A player who is starting to win over some doubters is midfielder Rade Krunic, who scored an excellent goal during Sunday’s 2-0 win over Hellas Verona.
As MilanNews writes, the Bosnia international has been criticised for a long time, often for faults that were not his own. In his career in the Rossoneri, Krunic has played in almost every position from the wing to defensive midfielder and finally as a playmaker. Although his performances have not always been excellent, the former Empoli star has at times been harshly written off.
Playing Krunic as the playmaker at a time when Calhanoglu is injured and Brahim Diaz does not seem entirely incisive was Stefano Pioli’s masterstroke. He tried to use Meite in a similar way against Atalanta, but it is clear that the French midfielder has very different skills.
At the Bentegodi – in a game that was billed as almost certainly more dropped points due to the injury crisis – the inclusion of Krunic disrupted a normally stable and solid defence and he played an excellent match.
Calhanoglu when fit is a player of a different calibre to the No.33, yet in certain situations and against certain opponents the Bosnian represents a more than reliable alternative solution. The winning free-kick was just the icing on the cake but it would be simplistic to just mention that goal, because the praise should focus first of all on the tactical success.
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Tactical success? He has played in this position before and didn’t do too well. This wasn’t some tactical masterstroke. Krunic just happened to have one great game, the best of his career at milan. Can’t wait to see the back to the regular trashing of him. The praise is overwhelming given his performances overall