AC Milan just about got back to winning ways against Hellas Verona after a lacklustre performance, crowned by a moment of brilliance from Rafael Leao. The derby defeat, as highlighted this morning, is not completely gone.
Today’s edition of Gazzetta Dello Sport (via SempreMilan) states that Milan are yet to overcome the derby defeat. The schedule is tight and many of the players are tired, now lacking that spark we saw at the start of the season.
Leao, meanwhile, shines but only when he wants. The winger captained Milan yesterday and made the most of a chance within the first ten minutes, scoring the crucial winner. After that, however, he wasn’t that successful in his play.
The end of the game became a physical battle, which prompted Stefano Pioli to make quite a few subs including the youngster Davide Bartesaghi. Not because he needed to make his debut, as the newspaper points out, but because Milan really needed him.
Until the next international break, Milan will need all hands on deck and yesterday’s win is certainly very important. Having said that, the aftermath of the derby has not been completely overcome.
Next game is against Cagliari and there’s no better time to start Okafor-Jovic-Chuk up front. Although I’d rather see Okafor up front.