Saturday’s performance against Sassuolo was by no means a classic AC Milan performance, as they eventually won by a goal to nil – through another Christian Pulisic opener.
Milan got the job done, yes. Was it pretty? No. Partially, that can be due to Sassuolo. The Neroverdi were defensively resolute and frustrated the Rossoneri for large parts of the game. However, Milan did not make it easy for themselves and always looked to miss something.
Corriere dello Sport (via MilanNews) writes that the reasoning for this could be due to a clear tactical split in the team on Saturday, which needs to be looked into by Stefano Pioli and altered. Throughout the second half, Milan seemed to be playing a 5-0-5. This could have been due to Milan wanting to attack more, but there was no balance in the side, which could have been punished.
Perhaps, though, this was due to desperation. The situation with Pioli is clear. He only has a few games to save his job, with Milan reportedly having his replacement already lined up. Therefore, it could have been done in an ‘all-out-attack’ way of thinking to try and earn a positive result. In this case, Milan got their reward, but it was an ultimately unconvincing one, which will not help the 58-year-old in his quest to save his job.
