AC Milan were let down by three players who were supposed to be leaders during the Derby della Madonnina defeat against Inter, a report has claimed.
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This morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) reports that Stefano Pioli and his squad met at Milanello yesterday, where the coach and the players reviewed the goals conceded and clips of the derby.
While the new signings didn’t show much and clearly need time to integrate despite the signs from the first three games, the leaders of this team have disappointed more than them, in terms of attitude rather than on a technical level.
One man above all stands out: Theo Hernandez. Everyone will recall the penalty conceded for a kick on Lautaro, but at 3-1 the left-back got beaten by Calhanoglu and came back slowly, without the slightest fire, while at 5-1 he is guilty of leaving Frattesi to run. That cannot happen.
In the attacking phase, the ball circulated slowly. Rafael Leao never got going aside from the run for his goal, the three attackers who came on didn’t give anything, and the Rossoneri really struggled to break the Nerazzurri down again.
The doubts about Olivier Giroud’s indispensability return. On Saturday the Frenchman was paradoxically the one who created the only goal, but his left ankle sent a very clear message: Giroud will not be able to play 35 games, he needs help.
You don’t lose a derby because you don’t have a reserve number striker but the issue remains topical, especially given how static and easy to control he was.
Finally, we come to the defence. Milan recovered the ball on average 43.5 metres from their goal, Inter 30 metres. Inter defended themselves in front of Sommer and did so very well, with ferocity and organisation.
Milan tried to stay high but were soft, as the first goal shows. The strikers applied little pressure and their opponents always played freely. On the eve of the match, to a question about a possible change in defensive approach with Kjaer on the pitch, Pioli replied no: “Why should he?”
However, Simon struggles to defend so far from goal, he doesn’t have the pace to stay with Thuram (or even with Lautaro) and he gives his best when he can defend in the area, leading the defensive line with his attention.
In the derby he suffered, but Malick Thiaw did much more. In the open field, with Thuram, it was a nightmare, so now there are many doubts about Milan’s defensive stability.
Loftus-Cheek and Reijnders are box-to-box players who look forward, who love to play vertically and do their best when they have the ball. They are less useful when it comes to chasing and protecting the defensive line.
The considerations on the back four remain like this, also because Krunic certainly cannot solve all the problems. If Thiaw and Kjaer failed in the derby, Tomori made a lot of mistakes both this summer and last season and Kalulu is no longer the Scudetto version.
Milan chose to trust the defence and not intervene, but perhaps in January they will make other evaluations. January, however, is far away, while the Newcastle duo Isak and Wilson are already knocking on the door.
