Roma sat back for most of their game against AC Milan, relying on counter-attacks, and it almost paid off with Tammy Abraham’s opener in injury time. The Rossoneri managed to respond, but lost two crucial points.
Alexis Saelemaekers was the big hero for Milan as he found the back of the net in the 97th minute, just three minutes after Abraham thought he had won the game. In short, Jose Mourinho’s plan almost worked.
As highlighted by Gazzetta Dello Sport this morning (via MilanNews), Stefano Pioli fell into the Portuguese manager’s trap. Milan lacked the intensity and grit to break down a well-organised Roma (as the Giallorossi always are), who were happy with the point amid their injury struggles.
Both teams had just one shot on target each and that says more about the poor performance of Milan than Roma, considering that the Rossoneri controlled most of the possession. In the end, two heavy points lost and it could cost them dearly in the end.
What exactly could Pioli have done differently? He played his best team which is pretty much 14 first teamers , in a hostile pitch with a very aggressive and defensive approach for 90 mins. Pioli has no rabbits to pull out of his hat , he literally has 3 midfielders without reserves( as pobega was out and don’t mention Vranckx as he is levels down from the starters), an attack that relies on Leao’s brilliance and the on/off of Diaz & Giroud.. only in defence can he bring in Thiaw or Kalulu who are starter material…. Rebic, Origi ,Messias , Adli, De ketelaere and even Saelemaekers do not offer nowhere near the same level of play as the starters.
What he could have done differently? Well first of the team should know how to break down a defensive block at this time, he have been here for 3 years. We still only know one thing, only one way. It’s not about who he brings on or individual brilliance. We need to learn how to pass the ball as a team.. Its seriously that bad. And its not because of players cant do individual passes. Its because the team isn’t glued. Its Rigid, strict and defensive with very strict hierarchy, nothing is automated.
We don’t have the money to run the club where only established players get the chance or someone need to get injured. Adli and Vranckx which we simply have no clue if they are good enough or not, because neither of them have gotten the chances yet. couple of minute here and there isn’t enough to integrate young players, and yes the strategy of the club is to focus on young players.
With all due respect Bruno, when the team are fit and motivated they know how to pass the ball as matches against Tottenham and especially the games against Napoli(4-0 drubbing & home tie in CL) showed us amongst others. The problem is Pioli has a short squad of players he trusts and the team cannot perform at optimal levels in every game ,all the time. Simple.
Maignan, Giroud , Leao, Diaz, Theo and Tonali have no replacement’s . Breaking down 11 man defences is difficult for all top clubs in the world and more often then not the little differences the special players bring makes the difference .
About Adli &Vranckx , I’m sure Pioli who is on the pitch with them everyday knows why they are not getting minutes . Especially when it was Pioli who nurtured and built the team we have today full of young players .
Jerry, I agree with you for the most part. I do still think the manager has some responsibility in setting the team up in some fashion so as to be able to be more capable of unlocking defensive teams.
For example: Giroud is supposedly good with his head, so where are the crosses? Leao is an inverted winger, so he’s going to cut in for the shot 80% of the time. If he does cross it’s usually a ground pass. So what’s happening on the right? He’s put on a Diaz who is also going to cut in for a shot with his left. Why not try something and put Florenzi as the RW to start the match? He’s right-footed and has a reputation for being a decent crosser. This would provide service for Giroud and thus a threat to Roma. Then why not also play Krunic as the more advance of the midfield trio for this game? He’s played in the role before to good effect so it wouldn’t be a crazy idea. He’s taller than the other two and would be getting into the box first. That said, this squad has always been on the short side, which doesn’t help us against teams that park the bus.
And this is exactly what Inter will do in the UcL aswell, just copy paste this Mourinho tactics but then with 11 better players then Roma has. Inzaghi will drop a bit and make a “cage” on the left side to defend both Theo and Leao. Difference is that they actually have attackers who can score unlike Roma and their midfield is much better. If we don’t find a solution to create anything down the right we will have a problem. One off night of Leao and we have a problem
Yep. And unfortunately we’re not going to find a solution to the problem on the right until the summer (and we might not even then).
Pioli doe NOT know how to use a creative player in the AM to facilitate the balls and building-up to the fowards and goal. Instea, he wants to put on the players who are, first and foremost, good at providing DEFENSICE.
Under another coach, such as Sarri or De Zerbi, CDK would be the perfect solution to distribute the balls and facilitate the attacks.
But, under Pioli CDK becomes less and less a player, and is losing every bit brilliance he used to have.
What a waste!
Yeah De Zerbi, he won so much right?
I can see geniuses like you saying De Zerbi or Sarri out as soon as he loses a couple of matches because esp in Sarri’s case it takes a long time for the team to learn his style
Stop looking for a new toy every year like a 10 year old
Other than the scudetto Pioli won last season, what has he won? I haven’t called for replacing Pioli until the second half of this season. Our form in 2023 has been atrocious. We’ve gotten by in the CL because it’s an elimination competition and at this stage we play clubs that come out and play, so our few weapons (Leao/Theo) get us by. But like @sempremilan says above, Inter will repeat what Roma did and with better players, and the result will likely be the same, if not worse. Pioli has struggled against certain specific coaches/teams because he just doesn’t know what to do with them.
De Zerbi is obviously the next promising Italian coaching talent. But don’t worry, he won’t replace Pioli. He’s basically already earned a move to a top 6 EPL club and the fact that he has a 13m release clause at Brighton means that he’s already out of reach for Milan anyway. Sarri won’t come either. No reason to leave a CL club for one that is likely to be in the Europa or worse. Plus, it usually takes a full season for a squad to adapt to his tactics, so he would be wasting his effort at Lazio.