Journalist Paolo Condò believes that AC Milan being third in the Serie A table is actually impressive given the lack of help Stefano Pioli has had from the market.
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Milan upset the bookmakers last season as they ended their 11-year wait for the Scudetto by beating their city rivals Inter to the title, and though they are only three points off the current league leaders Napoli the feeling is that they have not quite returned to those levels.
The win against Hellas Verona last night might well be a good indication of the struggles that the Rossoneri are enduring as a sub-par performance was bailed out by a late goal from Sandro Tonali.
In his weekly column for La Repubblica, Condò spoke about Milan’s start to the season and how they shape up against two of the other early pace setters in Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta and Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli.
“Milan remains the third force thanks to the magnificent play of its talents, but they leave in Verona lots of energy (and fear!) where a medium intensity evening should have been enough,” he said (via SempreMilan.it)
“Pioli’s problem is that, unlike Spalletti and even Gasperini, he hasn’t received anything from the transfer market yet. The maturation times of the Leao and Tonali have taught us to wait for the fruits of the Rossoneri scouting, so the question is not about the absolute quality of the De Ketelaere but more when he will be useful.
On what more was needed from the mercato, he added: “An urgency, in a panorama of injured and fatigued players. Yesterday Adli was impalpable, Origi is already so much having seen him again, Pobega less toned than usual, Thiaw has begun to be appreciated. But to keep up with the pace of Napoli and Atalanta, much more is needed.”
