A lot has been written and said about AC Milan’s exciting youth project and the talented core in place, but against Red Bull Salzburg it was the older heads who showed their decisiveness.
La Gazzetta dello Sport recalls the goal scorers from the 4-0 win: Olivier Giroud who is 36 years old, Rade Krunic who is 29 and Junior Messias who is 31, and it wasn’t only those three who had a big hand in Milan’s passage into the last 16.
Ciprian Tatarusanu, 36, and Simon Kjaer, 33, deserve a mention for the role that they played at the back in keeping a clean sheet. The Romanian made a couple of smart stops in the first half to keep the Rossoneri ahead, and the Dane settled down well after coming back in to the team for Matteo Gabbia.
The 29-year-old Ante Rebic started on the right wing as Stefano Pioli opted to shift him across from his usual side and as always the Croatian showed plenty of endeavour up and down the flank.
The game between Milan and Salzburg was supposed to be the match between two sides who play with intensity, aggression and above all without fear due to having so much youth, but Jaissle’s team, unlike Pioli’s, does not have champions like Giroud to call on.
The choice to field Krunic and Rebic – who are similar in so many ways, beyond age and their place of origin – also sent a sign because it meant the two other young forwards Brahim Diaz and Charles De Ketelaere started on the bench. Messias is another experienced player and he was brought on to seal the game, which he did.
Tatarusanu has silenced all those who have almost dismissed the idea that he is capable of defending Milan’s goal. While it is still wrong to make comparisons with Maignan, the undisputed starts, when Tata is called into question he seems to save more points than he costs.
Milan still need these old guards
Makes sense. A team of kids cannot win the UCL.