Following a comfortable 4-1 win against Cagliari in the Coppa Italia last Tuesday, AC Milan travelled to face a struggling Empoli side in a must-win game in the race to lock up a top four spot.
A lot of starters returned to the line-up after the mass rotation against Cagliari with Rafael Leao, Olivier Giroud and Ruben Loftus-Cheek among those who came back in.
Two of the aforementioned names combined for the first goal early on as Leao laid the ball on a plate for Loftus-Cheek who buried the chance with a tidy finish into the far corner. The Englishman then won a penalty in the 31st minute, which was converted by Giroud.
Empoli started the second half well as Milan seemed to go into energy conservation mode ahead of the Atalanta and Roma games, but they did make it 3-0 through Chaka Traore on the break late on to seal the win. Here are five things we observed during the game…
1. The tank is back
As mentioned, Loftus-Cheek was the man who opened up the scoring with a very composed finish (Tijjani Reijnders, take note) and then won the penalty for his side from nothing after an acrobatic attempt on goal.
Whilst the Englishman played well in an advanced role, he also did his bit in the non-possession phase by dropping in to form a three in midfield. He won a lot of duels, showcasing his physicality and was efficient in both aspects of the game.
The former Chelsea man has had some ups and downs as of late – perhaps mostly due to his physical condition – but this was an impressive performance that earned him our post-game MOTM award. Pioli will be hoping that he builds on this, with the tight schedule ahead and some tougher games.
#ACMilan have at least two English players with at least two goals scored in a single Serie A season for the first time since 1985-86 (Hateley and Wilkins in that case).
[via @OptaPaolo] pic.twitter.com/zrud0HQe9v
— MilanData📊 (@acmilandata) January 7, 2024
2. A constant in the middle
Reijnders started the season really well, establishing himself as a starter virtually immediately, but then went on a run of not-so-convincing displays in which the team around him also struggled.
Now he’s on a different kind of run where every game he plays he’s the engine in the middle. The Dutchman is composed and very good in possession, keeping the ball in his feet very well showcasing his technique, but also orchestrating the game with good vision off the game and precise passes.
He loves carrying the ball forward too and he does that well, proving that Milan have a great box-to-box midfielder on their hands who has found consistency as of late and is making that €20m price tag look like a bargain.
3. Efficient down the flanks
Leao finally ended his goal drought against Cagliari in the Coppa Italia and was hoping he could end his league one against Empoli. That didn’t happen, but the Portuguese provided a lovely assist to Loftus-Cheek on the first goal after a signature move.
He left his man behind using his pace down the flank, something we have come to expect, and showed composure to pick the right option. The winger was a constant threat on that left side and seemed to enjoy himself.
His partner on the right Christian Pulisic also did what was needed. Although he did have a mediocre game, he still got a goal contribution thanks to an excellent run in which the American got the ball in his half and carried it all the way before squaring to Chaka Traore unselfishly.
Perhaps Pulisic has been struggling to be constantly dangerous in games – after all he is not as athletically explosive as Leao – but even in these matches he manages to make the difference with a moment of quality.
4. Theo continues to lead the way
Theo Hernandez started in the middle of the defence again and led his team to not only another win but also a clean sheet, something which always seems in doubt with such a makeshift defensive combination.
He didn’t pick up any flashy assists like in the Cagliar game but he was very solid defensively and didn’t miss the chance to join the attack either. His work rate is simply outstanding and he has now started nine games in a row.
At this point, it’s becoming hard to tell if the former Real Madrid man is even playing out of position as he seems confident playing there. This also opens up a lot of new potential ideas for Pioli to utilise even when his centre-backs return, such as a three-man defence.
.@TheoHernandez vs. Empoli
➤ 90 minutes played
➤ 6 clearances
➤ 3 shots blocked
➤ 3 tackles
➤ 0 times dispossessed
➤ 60/67 passes (90% accuracy)
➤ 6/8 duels won
➤ 3 shots
➤ 1/1 dribble completed pic.twitter.com/RzCZjSHvar— MilanData📊 (@acmilandata) January 7, 2024
5. A perfect week
Chaka Traorè scored his first ever senior Milan goal against Cagliari and although he didn’t get the chance to start against Empoli, he did come on off the bench in the second half and made the most out of another opportunity
In the interests of being totally transparent, it was a scrappy goal against Cagliari where the goalkeeper should have done better. This time around we saw a much better finish where the winger showed composure and precision to place the ball in the far corner.
The teenager finished the week with two goals in two games and that will surely boost his confidence, but above all he has also shown Pioli that he can really on him when rotation is needed, which it will be with a deep Coppa Italia and/or Europa League run.
Pulisic is doing great but he just isn’t a player that knows how to get past players one on one, he can’t do it. In a counter attacking team he could score double figures every season.
