AC Milan once again have Noah Okafor to thank after he scored a goal within two minutes of coming off the bench during yesterday’s 3-3 draw with Sassuolo.
As MilanNews recall, Okafor was deployed in the final minutes and he found himself in the right place at the right time to hammer home a loose ball deep inside the Sassuolo box after Matteo Gabbia had brought it down, levelling the game inside the final 10 minutes.
It is no coincidence that Pioli often uses him as a wildcard to change games that seem to be heading in a negative way. Of the six goals scored this season in the league by the Swiss forward, five came as a substitute.
It means that he has now moved above Luka Jovic in terms of the ranking of goals off the bench for Milan this season, and the comparisons with legendary striker Daniele Massaro continue. Below is said ranking:
5 goals: Noah Okafor (18 appearances)
4 goals: Luka Jovic (14)
2 goals: Christian Pulisic (4)
1 goal: Chaka Traorè (2), Jan-Carlo Simic (4), Olivier Giroud (5), Samuel Chukwueze (1).
When expanding this to Serie A, only Nicolas Viola – who scored against Inter last night to earn Cagliari a draw – has netted the same number of goals as a substitute.
5 goals: Nicolas Viola (Cagliari, 13 games as a substitute), Noah Okafor (Milan, 18).
4 goals: Lautaro Martinez (Inter, 1), Mbaye Niang (Empoli, 6), Jovic (Milan, 14), Davide Frattesi (Inter, 23)
Looking into the ‘top five’ leagues in Europe, only one player surpasses the Swiss and he is an old acquaintance of Serie A: the eternal Cristhian Stuani, a 37-year-old back-up striker at Girona.
6 goals: Cristhian Stuani (Girona, 24 games as substitute)
5 goals: Mohamed Daramy (Reims, 7), Gonçalo Ramos (Paris Saint-Germain, 12), Nicolas Viola (Cagliari, 13), Okafor (Milan, 18).
Having arrived for just €14m during the summer window, Okafor immediately adapted to Serie A and has shown both his versatility and also his knack for providing big moments.
Some expressed doubts about whether he could making the jump from the Austrian Bundesliga to the Italian top flight and about his injury record, yet his scoring record speaks for itself. Below are his goals off the bench:
- 30 September 2023, Milan 2-0 Lazio (entered in the 69th minute and scored in the 88th minute)
- 17 December 2023, Milan 3-0 Monza (entered in the 67th minute and scored in the 76th minute)
- 20 January 2024, Udinese 2-3 Milan (entered in the 68th minute and scored in the 93rd minute)
- 1 March 2024, Lazio 0-1 Milan (entered in the 71st minute and scored in the 88th minute)
- 14 April 2024, Sassuolo 3-3 Milan (entered in the 82nd minute and scores in the 84th minute)
He’s done really well.
I really think we just need him and a 40 goal a season striker.
We don’t Jovic. He can play across the front three plus Chuk who is really coming into his own.
Jovic is a great option for when, like yesterday, we need to switch to a 2. He did all his best work once Giroud was allowing him to drop off. His contribution to Chukwueze’s chalked off wonder goal was brilliant.
BUT…I do really like Okafor up front, and I actually think he should start on Thursday because they will sit in and we need his movement to try to open them up.
New signing as the starter
Okafor second choice
Jovic if we need to go to a 2
Okafor should be playing from the start in place of Giroud. he has so much potential as a number 9
This is a bit misleading as to his true talent though, because when Pioli brings him in, there is already more than one forward on the field so he finds more space. Or in yesterday’s game there were already 4 other forwards on the field so there was less coverage.
Same with Jovic, only finds the space and scores when there is at least another forward in the box.
Having said that, it would be curious to start Okafor more and give him more chances to see what he’s made of.
We are having to use the 3 up front to acomodate Leao and the lack of his defensive contribution, but we could benefit from a two striker system.
4 goals: Lautaro Martinez (Inter, 1) – amazing stat
the stats are meaningless.
Okafor is a quality player who deserves more chances and to be honest, respect.
How often does he come on and finish decisively, the kind of chances Giroud skies over the bar. Then Giroud starts the next game.
The definition of madness right there!