Things did not go to plan for AC Milan from a result standpoint as they were beaten 4-1 by Liverpool in Dubai this evening, but there were some interesting takeaways from the game.
Calciomercato.com start with three positives from the game and number on being the performance of Alexis Saelemaekers. He has been out for more than two months due to injury, but looks back in excellent physical shape and scored a lovely goal to make it 1-1.
Yacine Adli also gets a pass for ‘another high-quality performance against a strong opponent’, showing his vision, dribbling and also a good amount of confidence for a player who hasn’t had much playing time.
Marko Lazetic lacked a bit of ruthlessness in front of goal when on two occasions he was found in behind, but his movement did look good and when he has the ball at his feet he always gives the impression of being able to create something.
Now we move to the flops, and Tommaso Pobega struggled. It must be noted he ‘sacrificed himself’ in a left-back role that is not his but it did not work, resulting in Milan struggling both in build-up play and defensive transitions.
Matteo Gabbia made a mistake for the first goal as he looked at the ball and not at the opponent, causing him to be wrong-footed. He struggled tremendously with the speed of the opposition.
Malick Thiaw was given a start and he had a good first half, appearing to be up to speed with the game, but in the second half he gave too much space to Darwin Nunez who punished him with two goals.
