Fikayo Tomori’s suspension means that Stefano Pioli will have to field a relatively new centre-back pairing during the derby against Inter on September 16.
La Gazzetta dello Sport writes that it will be Pierre Kalulu and Malick Thiaw will be the duo tasked with stopping Inter the weekend after next, given Tomori will have to serve a one-game suspension.
The Frenchman and the German have an average age of 22.6 and their objective is to neutralise the ‘ThuLa’ pairing that has impressed for Inter in the first three games, that is Marcus Thuram and above all Lautaro Martinez.
Pioli would have preferred to have both of them available in the days surrounding the derby. Kalulu remained at Milanello, but Thiaw was called up by the German national team, a natural progression for a player who has impressed a lot in 2023.
His character obviously benefits him, given that since he took over as a starter last season he has almost never given the impression of being in trouble. Not even in the Champions League against a player of Harry Kane’s quality.
Kalulu finds himself wearing a starting shirt in the most important match of the Rossoneri’s season so far but he too is a calm and composed customer by nature, having stepped up during the Scudetto season as a centre-back.
The title season was a fantastic ride for the former Lyon man, then last year there were more than a few cracks for him too, so much so that he lost a starting position firstly to Simon Kjaer and then to Thiaw.
Kalulu and Thiaw have shared the pitch in 21 games – just over 1,100 minutes together – most of which however as part of a three-man defence. On other occasions, the Frenchman acted as a full-back.
In practice there are only four precedents in which Pierre and Malick played together centrally in a four-man line. Twice as a starter, both last season obviously against Bologna away and at San Siro against Cremonese, two games that ended 1-1.
It has also happened twice during a match in progress, both against Roma at the Olimpico: 17 minutes last season (another 1-1) and 25 in Friday’s victory. Total minutes together as centre-backs in a four-man defence: 213.
ACM’s Next Gen CB-pair. If Kalulu can impress by lock Lautaro down, he will give underperform Tomori much pressure for starting CB pos.
Tomori was so good at tackling, but this season he can’t show it well.
“ACM’s Next Gen CB-pair.”
I doubt it. Kalulu has not been impressive at CB since that four month span at the end of the scudetto season. He plays very similarly to Tomori, maybe minus the rash challenges. He’s also short for the position. It Will either be Pellegrini, who is also left-footed, or someone who comes in, in 2024. I’m very nervous about or back line against Inter, and I think Krunic will be the key in this game. He will have be conservative and do a lot of covering. And do it well.
It will be Simic
“Kalulu has not been impressive at CB since that four month span [when he helped us win the scudetto….)”
And how come his similarity to Tomori and, erm, ‘shortness’ (Cannavaro anyone?) wasn’t an issue in that SCUDETTO WINNING run?
The bigger question for me is what happened?
Kalulu was 21 when he was putting in Scudetto winning performances that helped keep 12 clean sheets in the second half that season. So now he’s 2 years older how has he forgotten how to play CB?
In part I think Kalulu has struggled because of Thiaw’s signing (in much the same way Romagnoli struggled because of Tomori’s signing).
It’s an example of how signings – even good ones like Tomori and Thiaw both proved to be – can impact other players negatively.
The question is always whether the pros outweigh the cons. But there are cons.
If we can get a 23 year old Kalulu to play like a 21 year old Kalulu then we’ve solved the CB problem and can hopefully stop fiddling.
Ramos played 252 games alongside that disaster that is Pepe. But they won titles.
Chiellini played 281 games alongside that disaster Bonucci. But they won titles.
It’s not just about ability. It’s about playing together for YEARS.
Also don’t forget that impressive Scudetto run’s defense was also when we still had Kessie around, and that made huge difference.
Agreed.
Kessie could be the missing link here. Which is why RLC was a good signing (not just because of his ability but his characteristics), and Krunic is key.
“In part I think Kalulu has struggled because of Thiaw’s signing (in much the same way Romagnoli struggled because of Tomori’s signing).”
Patently false. Romagnoli was struggling before Tomori was signed, hence why Tomori was signed. A top CB wouldn’t “suffer” because another player is signed anyway. Major mental weakness if so, and thus not a top player anyway. You cite to Cannavaro. Was he the only CB that was signed to any of the clubs he played for while he played for them? Why didn’t he just wilt away when a new CB was signed?
“And how come his similarity to Tomori and, erm, ‘shortness’ (Cannavaro anyone?) wasn’t an issue in that SCUDETTO WINNING run?”
Further on Cannavaro. You can’t pick one of the best center backs of his generation as an example. An exception does not make or break a rule. Hence the term “exception”. Show me a starting CB at a top 6 club in any of the top 5 leagues that 5’9″, right now. If you find one, it will be just that, one. There is a reason why CBs are tall. In the past couple we’ve gotten trashed on set pieces, defensive and offensive. Notice how defensive master Mourinho has loaded up on giant CBs? No-brainer here.
