AC Milan head coach is close to being able to call upon what was his first choice back four during the Scudetto winning season, a report claims.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (via PianetaMilan) recall how the Pierre Kalulu and Fikayo Tomori pairing was one of the fundamental keys to Milan’s Scudetto victory last season. By contract, in the first part of the season there has been very little continuity in the back four due to injuries, so the defensive record has left a lot to be desired.
Now Kalulu and Tomori should be back together given Calabria’s return, Pioli can call upon his first choice pairing. Their first task is to attack the opposing ball carriers, recover the ball and cut off the options for the attacks of the opposition. With Kjaer, the same is not possible, even if Milan rarely concede a goal with the Dane on the pitch.
The characteristics of the Dane are completely different, while Calabria’s return shouldn’t be underestimated. Kalulu will be able to return to the centre of defence and to the aggressive approach that has characterised Milan ‘s defence.
Defence, especially in a team with Pioli’s tactics, isn’t all about the back 5 though, it’s a coordinated team plan. We’re still missing a lot of the presence in midfield that we had. That said, all injury recoveries are much needed, the team was very depleted past two months.