Youssouf Fofana found the perfect pass at the right moment in the derby win over Inter, continuing a trend he had actually already begun.
La Gazzetta dello Sport write how Milan fans ‘can tear their hair out and, three seconds later, raise them to the sky in celebration of a goal’ when Fofana is in position. He can either misplace a five-yard pass, or thread a perfect through-ball that leads to a goal.
Fofana has uncommon stats. In his 20 months at Milan, he is tied with Rafa Leao for assists with 13. This season, he leads the league rankings with Adrien Rabiot and Alexis Saelemaekers, having racked up three.
He also provided the set-up for the goal that reopened the title discussions against Inter. Maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise: after all, Fofana is a French international, he played in the World Cup final, and he knows his way around the middle of the park.
The helping hand
Last year, Fofana beat Tijjani Reijnders in the assist rankings, now he’s bettering Christian Pulisic. Why does a player ‘technically inferior to several of his team-mates’ (in the words of the paper) create so many chances? Because he’s very dynamic and reads situations well.
At the start of the season, Allegri asked for 15 goals from Fofana and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. They will fall well short but the meaning of that prediction is clear as it says something about the two’s characteristics. In essence, the coach believes the Frenchman can get in an area to impact games.
The former Monaco man is also considered a defensive player, but often he, not Rabiot, is Milan’s most attacking midfielder. It’s no coincidence that the No.19 is always very involved offensively, has scoring opportunities, and manages to surprise defence with his off-the-ball movement.
The next step, obviously, is to score more. He’s never lacked assists in his career: his nine in 2024-25 are his all-time high, but his sense of the final pass has always been there, even during his time at Strasbourg.
In his first year and a half at Monaco, Fofana never scored. In this year and a half at Milan, he’s stuck on two goals: one against Venezia in 2024, the other against Udine in September 2025. Allegri knows full well that his aim must improve, but in the meantime setting up a derby winner isn’t bad.
The problem with Fofana is not his through balls. I’ve said time and time again that he is very good at spotting those.
The problem is MANY of his remaining aspects.
He seems to go into panic mode every time he gets the ball inside the penalty box. He manages to fumble the ball/pass every single time in the box.
The famous slip-up really sums it up nicely.
lol yup. he has been really good at getting to be in the right place at the right time. But he’s been the worst at doing what needs to be done once you are there. hahaha
Sell that clown…
I would love to have seen what Reijnders would look like in THIS midfield. All the offensive production you need. Maybe Allegri would even get a better defensive game out of him too.
If Fofana is involved offensively more than Rabiot (who actually scores) then we definitely need an upgrade in that position, because outside of occasional through balls on goal, Fofana offers little upfront.
Stop referencing facts Oliver…People in here will ignore them completely, they prefer to make up their own.