After a positive start, Ruben Amorim’s AC Milan have dropped points for the first time, drawing 1-1 against Juventus in Turin.
In recent years, this has been a boring game, especially at the Allianz. Milan and Juventus haven’t really played out a classic and you’re often left thinking about games from the past, rather than hoping the next one comes around quickly.
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For 60 minutes – if not longer – this game followed the same trend. Very few moments of quality were woven into minutes of build-up and defensive-minded football. Then Alphadjo Cisse came onto the pitch and lit the spark.
The game settled back into that lull after the youngster’s goal, but Juve were undoubtedly the aggressors. Eventually it paid off, too, with a late goal from Federico Gatti. A disappointing end to what would’ve been a masterstroke from Amorim.
The game itself was a mixture of good and bad performances, so let’s dig into five things learned from the game itself.
1. Mixed feelings about Amorim’s game management
This one is interesting because the Diavolo were two minutes away from three points. Had that been the case, we probably wouldn’t have touched on the Starting XI, but as things stand, we have to address some of the manager’s choices.
The biggest issue here was the introduction of Diego Moreira, who prior to this game had zero minutes for his new team, whilst Samuel Chukwueze was in red hot form and it made little sense to bench the Nigerian.
Moreira seemed a tad nervy, which is probably expected given it was his first game and what a game at that – away at Juventus – so naturally the wingback tried to play it safe. As a result, we barely saw anything from him going forward.
At the very least, he could’ve played on the left-hand side where Pervis Estupinan continues to be unimpressive, but that would’ve at least resulted in Chukwueze being a starter.
In the middle, we saw Luka Modric partner Yunus Musah and whilst the Croatian will certainly be crucial for Milan this season, perhaps someone like Jashari should’ve started instead of him. Just because of his physical condition, if nothing else.
Modric couldn’t really keep up with the tempo and failed to press high alongside Musah, which meant Amorim’s tactics didn’t really work, since the team couldn’t press as a unit. Instead, if Modric came on in the second half when the tempo dropped a bit, he would’ve been more useful.
Then, Adrien Rabiot also started in the right attacking midfield position. Whilst everyone probably agrees that he’s better than Ruben Loftus-Cheek, he also seemed a tad slow and not at full fitness. One could argue Chukwueze could’ve played there even if Moreira got the start. With Rabiot, the issue was clear: the Rossoneri lacked pace on the counter and couldn’t really create danger.
To Amorim’s credit, he reacted very well in the second half – as has been the case in the previous two games – and he subbed on Chukwueze and Cisse, with the duo combining for the opening goal.
Unfortunately, the coach’s plans were too conservative after that, which resulted in the equaliser being expected by the end of the game…
Being conservative in your first derby as a Milan manager, especially after going up 1-0 against Juventus away from home, is not the biggest crime.
Nevertheless, there’s a lesson in there for Amorim. Saying that, it’s important to also highlight that Milan continue to be unbeaten under the Portuguese and he has plenty of positives to work with.
2. De Winter shines as supporting cast struggles
Mario Gila was without a doubt the best Milan defender in the opening two games, but it was Koni De Winter’s time to shine against Juventus.
The Belgian made a few crucial clearances and plenty of great tackles. He was also very confident on the ball, which was a major drawback in having Matteo Gabbia as a starter, some felt.
Gila also did quite well, but he had a few more negative moments compared to his previous games. In fairness, though, he played with some discomfort and it seems it has been the case since he picked up a slight injury in pre-season.
Hopefully, he can move past that and be healthy, as he really has been a tremendous signing.
The real issue at the back for the Diavolo was Strahinja Pavlovic, who was beaten too easily on several occasions, with him seeming a bit sluggish.
On top of that, his passing wasn’t brilliant either and whilst the goal did not come from an error he committed, it’s still fair to say that he played an underwhelming game, as Mike Maignan and De Winter were forced to save him on a couple of occasions.