Not so sure about the truth of that blanket statement.
Pulisic vs. Germany:
Theo is wasted on cb even in a 3 man line..
Please, if you don’t have anything to say, stay quiet.
Agree. He will be more threatening in 343 as a left wingback
Apart from the goal which mostly was setup on a platter by Leao’s work, I didn’t see much of RLC. He had one of the worst pass rates for the game, poor carries, progression and didn’t really do much apart from out muscling some players early on 🤷♂️. I failed to see how “he’s back”.
Also I realize Reijnders becomes a bargain only when he plays well vs these small teams and then becomes less of a bargain? when he plays top teams lol
We paid $20m for him, he round about, maybe less than, the amount we paid for him.
@IKWYDLS can u just for once give credits where it’s due?…dont tuin the moment…thank u
He can’t. He was a big Krunic supporter so that means he hates Adli and looks for any reason to criticize him. He is also still sore that Maldini was sacked and Tonali was sold so he has to criticize all of the new signings of the new management.
Which moment am I ruining? For RLC and Deerman? Its ok to disagree with an assessment, I think.
Don’t get me wrong I still like that we won the game and was nice to see us score and not conceed but the players that got praised surprised me alot.
RLC according to fbref had the second worst pass rate and one of the fewest passes (81%, 22/27) in a position you’d think alot of action will flow through you, had second worst progressive yardage (Gabbia who came on in the 80th minute had more progressive passing yard than him who was on for 70mins lol), had one of the fewest carries, only one key pass into the final third, defensively had zero tackles….and so on. I could list more. Point was apart from the goal (which Leao did most of the work), imo I didn’t see much esp to give him a MOTM and some of the stats are indicative of that. At least I always have something to backup my arguments.
With Reinjders they do this thing when he plays vs small teams which Empoli is they big him up and say he’s a bargain. We paid 20m for him and he’s barely had an assist and two goals. Sorry buddy that’s not a bargain. He passes very well and has good work rate but apart from that has been average or a bit above. For me he’s in and around his price tag. Not more, not less. A bargain would be if we got him for $5m. I’m not out to sour things but if I’m paying $20m for a player you better know how to pass. Makes sense? 😊
For @benjamin grey
All of this upheaval in the summer only to be about the same number of points as last year, same number of goals scored and conceded. Wow lol 😂.
Look at the Reijnders analysis….started the season well (ie bottom half table teams), then dropped in performance (bigger teams), now he’s on an uptick in form ?(Empoli, Cagliari…smaller teams). They can’t fool me with that 😅
Agree with your analysis (an increasingly common occurrence!).
These two are new signings so they get bigged up. The media hyped them when they arrived so they have to keep the hype going for a little longer before the media starts to cut them down.
It’s similar to what they do with pop and reality TV stars.
Yes, that’s what football has become.
Keep hating on the new signings as they continue to win games for us. You know how many games Pulisic, RLC and Jovic are directly responsible for winning already this season?
I would hate to think where this team would be right now if they hadn’t sold Tonali (the most overhyped player in the last 5 years) and brought in these new signings. Probably toward the bottom of the table.
Sorry above comment was formyou @Maldini’s Heir
@ K
I don’t hate the new signings or any Milan players…..
I also don’t slag off players who were crucial to our Scudetto win.
In short, I am fan.
@benjamin grey i did give credit esp to Theo in the ratings article. Also I praised Bartesaghi (which actually is a surprise from me lol), Pulisic, Leao, Reijnders 🤷♂️
Reijnders is class. I really like how he controls and moves with the ball. The shooting accuracy definitely needs to improve, but he has a lot of upside.
Puli has been a clutch player with more contributions than Leao this season. It is very refreshing to have that out of RT Flank for a change.
Theo has been solid last couple of games. It’s good to see that maturity and organization playing out of position when the team needs it.
RLC despite what has been said, needs to improve more. Even his Empoli play wasn’t quite PSG level. And maybe he set the bar too high against the French Club. But at least we know he’s capable of it and should strive to be THAT good every damn game.
Pioli is integrating the primavera players more. No one is praising him for it, but everyone is on his case when he doesn’t LOL!!! Good on him. Jimenez has a lot of potential and time to improve.
That’s because he was forced to “integrate” them. Otherwise he wouldn’t do it. I like pioli but I can’t think of an example where a player was integrated and not needed. Thiaw, Kalulu, Chaka, etc.
I’m tired of this columnists constantly saying that Pulisic has mediocre games. CP is averaging nearly a goal or an assist per game. If you were to do that through a career you’d be one of the best players in history. So just pipe down when he “only” puts more numbers on the board.
Well said.
And he was just chosen as one of the top 11 in the league for the first half of the season. His confidence is growing and so will his goal contributions.