Yes I don’t tomori is not Good for Acmilan system always aggressive I prefer thiaw and Kjaer, infact Kjaer can play tomori role very well Pioli Stefano but kalulu, thiaw let’s see but Pioli we don’t need tomori but please make room for Simon Kjaer is a defender with great experience and I’m also please with Calabria and also Theo Hernandez
So this is now how u all hate Tomori that made u all hate Romagnoli and Romagnoli was the one that made u all hate Zapata and Musachio.
It continues, on and on we go. The next CB from next summer will still make u all hate Thiaw, it’s becoming a tradition for Milan fans.
A DMF, a CB or a LB and RB will always be a victim of red card and yellow cards, the probability of that happening in a match is high same as the above mentioned defensive players causing a penalty in the box. Ramos and Pepe were victims many times same as Legendary Carles Puyol, Maldini and Nesta.
In summary out of players in every position, defenders face the most difficult challenges in their career.
What if Tomori failed to stop Belloti at that moment and it lead to a goal? The blame will still be on him anyway and he will definitely receive insults here and there because of it. He stopped him and unfortunately got the second yellow, without that second yellow, I still doubt he will be appreciated for stopping Belloti successfully.
“What if Tomori failed to stop Belloti at that moment and it lead to a goal? The blame will still be on him anyway and he will definitely receive insults here and there because of it. He stopped him and unfortunately got the second yellow, without that second yellow, I still doubt he will be appreciated for stopping Belloti successfully.”
No comment on the first part of your post one way or another, but as for this part, if Tomori doesn’t stop Belotti nothing negativr necessarily follows. He got a second yellow, not a straight red. The implication is that Tomori wasn’t the last man, and therefore someone else would have picked up Belotti. Tomori had zero reason to sweep the leg that instance. But in the end, I don’t blame Tomori. I blame Pioli for not understanding that Tomori has a history of untimely challenges and has been sent off before. It was clear that he was hyped up this game. He should have taken him off after the second goal, just like he took off RLC after Tomori had been ejected to prevent going down to 9 men. And that’s that.
Yes but as far as I can gather Tomori is as accident prone as Pepe and Pepe has multiple Champions League medals…..
And like Pepe Tomori was also essential to Milan keeping 3 clean sheets in 4 games on the run to the semi-finals of the Champions League (no less).
LOL. Yes, and Malini won three champions leagues. We can try to cite to these exceptional players all day, but I don’t see the point. Pepe was “accident prone” but he played next to one of the best Spanish CBs of all time. Who is Tomori playing next to? False equivalencies are a terrible way to make an arguments. BTW, subbing off players on a yellow is elementary football and the comment was more a critique of Pioli than Tomori.
Well said.
And as mentioned above, the absolute key thing with successful teams and especially defensive partnerships is LONGEVITY.
Ramos and Pepe played 252 games together and
Chiellini and Bonucci played 281 games together.
That’s what is needed to become a great team. We cannot become a great team whilst we keep changing things around because the players will never form that deep understanding which is essential to long term success.
No other sport changes players as much as football. And Milan in particular has been bad for player turnover.
i never hated romagnoli.. hes a good cb.
I dont hate tomori i just think he isnt on the lvl that is expected for an ac milan CB. The second yellow last game is a clear proof of that..
Zapata and Musachio were logs
You don’t strike me as being the sort of person who hates many of our players but there’s a sizeable number of fans who quickly turn on players.
Romagnoli went from being our best player and playing 30 odd games in a row to suddenly stopping.
Musacchio went from marking Messi out of a game to….Milan. His was a classic example of where we signed too many players for the same position which undermined all of the players – we broke him and Bonucci.
Zapata was never the best but did play a blinder against Barcelona in that Champions League win.
Again it’s another situation where we’ve had 20 odd CBs and even more different pairings over the past 10 years.
Hey guys , wonder what you think but I saw thiaw struggle big time against Roma as soon as lukaku came on Friday… ofc inter pose different problems up top so maybe a pacy duo is better…?
Not like we have a choice here. Is either Kalulu or Kjær and the Dane is too slow and too old to mark either Thuram or Lautaro so…
What are we discussing here?
Good point. The Dane will be outplayed either by Lautaro or Thuram, given the speed they have. I’m curious with Pellegrini, left footed and speedy CB, but currently only available on highlight video.
Pellegrino. Why does everyone keep saying Pellegrini.
Tomori, Thiaw, Kalulu, and Kjaer all have their pros and cons. But i believe all of them are good CB that complete each other.
I just hope Gabbia got more experiences at Villareal. So when he’s back next season he can replace Kjaer.
I don’t know much about Pellegrino tho. But isn’t he bought to backup Theo?
Gabbia’s not coming back…..
99.99% of players who go on loan never make it at their parent clubs and going on loan at his age definitely means he’s finished at Milan.
The only primavera player to make it at Milan in the past 10 years is Calabria who never went on loan.
You forgot Abate. Milan loaned him to many clubs and he was came back in 2009 and stay until 2019.
I say there’s a big chance Gabbia will come back.
I did say 99.99%!
Do you know how many players we’ve loaned over the years!
Abate (and Antonini) were the last two and I always found it amusing as neither were very good!!
Meeeennnn… I hope Centre back doesn’t become the next problem area. Seems rvery season one problem area pops up