3. Still in search of the right midfield duo
Milan’s midfield was definitely outplayed on Sunday night. It might be controversial to say, but we felt Modric was more of an issue than Musah, even though the Croatian scored the higher rating in our post-game ratings.
Modric is unable to press high and efficiently due to his age more than anything, but his on-the-ball qualities normally make up for that.
Against weaker sides, this isn’t as evident because, for example, Venezia or Torino might not have the technical capabilities to escape even a moderately good press. Juventus, on the other hand, obviously could and they were helped by the limited numbers of the Diavolo’s press.
With the ball at his feet, the Croatian was definitely better, although again Musah had a couple of forward runs where he escaped from the press and had the energy and pace to carry the ball forward. Modric, even if he can escape the press with his technique, then struggled to bring it forward at the needed tempo.
This isn’t to say Modric shouldn’t play, nor is it to say that he won’t be extremely valuable for Amorim. However, in some big games it seems that he might be better off the bench when the opposition is a little bit tired and the Croatian is fresh.
Seeing more of Ardon Jashari and Musah in the middle, assuming Rabiot will play in an advanced position, may well be the way to go.
4. Saelemaekers and Ramos disappoint
It’s understandable why Alexis Saelemaekers got the nod over Cisse, as he played well against Venezia and combined with Ramos for the opener. Yet, against Juventus, he was just poor and so was the Portuguese, unfortunately.
Saelemaekers was really sloppy on the ball and his control was off on the night; even when he had a bit more space and time, he lacked the creativity to make something happen. There isn’t much more to add, really. It was night and day compared to when Cisse came on.
Ramos also struggled and whilst he had little service in front of goal, he also didn’t do enough when he dropped deeper to involve himself in the game.
The first issue was that he didn’t really involve himself enough, but the second problem was that when he did get on the ball, he was slow and sloppy, losing the ball or misplacing a pass.
Really poor by the number nine this time around and his pressing wasn’t that great either, but that was more of a group effort.
5. Duo shine off the bench
It wasn’t all bad, though. Amorim reacted well to the poor performance on the pitch by subbing both Chukwueze and Cisse on for Saelemaekers and Rabiot.
The two combined shortly after, with the Nigerian switching the ball perfectly to the feet of the youngster, who had no trouble. With the ball glued to his foot, he cut inside, beating his man and firing a low driven shot into the far corner.
It was such a beautiful goal to watch and it highlights how much Milan have lacked a player who can be as direct as Cisse. We cannot avoid crediting Chukwueze, too, because his long ball was not an easy one either.
So one thing is for sure: following the initial three games of the season, both players need to start given they are well rested and fit. Moreira and Christian Pulisic will have to fight for a starting spot and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be easy for them.
This is only a good thing for Amorim and Milan as a whole; it’s been far too long since there was proper competition for places in key areas.
On paper a 3-4-2-1 should look like this:
————–ST————-
——AM———AM——
LWB—CM–CM—RWB
—-CB—–CB—–CB—-
With Amorim we might have to get used to:
————–ST————-
——RWB——–CM—–
LWB—CM–CM—LWB
—-CB—–CB—–CB—-
or
————–ST————-
——AM———-CM—–
LWB—CM—CM—RW
—-CB—–CB—–CB—-
Let’s hope Pulišić comes back soon enough
Rabiot is being wasted as an AM. He’s better as a box-to-box midfielder. He should be in the double pivot.
I think Jashari should be given time especially in the Europa League to finally see if he can improve or if he’s just a scam. For now Modrić is still the better player, despite his age and despite not looking so good in this system.
