Although AC Milan came away with all three points against Hellas Verona last night, it was a poor game for a variety of reasons. As highlighted by Gazzetta dello Sport this morning, the Rossoneri cannot continue like this.
The pink newspaper didn’t hold back on the criticism (see photo below), as what should be normal by now – i.e. beating Verona and playing good football – wasn’t seen last night. The win, nevertheless, confirmed the quality of the two best players: Youssouf Fofana and Tijjani Reijnders.
The Frenchman was responsible for an absolutely lovely assist for the Dutchman, who found the back of the net with a great finish. Alex Jimenez also did well, playing both as a full-back and winger, and Paulo Fonseca now sees him as a starter.
Speaking of the left flank, Theo Hernandez replaced the injured Rafael Leao and both players disappointed. The No.19 looked as if he had been forced to enter the pitch: distracted and disconnected from the atmosphere of the match.
Leao, meanwhile, didn’t have loads of time on the pitch but caught the attention due to a senseless back-heel and a few lost balls. Adding the subpar performances of Samuel Chukwueze and Tammy Abraham to this, it’s clear why Milan struggled to create chances.
Fonseca filled the last half hour with full-backs and defenders, closing with a five-man defence. Having to deal with so many absences is a valid alibi, but it doesn’t bail Milan out completely as they arguably should have done better.
Verona have the worst defence in the league, until yesterday they had conceded almost 2.5 goals on average per game. Apart from the goal, the Rossoneri didn’t really have any changes and that cannot be solely due to the absences. Sometimes all that matters is winning, though, not how.
I really dont understand why Fonseca is still in Milan. Its just a waste of time, season, maybe 2.
Fonseca problem is that his teams are not organized
but seem to be all over the place. At this time in his career he should have a system that works based on many years of experience.
Again, Fonsec’a biggest issue so far is hi inability to balance attack and defense.
We either score a lot and concede a bunch. Or we clam up, concede nothing and are toothless up front.
What would you expect with a right side made of the league’s best back-passers Emerson & Chukwueze? The duo made more passes back to CBs than other teams have made combined this season. FFS, it was awful to look at. Every time they got the ball, the first thing they thought: “Hey, I’ll stop here, turn around and pass the ball to Gabbia. He’ll know what to do.”
Foking Emerson waving his hands ‘gimme the ball’ gets the ball and passes back. Would it kill him to slip a through ball to chuku? Nah, he gotta pad his passing stats.
Ooooo I hate players who wave their hands like that..
Exactly!!! That was annoying as f***.
I’d approve it if he was Messi. But we all know he’s like the anti-messi. The worst player of all-time.
Let’s change the “approve” to “tolerate”.