The first half of AC Milan’s Europa League quarter-final first leg against Roma did not go to plan, but it has also shown exactly what the team must not do in such a high stakes game.
La Gazzetta dello Sport recall how Milan made a mistake in their approach, then tried to change on the fly during the second half, only partially succeeding given that they still have a 1-0 deficit to overturn. They dive into specifically what went wrong.
Ruthlessness: The sight of Olivier Giroud’s shot rattling the crossbar remains fresh in the memory, and Milan simply have to take their chances better. The Rossoneri have finishers of a certain level: Giroud, Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Rafael Leao are all in double figures for goals.
The attacking potential is there, as well as the ability to mount a comeback. This year the Rossoneri came from behind against Borussia Dortmund, Newcastle, Udinese, Frosinone and Sassuolo.
Substitutions: The best opportunity of the first leg occurred thanks to an incredible solo run from Samu Chukwueze. The Nigerian came on with about ten minutes to go and provided the cut-back to the Frenchman, who as mentioned hit the bar.
Against Sassuolo the winger had two goals disallowed for offside so he will be fired up and ready to come off the bench, as will Noah Okafor who was decisive in Reggio Emilia and Luka Jovic who scored at the weekend too.
Pressing: The first leg may have been prepared well, but it was executed poorly. Pioli explained it after the match: “In the first half we weren’t so clear, so clear without the ball. We weren’t aggressive.” Translated: El Shaarawy’s change of wing put the initial tactical structure in difficulty.
Giroud, Pulisic and Leao left the Giallorossi central defenders free to set up and build from deep. At the Olimpico, Milan will have to immediately attack high up the pitch by pressurising Smalling and Mancini. This is the tactical structure prepared for the first leg, but not carried out.
Key men: The contribution of Pioli’s faithful was missing: Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic, Theo, Bennacer and Giroud. In addition to Leao, who deserves a separate chapter. The Englishman, so far decisive in Europe, failed in the match against Roma in a bad way, remaining entangled in the Giallorossi trap.
The same goes for Bennacer and Pulisic. The latter, fresh from a super goal against Lecce before facing the Giallorossi, did not break through as he knows how to, and when the American is not in form Milan struggles.
The last note concerns Theo, who was also trapped in the ‘Derossian schem’e. El Shaarawy put him in a lot of difficulty and he came out with some negative ratings from the game.
Leao factor: Leao is arguably the most important man, the light to hold on to in times of difficulty, which remained off for 90 minutes in the first leg. His performance tonight is the key to achieving the comeback, especially because the Portuguese comes from three goals in a row in the league and from a good Europa League campaign so far.
In Prague, in the return match against Slavia, he scored a great goal from outside the area, while the Olimpico was where he scored the first overhead kick goal of his life. With 13 goals, 12 assists and 40 appearances this season, he can and must light up Milan.
