AC Milan will be taking on Lecce at San Siro tomorrow and after only getting one point in the reverse fixture, they will be out for revenge. Revisiting that game at Via del Mare, it’s clear that the Rossoneri could have done a lot better.
Stefano Pioli and his men are currently on a six-game winning run and tomorrow’s clash is very important to build on that momentum. Furthermore, with the Scudetto in sight for Inter, Milan need to keep the distance the same (at least) to avoid celebrations in the derby.
A rapid start with inefficiency
In the reverse fixture against Lecce, Milan started the game brilliantly as they were still beaming from the 2-1 win against Paris Saint-Germain. Olivier Giroud opened the scoring in the 28th minute after a great pass by Theo Hernandez, and Tijjani Reijnders got his first goal for the club seven minutes later.
The Rossoneri even had chances to make it three before the end of the first half, with Reijnders hitting the post and a few other good opportunities squandered. This was indeed the first mistake in that game, as they arguably should have killed the game there and then.
This is something that Milan have struggled with all season, in truth, lacking consistency with their goalscoring. Things have certainly improved in the current winning run, but sometimes many chances don’t equal goals in plural for the Rossoneri.
Stretched defending and lapses of concentration
The second mistake, and arguably the most fatal in the game, was Milan’s inability to defend what should have been a comfortable lead in the second half. Especially since they kept it until the 66th minute, when Lecce scored their first goal.
The goal was almost a complete copycat of the goal conceded against PSG just a few days before, losing a man at the far post when defending a corner. Instead of taking it as a wake-up call, the Rossoneri remained in a confused state and it proved to be costly.
They committed many men forward four minutes later and when Lecce won back the ball, the defence was caught out. A quick counter meant 2-2 for the home side and that also confirmed the mental collapse for the Rossoneri.
A mental collapse which was very prevalent in that period, as Milan had also lost a 2-0 lead against Napoli just a couple of weeks before. Since then, they have improved greatly on this front – if anything coming back from behind themselves – but the reverse fixture will be looming tomorrow.
Pioli makes bold choice
As per the latest reports, Milan will start with Samuel Chukwueze, Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao in the attacking trio tomorrow. Furthermore, Yacine Adli and Tijjani Reijnders will partner up in the midfield tandem, meaning the Rossoneri will be very attacking-minded.
Granted that it’s different to play at San Siro, Lecce have shown that they can hurt Milan when the defence is caught sleeping/stretched. Also considering the Rossoneri’s recent positive form, it will thus be interesting to see how they will approach the game with such an attacking eleven.
However, one thing is clear: Milan cannot afford to repeat the mistake made in the reverse fixture.
