AC Milan travelled to Pisa for a long-awaited clash, after ten days of rest, and managed to extend their winning run with a 1-2 scoreline.
Due to the rescheduled Como game, which will be played on Wednesday instead, Milan had a lot of time to prepare for this one. Yet, it ended up being a rather difficult task as an 85th-minute winner was needed from none other than Luka Modric.
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At the end of the day, however, getting the three points was the most important thing in the Scudetto race with Inter. And there were some positive things to take from the game too. Below are five things that we learned…
1. A true leader
Once again, Modric was pivotal for his side with a late goal to seal the win. The passion we got to see in his celebration afterwards was certainly the icing on the cake. The 40-year-old continues to impress with his physicality, but more importantly, with his mentality that keeps him going and makes him an example for others.
Excluding the goal, it’s probably fair to say that the performance wasn’t his best as he misplaced more passes than he usually does, while also losing possession a few times. However, as most veterans would do, he refused to give up.
Indeed, the energy to get into the box at that point of the game shows what a champion he is. If Milan were to be in a title race in the final weeks of the season, then Modric would definitely be a crucial piece of the puzzle as he contributes so much both on and off the pitch.
2. Mixed performances at the back
We definitely got to see mixed performances at the back, with Milan unable to keep a clean sheet after a lapse of concentration, really.
Zachary Athekame and Strahinja Pavlovic impressed, with the former getting the assist for Loftus-Cheek’s goal and the latter winning the penalty that Niclas Fullkrug won. The duo also put in a decent shift at the back, and especially the Serbian cannot be blamed for the goal.
Then we have Bartesaghi and Gabbia, who did well enough but didn’t quite impress going forward, apart from a few moments here and there from the youngster. Questions can also be asked about Gabbia’s positioning on the goal, in fairness.
Finally, Tomori was mostly at fault on the first goal as his positioning on the ball over the top wasn’t good enough. On top of that, he wasn’t really involved going forward, or at least he wasn’t as bold as he has been in other games this season.
Milan did manage to win the game in the end but had they not then Tomori would have deserved more scrutiny as the goal was very preventable.
3. Attacking duo did surprisingly well
Christopher Nkunku and Ruben Loftus-Cheek started up front yet again, with Massimiliano Allegri most likely wanting Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic to be fully fit for the upcoming game against Como on Wednesday.
It’s safe to say that the two did not disappoint. The Englishman is opening the scoresheet (his second goal in two starts) after a slow start to the game for Milan, and then continued to use his physicality well after the goal.
Nkunku stayed on the pitch just 45 minutes, and even though he lacked a goal contribution, he did well to involve himself in the game and make life difficult for the Pisa defenders at times. The criticism in the media this morning thus feels a little misguided.
In any case, Milan showed good attacking depth this time out and it all worked as planned in the end.
4. Impact off the bench
Whilst Fullkrug wasn’t particularly helpful with his missed penalty, which put Milan in an awkward position for the final 20 minutes of the game, Samuele Ricci, Leao and Pulisic did cause some troubles for Pisa.
The Italian, in particular, brought energy to the midfield and provided the assist for Modric’s winning goal. He also made a few good runs into the box and really was a game-changer off the bench, benefitting from being a lot more concrete in attack than Youssouf Fofana.
Leao and Pulisic also helped even if they didn’t get any goal contributions, like Nkunku, as they put the Pisa defence in some tough positions and helped keep the game in Pisa’s half.
5. Allegri’s choices paid off
The gaffer opted to rest Leao and Pulisic again, with the Como game at the back of his mind, and he also left Koni De Winter on the bench.
Even if you could say having De Winter on the pitch might have been better, him getting rest and Milan clinching all three points is a pretty sweet deal in the end. The same goes for Leao and Pulisic as, despite playing a little, they didn’t exactly have to run marathons.
