After the disappointment in the Champions League against Chelsea, Milan travelled away from home to face Hellas Verona and managed to take all three points, keeping themselves close to Napoli in the standings and especially after the 0-0 draw between Udinese and Lazio which allowed the Rossoneri to jump in third place.
There weren’t many changes in the starting XI for Pioli with the most notable one being Yacine Adli picking up his first start since joining the club, pushing Brahim Diaz to play on the right instead of down the middle. Ismael Bennacer also got a rest as he sat on the bench allowing Rade Krunic to slot in the middle with Sandro Tonali.
The game started off well for Milan as they got ahead in the 9th minute after a counter-attack in which Olivier Giroud did well to find Rafael Leao and the Portuguese beat his man and then forced an own-goal with a dangerous cross.
Unfortunately for Pioli, Verona took advantage of a similar situation in the 19th minute when Koray Gunter’s shot was deflected in by Matteo Gabbia to bring the home side level.
In the second half both teams had chances with Verona hitting the bar, but after Pioli introduced Ante Rebic, Bennacer, Tommaso Pobega and Divock Origi, Milan calmed down a bit and eventually found the winning goal courtesy of Tonali. Here are five things we learned…
1. Not ready yet
There was a lot of talk in the last couple of months as to why Yacine Adli is not getting more playing time especially since his preseason looked somewhat promising, and we finally got the answer to those questions.
The Frenchman is simply not ready to start at the moment and will have to settle for game time off the bench for now. Adli looked somewhat lost on the pitch, which probably highlights that he is yet to get used to the formation and what is asked of him.
This is of course natural for a 22-year-old player in a new league with new expectations, especially given he wasn’t really brought in for an immediate impact.
On the positive side, he did have a few moments where you could see the confidence and technical ability, so now it’s up to him now to adapt and take advantage of his chances.
2. A decisive debut
Malick Thiaw finally got his first minutes in a red and black shirt after his summer arrival from Schalke 04 and he had to be switched on straight away.
Standing at 1.94 metres tall he is a different type of defender compared to the ones Milan currently have, but he also looked quick enough and that helped him make a couple of critical blocks that could have seen Verona equalise on two occasions.
With Gabbia playing well in the last few games, it’s nice to see Thiaw stepping as well and the potential seems to be there judging by his first appearance. It will be most interesting how this Milan defence will look with everybody back fit.
3. King of the Bentegodi
Tonali followed up his brace back in May where he led the Scudetto charge and helped his side comeback from a goal down with another crucial goal, this time sealing a 2-1 win.
The Italian did struggle in the first half with Krunic and Adli around him but he eventually he grew into the game and with the inclusion of Bennacer he was allowed to make those runs that ultimately led to the winning goal.
Sandro Tonali has scored three of his seven Serie A goals just against Verona at the Stadio Bentegodi.
[via @OptaPaolo] pic.twitter.com/xUzgixbDAP
— MilanData📊 (@acmilandata) October 16, 2022
Tonali also had several good long passes that he launched forward, showing his vision and technique and as usual helped a lot at the back. It’s actually very promising to see his flaws and it just highlights how much potential he has since he still looks so raw at times.
4. Still a protagonist
It’s been a somewhat frustrating couple of weeks for Rafael Leao as he failed to help his team salvage anything in both games against Chelsea and he did not pick up a goal or an assist against Juventus.
The winger no doubt wanted to score against Verona, but was unlucky to not do so, but he was ultimately the main man behind the two goals as he forced the own-goal and played a brilliant pass to Rebic for the second goal, allowing the Croat to square the ball towards Tonali.
Leao looked a bit frustrated to be subbed off, but he was indeed the protagonist and his contribution is key even without the goals.
5. Lack of concentration and bad decision making
The game was hard for Milan only because they failed to manage it well. At 1-0 Giroud had a great chance to double the lead, but he failed to hit the target after a lovely through ball from Brahim Diaz, with the Frenchman continuing to struggle in front of goal as he’s had a rough month so far.
More worrying was how Theo Hernandez on the left that failed to provide a good ball for his team-mates and he did have the option on several occasions. That’s not to say Theo was bad throughout the game, far from it, he found himself in great situations but his decision making failed him as it seemed that the Rossoneri could’ve easily picked up a couple of more goals.
We’ve already commented on Adli’s struggles and after his positive display against Juventus, Brahim also struggled against Verona as his best moment was the through ball to Giroud that the Frenchman wasted, but other than that the Spaniard failed to make an impact and was eventually subbed off.
– No1 priority for Milan should be Bennacer renewal
– Pobega lacks quality to play for AC Milan
– Yesterday and Wednesday everyone got their answers regarding Botman and whether Milan should have splashed cash for him.
Instead of playing with a World class defender, we are playing with…..Gabbia
– Milan needs a striker that can kill games with half an opportunity.
Gabbia is fine, he is solid enough now for backup and may even grow to be quality enough for a starter. Pobega is also fine, especially as depth who is also capable of starting when needed. We need a RW and ST but they have to be quality. Then we will have to be patient and hope cdk comes good. If so we’re set.
LOL
What answer?
Some players are not worth Poli’s effort. Diaz is a classic example. He shouldn’t be given 1st 11 starting position at all. Milan needs to develop Milan owned players. Those on loan are at best 2nd string players.