Following a dire 0-0 draw against Genoa, Milan and Paulo Fonseca were desperate to bounce back with a win against Verona. Thanks to individual brilliance, they managed to do so and below are five things we learned from the game.
Indeed, disregarding the individual quality on the 1-0 goal, not much changed from the draw against Genoa. Furthermore, Rafael Leao was taken off after 30 minutes with an injury and that naturally hurt Milan’s creativity when going forward.
The dull affair continued in the second half, with the Rossoneri dominating possession but doing very little with it. Eventually, thanks to a great link-up by Youssouf Fofana and Tijjani Reijnders, Milan managed to break the deadlock.
After that goal, the game continued in its dull fashion and this was obviously in Milan’s favour, as they badly needed this win. Below are five things we learned from the game…
1. Thiaw-Gabbia working well
Malick Thiaw and Matteo Gabbia have emerged as Fonseca’s preferred centre-back duo and that is only right, having worked very well together in the last few games.
The Italian was solid throughout the game, winning most of his duels and not allowing much for the opposition. The German also did well defensively, but he above all stepped up with his passing between the lines as well as a couple of nice running going forward.
In short, it was really positive from the duo and hopefully their teammates up front can start racking up goals to make the most out of the defensive solidity.
2. Fofana ran the show
Youssouf Fofana did very well in the middle of the park, drawing fouls constantly which proved just how hard it was to dispossess him on the night.
The Frenchman also showed off his passing abilities with the assist for the goal as he had the vision and quality to execute a brilliant through ball to Tijjani Reijnders. While the latter scored the winner, we named Fofana the MOTM.
The midfielder has certainly improved a lot compared to his performances at the beginning of the season and has started to add more assists to his game too.
3. Reijnders back on track
The Dutchman has had some mixed performances lately, but we can’t judge him too much as he was in red-hot form prior to that. Not to mention that the drop was somewhat logical given the hectic schedule for Milan recently, with Reijnders not having a lot of resting time.
Against Verona, however, he did well and really stepped up in the second half where he was finding more space through the middle. This was evident on the goal as he provided a lovely finish which made it look very easy, but it was anything but that.
It’s a joy to watch Fofana and Reijnders at the top of their game, especially since they complement each other well.
4. Jimenez puts trio to shame
The Spaniard started as a left-back but moved to the left wing after Rafael Leao’s substitution and did very well as he wasn’t afraid to drive forward. His explosiveness allowed him to beat his man and get into shooting positions. Should he continue like this, the debut foal for the senior team will come soon enough.
The 19-year-old has done more in the two games he played than what Samuel Chukwueze and Emerson Royal have done since the start of the season. On top of that, he has also looked sharper than Theo Hernandez with the Frenchman struggling to get going since August.
Fonseca stated after the game that Jimernez will continue to be a starter for Milan, although the position is yet to be fully defined (especially now with Leao injured).
5. Duo good off the bench
Since we mentioned Theo’s mixed performances in the previous point, it’s also fair to say that he entered the game with the right attitude against Verona. He was not a game-changer, but he did his job defensively and looked more focused than usual and did not make unforced errors, with a couple of good moments going forward too.
Calabria also did well after coming on as he brought a bit more stability on the right flank as he was more efficient than Chukwueze, truth be told, despite playing as a winger. Nothing flashy, but kept the ball well in his more advanced role especially in the dying minutes to help slow down the pace and secure the win.
I have always said Jimenez is a winger rather than a full back, he will be more effective as a winger, honestly the whole team played well to an extent, the player that needs to be sold this December is Chukwueze, he is just not Milan quality..
You have to understand what kind of game Fonseca is playing. He has adjusted chukwueze’s role from a RAM to a WB. What do you expect?, it means he will do more defensive work than the attacking work which I believe is the coaches instructions as we see him to with Yunus musah. The problem on that right flank is Emerson royal. He has no speed, no technical ability, he doesn’t know how to overlap and create spaces on the right side. Calabria is still a better fit despite his flaws and more possibly terraciano
There are very few positives this season but Reijnders, along with Pulisic are definitely 2 of the rare bright spots in the squad.
For over a year, some were hating on Reijnders for no other reason but because of what happened at the club before he signed for Milan.
