In the final ten minutes of AC Milan’s clash against Monza last night, Stefano Pioli made a substitution that left the fans bemused. For the first time in nine months, he decided to bring in Tiemoue Bakayoko.
The Rossoneri wanted to defend their 1-0 lead towards the end of the game and Pioli made this very obvious with one of his subs. Rather than bringing on Aster Vranckx or Tommaso Pobega, he decided to put on Bakayoko.
As highlighted by MilanNews, this was the Frenchman’s first appearance in nine months (he came on against Atalanta in May). He put in a good defensive display but regardless of his performance, it’s clear that his future isn’t at Milan.
That’s why, as the report continues, it was very surprising to see Bakayoko come on rather than Vranckx or Pobega. Pioli defended the choice by stating that Milan had conceded many set pieces lately and that Bakayoko would help with that.
While his abilities in that sense shouldn’t be underestimated, it’s still hard to understand why Pioli wouldn’t throw in Vranckx or Pobega instead. The former hasn’t played since the away game at Lecce (over a month ago) and we need to see more of him given the buy-out clause.
