AC Milan have found themselves eight points behind Napoli who are threatening to run away in the Serie A title race, with some key deficiencies holding the Rossoneri back so far.
This morning’s edition of Corriere della Sera (via PianetaMilan) writes that Milan have managed 30 points in their opening 14 games after 9 wins, 3 draws and 2 defeats, and the hope is that they can beat Fiorentina while Napoli slip up against Udinese in order to reopen the Scudetto pursuit a bit.
But what is the difference between this Napoli and the current champions Napoli? Being able to count on more depth ‘makes all the difference in the world’ as per the paper, given Spalletti’s side won 2-0 against Empoli on Tuesday thanks to two substitutes, Hirving Lozano and Piotr Zieliński.
Milan on the other hand started Fodé Ballo-Touré and Divock Origi in place of the suspended Theo Hernández and Olivier Giroud, while the choice to start Rafael Leão on the bench did not pay off, with an obvious drop-off in quality seen.
The comparison between Milan and Napoli inevitably also involves what the two clubs did in the summer market. The Partenopei said goodbye to big names in Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens, with sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli investing the €40m from the sale of Kalidou Koulibaly to Chelsea well.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has been a revelation while Kim Min-Jae, Mathías Olivera, Giacomo Raspadori, Giovanni Simeone, Frank-André Zambo Anguissa and Tanguy Ndombélé have all played their role. The sales totalled €80m, the signings totalled €68m, and yet the squad seems stronger.
What business did Milan do? Tommaso Pobega came back from a loan, and Malick Thiaw was signed from Schalke. Divock Origi joined on a free, Sergiño Dest and Aster Vranckx arrived on loan with option deals, and Yacine Adli came from Bordeaux after his year of loan there. The big investment – Charles De Ketelaere – has so far appeared to be struggling, a direct contrast to Kvaratskhelia.
The talent is there, but if Milan really want to have a chance to recover from the deficit, they will have to be able to count on the effective contribution of all squad members from after the World Cup.