And yet, a box to box midfielder is also ineffective in a double pivot, as when he’s in the box, he is not double pivoting. IMHO, a double pivot pair is actually quite static in their role. In other words they hold position. This team is, and was, built for a 4-3-3. That way, Rabiot could play on the outside of the middle 3 and do his box to box thing, Modric could hold in the middle, and Musah (or probably better Fofana) could play on the other side. Our wingers could do their thing in their proper positions (with Leao having remained, by the way) (Leao and Cisse on the left, Pulisic and Chukwueze on the right), and all we would have needed to do in the summer marker was get a striker (which we did), a CB (which we did), a good LB to replace Estupiñan, while keeping Athekame as the RB. Instead we continued with the strange Serie A fixation with 3-back systems (minus the glorious project that is being overseen by Fabregas) by hiring Amorim. And of course, that is on Gerry.
That said, lots of people are drowning in a tea cup, and I still think it’s early days. We are 2-1-0 and we drew away at Juventus. People and the press are acting as if we’re Fiorentina at 0-0-3. What are the expectations for this season? The title? Because as far as I’m concerned, it’s top 4, and as such we’re still very much on track. Again, it’s only been three games.
For your first paragraph, I think Rabiot can do what Musah was doing saturday (winning the ball and carrying it forward deep into the opponent’s half) with a better finish and better passes than Musah, but that’s just my opinion.
I don’t know if we have a team for a 4-3-3 anymore with Leão gone and the replacements being more attacking midfielders rather than wingers. Maybe we can use Pulišić as a LW and Chukwueze as a RW, but I don’t the latter too much as a RW.
For your second paragraph, I agree that we’re not doing poorly so far, but Redbird’s failure so far put us in a constantly frustrating and distrusting situation. They took over a side that has recently won the scudetto and went to the UCL semi-finals despite a bad season and made it into a side that can’t even qualify to the UCL anymore. Last season we were title contenders up until february only to finish outside of the top 4. And finally many people (including myself) simply don’t rate Amorim that high.
I don’t disagree with anything you’re saying. I wasn’t thrilled with Amorim’s appointed either, hence the comment about 4-3-3 (so another coach). We don’t really have a squad for that anymore, but we did at the beginning of the summer and some signings in certain areas would have rounded out the squad for that. Redbird does seem singularly incapable of rounding out a squad though. I’m just hoping for the best. Top 4 and then further improvements next summer.
All has been said, this is a honest review of the team so far and what need to give or not give.
Truth must be said, modric can’t keep to the tempo, he will be crucial for seeing games out, Rabiot should be paired with Jashari on the middle and we can go from there.
I am far from convinced by Musah. When he goes forward he often loses the Ball too easily and gets the team in trouble and leaves Space for the opposition. His passing is no good and I wonder if Rabiot would not be much better in the role? Also I actually dont agree with the negative assesment of RLC. I thought he did very well and is very strong player in this position
Amorim changes in the starting lineup didn’t work. Having 9 days in between games and no Europa league game this week he should have stuck with the players who started the first 2 games.
First time watching Moreira play a game. He actually looked good defensively and afraid offensively. As a wing-back he should play on the left not on the right. A lot of the highlights i saw from him in Strasbourg, he is on the left.
Saelemaekers and Rabiot were awesome coming off the bench the 1st 2 games but they were bad as starters yesterday.
Amorim is doing with Musah what Pioli did with Kessie, cut his responsibilities on the pitch. Musah keeps it simple this season. Does the dirty work and when he gets the ball he pass it right away to a teammate.
Amorim, mostly because of injuries, have been very conservative so far. We gotta start seeing more offensive game. Cisse,Pulisic, Hutchinson and Chukwueze need to play more in the AM positions. Chukwueze has been great so far as a rwb but Id like him to play the right #10. He and Cisse are developing a connection.
Cisse looks like a real deal. I think that he lacks speed to be a top winger but some are saying that he is faster than that but because of the injury he is coming back from he is overweight and not in ideal shape. He is so strong for a 19 y old. Defenders cant move him when he is shielding the ball. He was bullying Kalulu yesterday. Speaking of Kalulu, as usual, he was out of position on the goal.
