PFF president reveals why Piatek’s form should not worry Milan

By Oliver Fisher -

Krzysztof Piatek’s preseason struggles are not cause for concerns, according to Polish Football Federation president Zbigniew Boniek.

Piatek was in red hot form upon his arrival at Milan from Genoa in a €35million deal, scoring five goals in his first four Serie A starts for the Rossoneri.

However, he endured a bit of a drought towards the end of the season, and that has carried over into preseason where he failed to score in any of the six friendlies.

Head coach Marco Giampaolo put his struggles down to physical condition, while a report on Tuesday pinpointed two tactical points as reason for the lack of goals.

Boniek, though, believes Milan fans should not be worried that he isn’t currently firing.

“In Italy it often goes like this: the river flows and everyone follows the current,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport (via MilanNews.it).

“Milan have changed coach and Kris, as well as the rest of the team, will take time to assimilate the mechanisms of the new system.

“Friendly difficulties? But friendlies do not define, they play at other rhythms and with a totally different approach compared to real games.

“In training in front of you you see a small goalkeeper and a huge door, in the game it works in reverse, and that’s where Piatek becomes lethal.”

On his time under Gattuso, Boniek added: “That was a Milan that didn’t play for the three points, the attackers were only served in depth or to defend long balls.

“Piatek often played with his back to goal, but he scored 11 goals. I don’t see why he shouldn’t repeat himself with a technician who prefers offensive play.

“We must have a clear idea: in the first year in Italy Piatek did too well. Repeating that season is not easy. If he scored another 30 goals, we would be facing the new Ronaldo, wouldn’t we?”

READ MORE: Six key things that will define AC Milan’s 2019-20 season

Tags AC Milan Krzysztof Piatek
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