Everything has changed at AC Milan since the derby win against Inter, according to Andrea Longoni, and there are a number of players who deserve praise for improvements.
Milan beat Inter 2-1 one week ago thanks to goals from Christian Pulisic and Matteo Gabbia, with the hope being that it would provide a launching point after a difficult start to the season which had to that point resulted in one win in six games.
Milan moved top of the Serie A table – albeit temporarily – as they brushed aside Lecce 3-0 at San Siro on Friday night thanks to three goals in five first-half minutes. It was the perfect follow-up to beating the Nerazzurri, yet the visit to face Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday night feels like another litmus test.
Longoni published his weekly column for MilanNews and it had a more positive spin thanks to the impressive victory against Lecce which followed the one in the derby.
“The third consecutive victory brought points and confidence. The feeling is that Milan is finally becoming a team: not only in terms of play, but also in terms of attitude on the pitch and as a group,” he said.
“As Tomori says, compared to the first outings everything has changed: ‘The way of defending, the way of attacking, of staying together compactly’. Continuity will be needed to give further credibility to the project, but the path seems to be the right one. The entry of new signings has also been fundamental in giving new impulses to the dressing room as well as new references.
“The sacrifice of the latest arrivals Morata and Abraham seems to be infecting the rest of the team. The Spaniard is an incredible example of self-denial and commitment: despite his honours, Alvaro runs like crazy for every ball, showing his teammates how it’s done.
“It’s no coincidence that Leao played his best match in terms of application on Friday, putting himself completely at the service of the team. The Portuguese could be the deciding factor in Milan’s ambitions this year: he is the one who can raise the level.
“If he continues like this and turns things around definitively, then dreaming big may not be a utopia. Well done also to Fonseca, who perhaps, little by little, is managing to get into his head.
“Also worth noting is Fofana’s significant growth. With him as a starter in the league, 3 wins and a draw have arrived, the one in Rome against Lazio. The defensive phase needs to be improved, but giant steps have been made compared to the first outings. I remain perplexed about Emerson Royal: if he doesn’t turn things around, the team risks being vulnerable on that side.
“Still with regards to the new players, Abraham’s attitude on the pitch is impeccable: he can probably be asked to be more decisive in front of goal. But in the meantime, up front, Milan are a machine that is going very fast: so many resources, in a truly well-stocked department.
“Too few words are always spent on Pulisic: the guarantee of this team, a player who is always there and who in the very rare cases in which he is not brilliant, like on Friday, still punches the clock. For the American, a sensational start to the season.
“Now Leverkusen in the Champions League, a complicated match, and an away game in Florence before the break. Two more tests to measure the growth of this team.”
“The Portuguese could be the deciding factor in Milan’s ambitions this year: he is the one who can raise the level.”
Agreed.
Even when Rafa is not at his best, he is still very helpful to Milan. So far, second best in goals + assists (4, second to Puli’s 6 in Serie A), and look at his stats as reported today by a post in the Reddit AC Milan community, with his percentile of production as compared to ALL other Serie A players over the first 6 rounds:
Progressive carries, 97th percentile.
Successful dribbles, 93rd
Expected goals and assists, 98th
Assists 97th
Key passes 94th
Offensive actions 95th
The only lower percentile is goals scored, 67th. Yes, Rafa of course needs to work on his finishing; while good at times, it is atrocious at other times. He could have bagged a couple of additional goals, with better finishing. It’s a chronic problem for him.
But objectively speaking, even when less than ideal, he’s still helpful.
And yes, I do know that his work rate and willingness to defend and track back need to improve, but I’m encouraged by how Fonseca is having an impact on managing him, because against Lecce there was absolutely no doubt that Rafa showed a bigger work rate and defended/tracked back quite a lot.
I’m hopeful that Rafa will have a great 2023-24 season.
Pulisic of course has been splendid; he’s been the best Milan player this season, and the most complete one: five goals, a couple of assists, great work rate, good defensive effort, good tracking back, lots of passion. What a player! He’s my favorite Milan player. Last season he was already top 3, and this season he’s been number 1.
I think Morata and Abraham have added a lot of leadership in terms of grinta and commitment; the other players (especially Leão) are clearly being influenced by their example and their great attitude. It’s not only that: they have added good technical skills too: Morata has been the de facto offensive midfielder, and Abraham moves a lot, disorienting defenses.
Abraham has been unlucky with his scoring attempts; 3 great ones, with one going wide by a hair, one hitting the post, and one being stopped by a goalkeeper’s phenomenal save. It’s not really bad finishing. It’s just being a bit unlucky. I’m quite sure that Tammy’s first goal for Milan is coming, and others will follow.
I believe that Fofana is flying a bit under the radar and many fans haven’t noticed yet how good he is. He is visibly improving game to game (was off match form when he joined late). No, he wasn’t a typical DM in his career up to this point, but yes, he understands that this is expected of him and is growing into the role. Fabio Capello said it right: Fofana has added balance to Milan.
Theo has clearly recovered his form of being a world class left back. Management must recognize it and compensate him as such, when he hopefully renews. I think arguably, while we have many very good players, Theo is the only one who can comfortably say that he is world class. Maybe Puli can too, but it’s less clear as the RW position is more crowded with good players than the LB position. Mike used to be world class but he has declined some. Leão has never raised to that level. Morata and Abraham are great but there are many strikers who are better than they are. So, Theo is the only one for whom no doubt exists that he is world class, and he must get a salary consistent with his status, so that he doesn’t leave.
Now, of course, there are two clearly weak points: Emerson has been very hit-and-miss; Calabria wasn’t doing any better before his injury and even if now he has recovered, he won’t be full speed after some time out for injury. The RB position is very clearly our weakest spot, and I lament that we loaned Kalulu to Juve with an option to buy and no buy-back clause. Stupid move. Kalulu if he can manage to stay healthy, is a better RB than both Emerson and Calabria, and he can play CB too. Oh, I miss him!
And then, the other weak point is the lack of a suitable deputy for Theo. We’re one suspension or one injury away from having in the LB position the same weakness that we see in the RB position. Fingers crossed that Theo remains well, because there is absolutely no worthy replacement for him. Terracciano, Bartesaghi and Jimenez are all three miles behind Theo; especially Terracciano whom I deem quite useless, and currently the worst Milan player.
Lets take our time with this. Derbies are very particular games. And Lecce was good for continued confidence but we need to play a proper team again to cement what we think is a good system of play. Otherwise we’re just riding a wave