AC Milan began the season with a win against Bologna on Monday night, and tomorrow they face Torino looking to make it two victories to start the new campaign.
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As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write, the first Milan game of the season made some strong impressions. The win over Bologna showed that Rafael Leao is no longer the only source of attacking threat, and the team didn’t suffer because of one of his rare down days.
The imbalance on the wings of the attack was the structural defect that the Rossoneri coach had been intending to correct for a couple of years, and the arrivals of Christian Pulisic and Samuel Chukwueze has done that.
The action plan is clear: hit the opponents on the flanks by focusing on one-on-one speed, technique and unpredictability. These are qualities which correspond to Leao’s skill set, but also Pulisic and Chukwueze’s.
The Rossoneri’s 4-3-3 worked well in Bologna. Rafa’s attacks – as well as sending the Rossoblù defense into trouble – opened up space for Reijnders and Theo Hernandez to enter centrally.
Pulisic did his part with dribbling, crossing and shooting. He played a part in both goals too, setting up Reijnders for the assist for Giroud’s goal that made it 1-0, and then scoring with a screamer from 20 yards out.
Leao didn’t score, even if he got very close when he hit the post in the final stages, but the potential of the new trident excited the fans.