Personnel aside, the fact that Allegri showed some tactical fluidity with the switch to 4-3-3 before the winner, and then back to the 3-5-2, is another good sign. Indeed, three massive points were clinched and the win will surely act as a morale boost.
Let’s see if there will be some changes to the starting XI against Como, apart from the suspended Rabiot, as Allegri now has some key players with fresh legs.
5 things I learned.
1. We still have a hangover from last season that manifests itself with an inability to start games on the front foot. I expect better from a coach like Allegri and his staff at this point.
2. Athekame looks like another nice find similar to De Winter and Bartesaghi. The more he plays the more he looks like he is a solid contributor with a high ceiling.
3. Given De Winter and Athekame are Tare finds and that we have a potential for $60m income from loan transactions to come at us, the clear strategy from the summer is make UCL and have the funds necessary to compete on two fronts next year. Credit to leadership where it is due.
4. Tomori has lost a step. If he is willing to take a lesser role keep him. If not, help him on his way with a sincere thank you.
5. Fullkrug had a bad day at the office. His team support him. Plan on exercising the option. That sort of energy and impact for 20 minutes will be useful even if Santi and some new 9 come up aces when playing 50+ games in a season.
Crazy people are up in arms over our defensive approach. It’s almost like they never watched Allegri ball and what do you expect him to do with ghost rider and RLC as his attacking options. What stands out to me is every swore up and down that Ricci is another Krunić but he’s shown to be everything but a sideways or back passer 🤣🤣🤣
I bet you’d be a nightmare to play with – trying to hit the ball the opposite way you’re looking, taking too many touches and turning your nose up at simplicity .
6. It probably doesn’t matter what we do as inter quite possibly have this league bought and paid for. Kalulu just been sent off when he shouldn’t have been and Bastoni stays on the pitch when he shouldn’t be….
I’d like to see the reverse angle but that seemed soft as cheeks.
I’m not watching the matching but what exactly happened between Kalulu and Bastoni ?
I can see that Morata also got a red card for Como earlier today.
I think we have a chance to win the scudetto but we can’t afford to play as we did in the first half yesterday and at the very minimum needs to win several consecutive matches.
Bastoni moving ball upfield on a break. Kalulu puts out and arm. No grab no real contact. Bastoni throws himself to the ground.
Then Bastoni signals for a yellow card.
Bastoni, already being on a yellow himself should be on his third yellow of the day. (The first, then simulation, then asking for a yellow – influence ref decision)
The first card on Kalulu was questionable in my mind. He stopped and Barella ran into him. Of course Barella threw himself to the ground and did Barella things.
The league need to get their officiating in order.
Ok thanks for the explanation and yes I’ve noticed Barella definitely knows how to complain, its pretty much his trademark 😀
Players should stop complaining to the ref unless its done by the captain who are in his good right to do so. The rest will risk yellow cards for the exact reason you are mentioning.
Collina was a referee that had my respect even if I didn’t always agree with his calls he was nevertheless a great one who also commanded some respect from the players so yeah Italy could use some better refs like him nowadays.
This flop was particularly bad. It was almost like a comedy skit of Italian footballers acting like they’re dying when they’re tapped on the shoulder. Apparently it wasn’t reviewable. Bastoni and the Referee should be suspended over this. I am biased but this was truly ridiculous.
OG my goodness thos is like the derby Della madonnina where Inter should have gotten like 5 yellows and then Leao gets one cuz Barella dives. And know it happens again but even crazier Bastoni should have gotten like 3 yellows before the Kalilu situation and Kalulu shouldn’t even been booked in the first place anf Barella should gotten two yellows for diving. Oh my goodness is there a more unlikeble team in the serie a team then Inter just divers and guys like Barella and Calhanoglu. Nothing against the club itself and the fans other then it being inter but the players of my goodness I cant stand them hope Inter soon become more hated then Juve cuz Juve actually have a nice system and nice players.