If moriera must start then push chukwueze to the left AM position which will be good for everyone. It’s no rocket science that a team needs to find a way to play all it’s best players at once. And the others should fight for their place. From there you know who to sell in the next window and who will remain.
Agree with most of the comments here –
Rabiot should be in the pivot
Chuk should be starting on task right wb or right 10 Moriera should be on the left
Estupinan RLC Terraciano should be on the bench Pulisic should at least be coming off it
I’m getting my Man U nausea back again but hopefully Amorim can find a solution somehow some way….
Milan is still poorly built team. Not sure what the idea was when they decided to spend 50m on Morriera to be a backup for Chukwueze at LWB just sounds CRAZY and idiotic to me. But according to Amorim that’s where he sees him.
So why didn’t they invest that money into Karetsas? I don’t understand how they thought it made more sense to spend 50m for a backup LWB instead of a potential star AM.
Ok, but you can’t start him in an away game against a top club like Juventus with so much pressure when he hasn’t played a minute of football since he arrived.
I don’t understand that. also, Milan choosing not to sign another striker and CB before the start of the season is also poor planning and plain stupid.
Karetsas chose Dortmund over Milan. It wasn’t that Milan didn’t want to invest in him. He just chose another club. Dortmund has a great reputation when it comes to playing, developing young players into top players. Milan does not.
Liberali did the same. Chose to sit on the bench at Como behind their best player Nico Paz, instead of coming to Milan where he would be starting now just like Cisse. But he didnt know and didn’t trust that Amorim would actually play the young players.
For a backup RWB, not LWB.
“I don’t understand that. also, Milan choosing not to sign another striker and CB before the start of the season is also poor planning and plain stupid.”
Not “only” that, we should’ve signed one defensive midfielder as well.
What did our CBs do wrong that we keep asking for another CB? Even Dewinter performed well when we all saw him with a sceptic eye. Sure another quality CB is needed but not as desperately as a CM that can hold on to the ball and controls the tempo, and delivers in both phases.
You haven’t seen Karetsas play and he’s a midget. Short players don’t excel in good leagues, that’s why he’s went to the Bundesliga, which is a much lower level than the EPL, France and Serie A.
I am gonna be honest – I fail to see how Leao at CAM would not have improved this team. Same with giving Puli time. But! I still think this is the right coach and system, even though some decisions were bizarre (especially bloody Terraciano ffs).
The C in CAM is for CENTRAL. The left sideline isn’t central
It’s something in between the attacking midfielder and the left wing, left attacking midfielder aka AMLC.
It was a lot of change to the starting line-up.
Rabiot and Saelemaekers were expected with how well they have played coming off the bench. But they were both made a lot of poor passes.
Agree with the analysis that Modric off the bench is a better option.
Musah is doing well IMO.
It was a big ask for Moreira to take Chukwueze place in a big away game against Juve.
Amorin should have given him a run off the bench first. Either at RWB or LWB last week.
Saying Musah is doing well is like saying an addict is doing well in rehab. Sure, theres no real danger and very limited responsibility. The closer he gets to either box the more of a liability he becomes. He’s part of the problem and not part of the solution.
Side note: Amorim is the probably the first manager to tell him his job isnt to score goals (read his interviews, he thinks he’s a CAM or CF)
Musah is the last player Amorim would replace right now. His physical prowess provides the essential balance in his team and he never stops during the whole game, as long as he keeps it simple.
There is more a chance of seeing a Rabiot-Musah Midfield with Modric coming in the second half then a midfield without Musah at this time in Amorim’s early days as coach.
Jashari is still a step behind in what he offers the team from that position.
Well said.
Is now Mila is Mila what amorim need now is 2 stop staring salamaker for us pulisic/ceisse for us /morera/omari
Mila?
