GdS: Moreira ‘scoring like a striker’ – how Amorim plans to utilise his new attacking weapon

Diego Moreira has still started just one game for AC Milan, but to say he has made an impression would be an understatement.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) recall, Moreira has scored three goals in his last 66 minutes of Serie A action, with all coming off the bench. This has highlighted the need to place greater faith in the winger signed from Strasbourg this summer.

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It was a €50m-plus-bonuses deal that particularly delighted Gerry Cardinale, who is absolutely enamoured with the Belgian and what he can bring. On Sunday evening, the RedBird chief personally went pitchside during the pre-match warm-ups to embrace the wide man.

Diego returned the gesture and then expressed his gratitude in his own way by scoring his first goal at San Siro – celebrated in front of the Curva Sud – after replacing Alexis Saelemaekers in the 69th minute.

A lively start

In Milan’s first six matches, the former Strasbourg star started only once, on his debut against Juventus. Despite this, with three goals Moreira is the Rossoneri’s top scorer in this first part of the season.

Naturally, fans and pundits are now wondering what the 22-year-old has to do to start. He told DAZN after the game: “It’s not up to me to decide, because if I could I would decide to always start… It depends on the coach, he decides what he thinks is the best eleven. We’ll see if I can return to the starting lineup after the break, but for now that’s fine.”

In short, the ball now passes to Ruben Amorim, who also against Lecce chose to use Moreira as a projectile to shoot during the match in progress. Beyond this, there is also the question of where Cardinale’s new protégé should play.

Belgian Army Knife

Diego Moreira was deployed as a right-sided wing-back in his only start against Juventus. This was no coincidence: he was filling in for Samuel Chukwueze, after Amorim had told the media it would be difficult to see the duo play together.

When the Portuguese coach opts to start the Nigerian, he can rarely afford to field the former Strasbourg player on the opposite flank. The pair are attacking wing-backs that have been seen in action only twice, both times mid-match with Milan trailing.

The move worked against Lazio, where the Diavolo salvaged a seemingly lost game thanks to a brace from Moreira, who was playing as a left-sided wing-back that night. However, against Benfica in the Europa League the feat could not be repeated.

In the recent match against Lecce, an interesting variation was seen: Moreira was pushed up into the attacking midfield spot behind Gonçalo Ramos. That said, Milan often lined up in a 4-4-2 formation on Sunday night, with the Benfica academy product playing as a left midfielder.

It was an interesting experiment by Amorim, as for the first time Moreira had another left-sided player behind him (first Pervis Estupinan, then Davide Bartesaghi) without leaving the team too unbalanced.

But where does Diego prefer to play? “Anywhere. I like starting on the right or the left, further forward or further back. I play anywhere with joy and always give my all,” was the Belgian’s diplomatic reply.

Moreira will be in action for his national team during this three-week break (with the first match actually against Italy). However, upon his return – amid a packed schedule of closely spaced games – he will certainly have opportunities to convince Amorim to finally field him as a starter.