AC Milan need all hands on deck if they are to take the Scudetto race right down to the wire and the return of Ismael Bennacer is a timely boost.
Bennacer was missing in the last race in Torino due to muscle fatigue and Milan were lacking his presence, as the Algerian has been undoubtedly one of the best players in Stefano Pioli’s team this season.
MilanNews reference WhoScored in reporting that Bennacer is 4th among Milan players (with more than 1000 minutes in the league) in terms of precision in passing (88.1%) but above all he is the top Milan midfielder for dribbles per game (1.2).
Essentially, it shows that when the ball is at Bennacer’s feet it is very difficult to get it off him because he is effective in both advancing the ball with the pass and on his own, which is why he is second among Milan players for fouls suffered at 1.7 per game.
In the last few games the Rossoneri struggled a lot in managing the ball and picking apart the deep block that certain opponents put in front of them, and this is where Bennacer’s personality, confidence and his ability sometimes to find something out of nothing (like the volleys at Bologna and Cagliari) are useful.
And besides all of his skill on the ball, another incredibly important asset of his game is how he wins tackles in big areas and isn’t afraid to try (and win) tackles against the very best and most talented opponents. Isma is a joy to watch.