AC Milan are a different team in 2022 so far compared to how they were during the first half of the current season, a report claims.
Calciomercato.com write about a Milan that are less fluid but above all effective in the final third both in terms of the attacking movement and also the finishing, but on the flip side Stefano Pioli’s side are now more compact and defensively resolute. Only Liverpool have conceded fewer league goals than the Rossoneri since January 1 (6 for the Reds against 8 for Milan).
With 40 goals scored and 22 let in, Milan were running teams over in the first 19 matches of the season but it was played at a very high speed and intensity, something that could not be sustained when injuries took multiple players out at the same time.
Since Milan-Roma on 6 January, a different path began for Milan as they have scored just 22 goals in 16 games but showed a new defensive skin that significantly reduced the risks and led to a halving of the average of goals conceded.
The report adds how it is almost a different team to the one that relied on multiple players getting involved in fast transitions with unpredictable rotations. Now Milan are prudent, resilient and the recent record of 7 clean sheets in the last 8 league games shows that even one goal can be enough to win a game, with two wins and a draw needed for the Scudetto.
Teams also slow play down more now against us, constantly time wasting, play acting and breaking up play to stop our fast counter. This is the reason Pioli was complaining about matches only played for 60 minutes with the rest time wasted. Teams have wised up and found a way to frustrate us and referee’s should be doing better to make sure this stops happening.
Kalulu-Tomori played as CBs mostly, I honestly think that is the main reason.