Agree with some of the assessments. Regarding Ramos, everyone knew (including the ones that decided to buy him) that his hold up play and dribbling are not his forte. He is a poacher. And he worked hard, ran a lot. Everything said, it comes down to the weak midfield that we have. Midfield is the heartbeat of any team. A lot of people don’t like it but Modric should not start a game. Unless he is well well well rested. I don’t know if Jashari is milan quality, but at least either try or Amorim comes up with something else in that midfield. Amorim’s system, as well as today’s football, requires fast transitions. And with all due respect Modric can’t do that anymore. We have solid CBs, solid wingers and good attackers but we lack that midfield connection. Without that midfield that tightens the team up, than we are too spread out for any team to expore. Modern game requires compact team, but it’s hard to that when the guy that is responsible for controlling tempo can’t keep up because of his age. Not to mention Musah that has low football IQ, just runs. Rabiot is a good box box player and a very physical player, with decent passing and shooting. But no AM for sure. Hope Amorim solves that Midfield issue ASAP. We get that sorted out and we’ll be off to races. Puli will also come back I guess once he is fit. Hope that new guy, Hutch, is decent as well.
If I had the ideal starting line up it would be
Gila de winter/gabbia pavlovic/bart
Chuk RABIOT modric/jashari moreira/bart
Pulisic/Hutchinson cisse
Ramos
Rabiot I feel would solidify the cm which right now is our weak point and he can make it a strong point. Putting him even next to modric to break up the play and let modric link up play or put him next to jashari. Dont like him much in an attacking mid role.
Moreira while he says he prefers the right would probably look much better on the left. Where chuk constantly cuts in on his favored left I think moreira is more beat someone with speed and cross in with his favored foot.
Cisse has shown he deserves to start for time being and pulisic needs to start when ready whether its on the right or left. Saelemakers can go to rwb or be in the attacking mid as well.
I just dont see how if you want to play fast paced attacking football you play rabiot in an attacking position instead of the midfield where he can really be a pillar there..playing a formation with attacking mid you need someone who has pace, can be creative and score. I hope amorim isn’t stubborn with this and I know its only 3 games in with new players and a new system coming off a world cup summer but you cant play players out of position all season long.
Musah is not doing well. Look at the critical moments. He absolutely has no idea what to do. Doesn’t clear the ball when needed, doesn’t pass when needed (he can’t pass anyways).
Estupinan, RLC and Chuk can only shine against low tier teams. The moment they face a good side like Juve, look what happened.
Gila is always injured or not fit. Modric can’t play these types of games for full 90.
The team is poorly constructed but Amorim chose to experiment in a big match. I am not sure if he understands the importance of derby.
Chuk was instrumental for our goal and hardly made any mistakes.
Chuk is a one-trick pony. They will shut him down in Serie A in a few weeks. Just watch it. Juve was playing hard to get a goal yesterday. Most teams play balanced football. He got lucky the first two games because the opposition was weak and the league just started.
Sell: Salemakers, Pulisic, Estupinan, Gabbia, Pavlovic, Rabiot,Loftus.
We pressed high and effective against ManU and Torino. In both matches, Jashari started. He is the difference maker. I really don’t understand why people say he isn’t ready. He was amazing in those games. Modric, I’m so sorry, but when he plays we have no choice but to drop deep (at least right now). I think it’s only natural to give others more space
Difference maker? When? Against Torino we didn’t score until he left the field. Against Juventus they killed us after he came on. He touched the ball twice in 16 minutes. Writing how good he is won’t change the facts. Manager isn’t picking him as 41 year old Modric is light years ahead of him. 😳
Amorim definitely got his selection wrong. Moreira or Hutchinson or Bart should have started on the left. They can’t be worse as Estupian. Lotus don’t really add anything to Milan. I don’t see why he plays. Pulisic should have been given some minutes in the AM role…
Another big test against a Lazio team that are 3 for 3. The central midfield is a mess. The defence is fine, the main issue is playing Esupinan and the dud Musah. The worst thing that could have happened with Musah is one good run. Now Amorin is going to wait and wait for him to do the same and he can’t, he’s an athlete, not a footballer.