Stefano Pioli has always considered Theo Hernandez to be one of his attacking weapons and he continues to tinker with the way he is deployed.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport recall, Theo is one of those players who is usually always there, who shoots and dribbles from the left lane, who scores and provides assists, making a difference at both ends of the field.
Theo started the season a bit slowly, as if he had the handbrake on. He scored a great goal against Torino, but picked up five yellow cards in seven games and now he will miss the crucial match against Juventus after the break.
In his place it should be Alessandro Florenzi, who has been positive so far, but in the meantime Pioli will not have one of his main weapons in such a big game.
Theo has started nine out of 10 games so far this season. He missed the match against Verona due to a muscle problem, and since then he always played from the start.
The first point of note is that the Rossoneri play differently than last year. Beyond the new formation – the 4-3-3 with two midfielders and wide wingers – this year the full-backs play in the middle.
So far the former Real Madrid man has completed six dribbles in seven games. Among defenders in Serie A, nine have done better than him (Ebosele of Udinese leads the ranking). For the rest, no ‘big chances” and a lower average of touches in the opponent’s penalty area compared to last year.
In 2022-23 he finished with two touches per game in the opposition box, now he is at 1.89. The percentage of successful crosses per game is also different: 2.51 last season, 1.11 this year.
It is a sign of how the new way of playing sacrifices his ability to get to the byline and proide. The numbers relating to goals and assists are also different: only one. Last year Theo scored four goals in 45 games and produced five assists.
Pioli has always defended him. Even last year, after some shady performances when the season resumed after the World Cup, he reaffirmed his faith in him. This year he is doing the same, and he hopes to have him back at his best after serving the ban.
I said it initially that the 433 has partially affected Theo Hernandez style of play.
It’s obvious, and it’s also not the big deal people keep trying to make of it. In seasons past our entire offense was basically Theo and Leao running down the left. Now we have many options and Theo, a LEFT-BACK, is behaving more like a left-back than a winger. The real question now is: did his offensive disposition in seasons past paper over any potential deficiencies in defense? Theo has never been dominant defender IMHO and his discipline is also leaving something to be desired. His contract is up in 2026, the time to renew is this season/summer, and he’s likely to ask for 8-10m. I’m wondering if he will be the big sale of 2024 to fund overall squad improvement, as Tonali was in 2023.
He doesn’t have to be an offensive outlet anymore because we have a proper RW and other players to initiate offense. He should have never been relied upon as much as he was in the past but we didn’t have options. Simple as that. He should have less offensive output and that’s a good thing. Plus it gives him rest and less likelihood of injuries esp from being hacked down on those runs