Chievo 1-4 AC Milan: Five things we learned

Vincenzo Montella’s men finally managed to bounce back as they beat Chievo convincingly by 4-1 away from home. Here are five things we learned from the game. 

Suso The Main Man

As mentioned in our previous Five things we learned, Suso has really stepped up since Montella decided to switch back to a three-man attack, which obviously suits the Spaniard better. Yesterday, he was crucial for the Rossoneri as he scored and created two goals, in a period where Milan really couldn’t find their feet. 

Safe to say he was decisive yesterday. Moreover, it’s nice to see him back in his usual way, as many fans were worried just a few weeks ago that he couldn’t work in a three-man backline formation. Suso will certainly be the key for Milan this season, no doubt about it.

Romagnoli showing his Strength

Many fans, myself included, were surprised by Alessio’s performance yesterday, as he completely dominated the defence while filling in for Bonucci in the centre. With a pass success of 92%, Romagnoli really showed that they can, in fact, play without Bonucci. 

Moreover, it was really nice to see him wear the armband yesterday. The Italian really deserved it after leading a Milan defence, which before the game was very fragile and considered as the Rossoneri’s weakness. Perhaps he is better while playing in the centre of the defence, instead of the left-hand side. 

Is Biglia better without Bonucci?

Lucas Biglia was also one of the standout players yesterday, as he really controlled the game and took charge of the play. As Bonucci was suspended, naturally, Biglia got the ball a lot and was more involved in the build-up play. Had Bonucci been on the pitch, then we probably wouldn’t have seen Biglia as much. This brings us to the question; is Biglia better when Bonucci isn’t playing?

It very well may be so, however, it isn’t entirely Bonucci’s fault, of course. This just goes to show that Biglia is exceptional when on the ball, and perhaps Vincenzo Montella should utilize that a bit more in the coming games. 

Has Montella finally found the right formation?

Even though the players where a bit blocked in the first half, which Montella admitted himself, 3-4-3 seemed to work really well. This time, both in defence and attack, for once. The team managed to hold onto the ball a lot. In fact, before the 4th goal, Milan had the ball in their possession for two minutes, completing 43 passes ahead of Kalinic’s finish. 

Moreover, Calabria looked great as a RWB yesterday, despite some poor performances recently. Same goes for Borini, who moved to LWB. Suso and Hakan’s freedom up front opened up a lot of space for the Rossoneri, which was seen on the 4th goal. Calhanoglu and Suso both cut inside as Biglia got the ball in the centre of the pitch. Then, Hakan got the ball and immediately laid it off to Suso, who found Kalinic. 

Kalinic proving the Curva Sud wrong

After getting a lot of stick from the fans last week, Kalinic really proved the fans wrong yesterday, with some great movement on and off the ball. He was involved in the first goal, as he got a flick on the ball before it ended up at Suso’s feet. 

Throughout the game, we saw a lot of his movements inside the box and in the 65th minute, it paid off. The Croatian managed to stay onside with a great run before receiving the ball by Suso. The move was finished by the outside of his right foot, a beautiful team goal. Hopefully, we can see more of this in the upcoming games, if he starts.