOU are responsible for Milan never becoming a team. Do you call yourself a fan? 🙂
When there is no real substance in life some people choose one topic they b*tch and whine about. For Juro, it’s RedBird. It’s the fire that keeps him going.
My criticisms of Reijnders are pretty specific going to the specific areas that I believe are impacting our games.
I’m not criticising him for intangible things like his ‘attitude’, ‘ceiling’, saying he’s not ‘Milan quality’ or demanding he be sold and replaced with someone else or calling ‘too green’ or ‘too washed up’ or whatever BS people use to describe elite athletes.
What would help is if people rather than being offended or outraged actually responded to the specific criticisms.
Can you explain his positioning in the attacking phase?
“I’m not criticising him for intangible things like his ‘attitude’,
You already lost the credibility here. You and your hypocrisy… You are the only one who criticizes the players “the right way” and everyone else is “doing it wrong”. 😀 😀 😀
With all due respect Kalulu actually played a pretty great half after I jumped into the match right after they had Gregorio thrown out. He saved Juventus in several situations.
Exactly. Seemed like bubbles only saw the one error which I’ll have to rewatch because like you I only got home exactly after the goal. But from what I saw of him after that, man he had two solid goal-saving blocks and the interception that led the balm forward on their goal winning score (he might have had a hockey assist there too). But yea dude was everywhere and a beast at the back.
Can we come back against Leipzig with a red card and goal down? I highly doubt
Yeah had Vlahovic not scored two goals then Kalulu probably would won have won the MOTM from what I at least can judge from what i saw of the match. I recall someone here on SempreMilan in recent weeks saying that he had won a MOTM previously so he is certainly doing well for them.
Well maybe,maybe not but Leipzig isn’t Leverkusen either so maybe we could.
One upside to Kalulu is at least I can stop putting De Scilgio in my 1-11 of former Milan players who now play for our rivals.
Yes, I wrote he won Gazzeta’s MOTM award against Napoli. And we all know against who he played on that flank.
What a lame far cry. Kalulu last night was best player just behind Vlaho who scored two goals.
He was also named MOTM by GdS against Napoli and we all know who he went against on that flank.
Try harder.
Still can’t believe this management didn’t go for Bellanovo and Ricci. This squad would have been complete.
6.Leao needs to be benched against high pressing teams because he becomes invisible.
7.The only reason we didn’t concede 4 yesterday is because fripmong finishing is just terrible.
Chukweze was a fundamental mistake, what the team needs to do is either get David from Lille for cheap, or bring back Alexis from Roma, and get rid of Chukweze
I only watched the Juve match just after they had their goalkeeper thrown out but what a match that was even though I was hoping for them to get beaten it was pretty damn intense and entertaining.
I learned that a seemingly bad Yes Men managers who aren’t competent for their positions have constructed a team without balance. What a shock, who could’ve seen that coming?
“3. The Attack failed their teammates”
No no. The midfield failed the attackers and their teammates. We need better mids. We wasted the Tonali and UCL money on sub par players
Exactly!
One thing Tonali, Krunic, Bennacer and Kessie did was demand the ball.
They showed themselves to defenders, moved the ball, and then moved up the pitch with the attack with Tonali even breaking beyond the front line to scoring the winning goal against Lazio!
Ahhhhhhhhh!
THAT is what we’re missing.
There’s no fight in the players in this team. The new guy Fofana has shown me more fight than all of last year’s signings bar ofc Puli. It’s such a shame
Pulisic is sub par?
I didn’t think I needed to state the obvious but Puli is a winger in my books and is obviously not sub par, duh. Even if he’s registered as a mid sure but he’s one good signing from last year and the jury is still out on Deers who is so far slightly above average..all the rest 8+ players have been trash.
Milan attack was doomed when the ball was at his feet.
Lol exactly what I felt. Chuk was a direct request by Pioli when he wanted a RW that has this 1 on 1 ability, so the attack was not too concentrated on the left. But oh boy did he deliver the expectation.
It’s interesting the criticism of Reijnders is “by his standards, his ball control failed him a couple of times”.
I think this is the thing that impresses people about him – his touch and dribbling skills.
These are not what makes a great footballer.
A good touch and dribbling skills are useful if you want to do some tricks in a Piazza, but they are of limit use on a football pitch.
Clearly every professional player at Milan, in Serie A, in Europe and in the world and has a great first touch. That is a minimum requirement.
But the things that really make a difference is intelligence with and without the ball.
I am genuinely at a loss to understand what Reijnders is trying to do when he floats in between the midfield and the opposition defence.
Sure it’s a place that AMs take up but he stands too close to the opposition defence, he doesn’t drift wide or make runs beyond them or come deeper to drag them out of position, he just sort of floats there.
And every time he does it he’s unavailable for a pass.
If he does get it he’ll take some nice touches and play it at a little too slowly to a player standing 2 meters away from him is now also closed down because Reijnders took too many touches.
Again what happened to the simple play it back first time and move?
I am genuinely at a loss with this guy. He’s obviously a far better footballer than I am and most people on the planet so how has he made this far with such a lack of awareness?
If he can sort out his movement, make himself available, and move the ball quickly and decisively then sure he’s got the capability to play in a AM role (he can’t defend).
Does no one else see this?
Am I actually just completely insane?
I think your confirmation bias has just flown off the radar. You’re obsessed with hating this guy who starts for the Netherlands.
He’s a good player. I’d say not great, but hopefully he tightens things up. He makes some nice passes and gets the team moving up the pitch. We have bigger issues with this team than him. I’d say our effort levels and interplay / movement when we have the ball are our biggest issues.
There’s no hatred.
I am being very specific with my criticism.
And, yes, I did see his goal for the Netherlands when he broke forward so why isn’t he doing this for Milan?
Ok, so we’re not playing to his strengths?
What gives?
This is our No 1 issue because our No 1 issue we cannot control the midfield so get stuck in our half.
I’ve been saying the midfield has been problem for over a year as have most people which is why we signed Fofana.
A basic process of elimination leaves Reijnders as the last one standing.
For the very specific reasons I have given this is why I think we’re struggling.
You know the weird thing about his goal.for Netherlands I wonder if people saw the remainder of the match because he got bullied off the ball in very dangerous situations. One time he gave up the ball corner kick and almost had the other team scoring on a fast break.
Yes he scored, however ppl really need to watch the rest of the game
I’ve stated many times before, Reijnders only looks good and elegant on the ball and know how to run vertically with it but there’s no end product from him. Whole hell broke loose here. Some just can’t handle the truth.
“Fofana has arrived”?
It’s nice to have a good game from him, but the statement made way too early.
1. Is it coincidence that his best performance came against German team who play in more similar football to the French than Serie A. Serie A is not better, but it is very different, both mentally and tactically.
2. In general, more games in a row are required to claim any player has arrived.
Le’t give him time and hope that by the end of the calendar year this is not his best performance.