The USA tour officially came to an end last night as AC Milan beat Barcelona on penalties in Baltimore last night after a 2-2 draw in normal time.
Calciomercato.com have provided a summary of the tour by breaking down those who impressed in the matches against Manchester City, Real Madrid and Barcelona plus those who struggled to make a positive impact.
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Lorenzo Torriani deserves praise for stepping up after Marco Sportiello’s injury and performing with such character at 19 years of age. Alexis Saelemaekers has convinced Paulo Fonseca with his outings, while Samuel Chukwueze has shown he could have a ‘very different season compared to the last’.
Filippo Terracciano struggled and ‘is still a mystery’, while it ‘remains to be seen whether it is better to keep him or send him out to play’. Malick Thiaw also did badly and is ‘probably not suited to Fonseca’s way of defending.
Above all it is Fikayo Tomori who worried, because the Englishman – instead of leading the defence – was ‘too often in trouble. The fact remains that if he doesn’t play well the defence doesn’t play well, not ideal circumstances for Strahinja Pavlovic to come into.
The coach Fonseca was another positive from the draw because we saw clear signs of a proactive and attractive style of play, even if he was not working with all the players he will have when the squad are at full strength.
Christian Pulisic as an attacking midfielder is both good and bad, ‘ambitious but also dangerous’, because the American can create and score but the balance goes out of the window. In addition, the lack of a true No.6 was exposed at times.
but we are stingy to get a number 6! in 10 days we are going to start and Bennacer cant do it without Kessie or Tonali!
I hope to seal the Emerson deal ASAP its also a Telenovela like Fofana Samardzic
For me we should get Hummels! he has experience and Tomori Thiaw need a Leader
Don’t forget about reijnders
Tomori’s pace can be an asset to the team a little further up the pitch. Maybe redeploy him as a DM, in front of a CB pairing of Gabbia and Pavlovic. That way he can make his errors outside the box and provide extra cover for the attacking players.
Could work. Or maybe Kalulu.
Terraciano is absolutely mediocre, he is not ready for Milan and was our weak link in defense during the US tour
Excactly. I wonder why he kept playing him these last games. Either they are trying to offload him and give him exposure or he shows more in training than in these games.
Id say average at best
Ballo toure is better than Terraciano 😅
is it possible that the Saladman actually improved after being away for a year? I mean Gabbia did it. Nothing against Pioli, he did well, but perhaps he was indeed lacking when it comes to player development.
I really hope so, the Saladman was and probably still is a fan favorite.
“Malick Thiaw also did badly and is ‘probably not suited to Fonseca’s way of defending.”
But hey… People here are constantly saying “he’s got potential”. But then again… Potential means nothing if one can’t perform.
Thiaw was the best defender yesterday, even the best defenders in the world lose 1 v 1s sometimes people should evaluate player performances based on the entire 90 minutes not on one situation.
“Potential” can become “kinetic” as something comes crashing down.
Very soon Milan will sell players like Tomori, Bennacer, Kalulu…
In terms of CBs, we have Tomori, Kalulu, Gabbia, Pavlovic and Thiaw, all young and talented. I won’t be surprised if some of them want more playing time and leave.
And Bennacer, there has been lots of discussions about his playing, and it’s quite clear what we can and cannot expect from him. There has also been lots of rumours, and personally, I would be more than happy if we sell him and upgrade the position.
Tomori is not good enough and should be sold. Thiaw is not ready yet but has potential and is suited as backup. Kalulu should have been sold in the last window. We need Hummels because he is a leader. If we don’t buy another CB (to play with Pavlovic) we are going to have the same old problems defensively.
Until we sign a proper defensive midfielder it doesn’t matter who we play at the back,they’ll struggle.
i think terracciano was horrific against barca and man city… Jimenez is 3 times the player he is.
Having a 10 (Pulisic) costs us balance? and is dangerous? It’s not a zero sum game.