Maignan, Thiaw, Fofana and Gabbia are certainly doing well too.
Also, it’s interesting how we don’t hear or read anything about how good Tommaso Pobega is doing on loan in Bologna. 3 goals in the last 5 games. I guess he doesn’t have a famous last name. The dude with famous last name scored 1 goal and we read 1000 articles about him like he was the 2nd coming of Roberto Baggio.
Happy for Pobega. Hope he keeps it up. He and Adli should have been kept.
You know what pobega and adli have in common? They both play with a defensive pivot. Which frees them up to do things.
What we lacking after spending 80+M on miidfielders? A DM ofc
And it’s not Adli’s or Pobega’s fault that Milan coaches played them out of positions, now is it? Both are doing fine. CDK is doing even better. Perhaps it’s not 100% due to fact being “too slow” or some else cr@p…
Pobega is benefiting from some hindsight. When he was with us he definetly wasn’t good in the few games he played. With that said, I think we should have kept him. He is Italian so he wasn’t taking any additional spot and could always have been useful (and right now is better than either RLC or Musah).
I’ve always maintained that Adli should have been kept. He lacked many qualities and was slow, but he had good vision, good passing range, could take a set piece and has a dog in him (something that Leao, Theo and compagnies are missing quite a lot). Right now aside from Reijnders, no one can pass the ball in our midfield.
You say nobody can pass but Tijji. That was after fofana made an assist in the last game and that also makes his 5th assist of the season while tijji has 2
Fofana can have some good passes and assists here and there but he isn’t a playmaker.
Deers and Adli are playmakers to some extent. Fofana can’t take Deers’ role and dictate the tempo the way he does.
So maybe my wording “can’t pass” wasnt good but what I meant is no one currently aside from Reijnders (and formally Bennacer) have good playmaking abilities.
Not saying he is..he’s a b2b. But he can pass.
Yup, tijji, benny and pulisic when he drops deeper can also dictate the game.
Theo has some playmaking in him but we never use that part of his game.
Pobega got one silly red card. But has otherwise been very good on loan.
His depth in midfield would have been really helpful so far this season.
I’m not sure why we let so many academy players leave over the summer when we could not replace their list places.
Popega is a great player, he take the outside shot when necessary, he should have been used as a back up, sometime the Coach just have to bring them in if is 10min.Things will change instead going for player that we will still complain about
We learned
1. The team is a shambles
2. The coach is deluded
3. Theo, probably our best player looks gone already
4. Our subs are trash
5. Anyone who bought or plays Emerson should be fired. It is beyond a joke how bad he is. Anybody would do better. Are we trying to lose?
I learned
1. Theo can play left back with any a$$ clownery.
2. I learned that when Theo is not being an a$$ clown he can play defense and link up with Jimenez.
3. I learned that we can play with all 5 fullbacks (Emerson, Jimenez Terraciano, Theo, Calabria) and 4 center backs (Gabbia, Thiaw and Tomorri).
4. I learned that when we with 8 defenders or right wing is more effective than when. We play with Chuk.
5. I learned that we have a good midfield and that Terraciano has some dog in him.
For any who would like to continue to bash Calabria I hope you learned that not it is our FB situation better when he plays, but other players on the field are better too.
Maybe there is something to having a captain who is effective, mature and respected.
This is the third time I’m saying this in two weeks! Terra is a natural Dm/destroyer!
Well he ain’t a playmaker for sure so he’d better be good at something then, eh? 😛
I think the coach have to develop another formation which is going to be the plan b, while not try 3 5 2. Thiaw, Gabbia, Tomori and try to convert some player to midfield, like Theo, Terria, etc look at inter Milan using the 352 as their plan a. Not all game u use 432. Their are some player who suits some kind of formation if is 442, 4141
Now that Gabbia-Thiaw are almost unpassable, Fonseca wouldn’t dare to mess with the defensive line.
Finally they put Terracciano in midfield. I’ve been saying for a year now, he’s no fullback. I focused on him specifically against Udinese where he played an inverted fullback drifting inside to the middle to protect the backline. His positional sense and awareness were on point and I said I want to see him in that DM role. Hope they continue his development in the midfield cause he can be a decent option there.