💯💯💯💯💯
I don’t think we can anymore – just waiting for ridiculous penalty call to go against us in the derby…
Mathematically its far from impossible at least if we can get a good streak of results up until the Inter match and then hopefully wins the derby, hopefully we wont see some dubious calls in that match though (unless it’s in our favor 😀 )
I can see that Inter ended up winning the match and just watched the replay and Kalulus red card definitely shouldn’t have resulted with that conclusion. Gregorio didn’t have his best of matches from the looks of it as he should have done better on two of the goals in my opinion.
Either way it can still go in our favor towards the end but it will be difficult.
Ha I know – Gregorio somehow couldn’t kick away a ball trickling past him 🤦♂️
it will be hard for sure. if we do our thing and go into the derby 5 points behind and win, Pressure is on them. We werent supposed to be title contender this year, so, if we make it interesting until the last game of the season. I’m happy. Should Roma lose, we will also have a nice gap in the top 4
Italian referees are the worst! Marotta has the league in his pocket. So many ShInter players that skills be in at least a yellow who aren’t.
Saw the opposite angle. It was embarrassing for the ref and for Bastoni.
This ref is simply terrible tonight. The guys on Italian Football Podcast are gonna go nuclear.
Oh I agree! IFTV, especially Antonio, as well as Martino on That Milan Podcast have long complained about the refereeing in Serie A. No way anyone can convince me that the league isn’t biased towards ShInter
Yeh these refs are just ruining the league… practically every team’s up in arms about it, except inter of course… Juventus did really well to hang on to 2-2 until the end but now it’s over… Marotta mafia can all go to dinner.
Haha truth
watched both games (Como & Inter) and have decided that Italian refs have taken the mantle from English refs as the worse refs in the world. Well, except for Concacaf refs. In the Como game the ref lost control and allowed diving and provocative play all over the field. Morata is still a knucklehead. In the Inter game the second yellow was a joke. In fact, Bastoni should have been shown a second yellow for going up to the ref and waving the imaginary card. The ref was also inconsistent. Honestly, Juve was the better team
I agree with you with the exception of Anthony Taylor. I cringe whenever he referees a match I’m watching.
Im actually kinda happy about this Rabiot red card (which is insane first a clear dive and then a red from complaining way to hard) cuz know we can see Ricci and hopefully Jashari start together with Modric cuz I’ve been looking at their stats and both are cooking and is the future of this midfield. And we don’t really this physical touch Fofana gives us against Como we need 3 good passers and ball carriers that can get out of Comos press. My guy tough tells me Allegri will start Fofana, Ricci and Modric. Though RLC, Modric and Ricci maybe is even better who knows but this is a great chance for Ricci and or Jashari to show what they’re really made of
RLC did well. Besides the goal he was able to hold the ball and progress the ball a couple of time. Except for two nice flicks early in the game, Nkunko was MIA.
Yeah. Coming out at the half without an injury doesn’t generally inspire misguided concern.
The Inter ref will be punished. Inter haven’t bought the refs. Stop peddling idiot conspiracy theories, especially as this happened against Juve of all teams!
As someone who watches leagues known to have corrupt referees, I can assure you a referee being punished is not an argument. Sometimes the bribing team gives referees enough money to allow them to be fine even if they’re suspended or fined.
Now, I’m not saying that inter bought this referee. I have no proof, and mistakes in favour of some teams do happen even without corruption, but it should be noted that they do seem to benefit a lot from decisions and for me the incident against Cremonese is especially very suspect.
Well what I learnt is that we can’t really be relying on a 40 year old to lead the midfield or putting up big moments. I also learned that luck is carrying us in terms of the front line. Sooner or later the deficiencies will surface. We can’t really think two midfielders there is a long term strategy. Which brings us to the next thing I’ve learnt….that our one and only striker isn’t helping his case for a starting spot.
Anyways this is still a good three points esp considering how Napoli did. Not so much Inter, who got a huge help from the ref