Aside from the much-needed three points against a side that have been a rival for the top four in recent seasons, the 1-0 victory over Lazio also produced the satisfaction of a clean sheet.
As MilanNews write, the victory further solidifies third place in the table and puts pressure on Juventus ahead of this evening’s match between Napoli and the Bianconeri.
Stefano Pioli’s side do not have time to enjoy the win though, because they must start preparing for Thursday’s game against Slavia Praha, scheduled for 20:45 CET at San Siro.
They will hope for another resolute defensive display to make the job easier in the Czech capital, similar to how they did against Rennes.
Domestic record
Out of 26 matches in Serie A that Milan have played this season there are just nine clean sheets recorded by Milan, and only one of these had come in the last eight rounds (the 1-0 against Napoli) prior to last night.
The Rossoneri’s defensive record is in fact among the worst in the league, as even Monza, Genoa and Roma have conceded fewer goals than the Diavolo, who for now remain on 32 let in.
In Europe
It is a slightly different story regarding the matches played in both the Champions League and Europa League. In fact, during their journey in the Champions League this season, out of six matches Milan collected two clean sheets (the 0-0 against Newcastle and the 0-0 away against Borussia Dortmund).
However, the data is not exactly positive because they also conceded three goals against Borussia Dortmund at San Siro plus another three goals against PSG in France.
Even in their recent run in the Europa League, Pioli’s side conceded three goals again (against Rennes) after keeping a clean sheet in the first leg at San Siro.
In short, the clean sheet against Lazio cannot be another false dawn and consistency must emerge, something which having Malick Thiaw, Fikayo Tomori and Pierre Kalulu back must surely help.
