Sacchi highlights main reason for Milan’s difficulties; discusses form of Theo and De Ketelaere

By Oliver Fisher -

Arrigo Sacchi believes that AC Milan are not yet out of the Scudetto race but criticised the team for losing their compactness and organisation.

It has been a far from ideal start to 2023 for Milan as they followed up a win against Salernitana to begin the new year with a draw against Roma after throwing away a two-goal lead, a Coppa Italia exit to Torino who had 10 men for a large part of the game, a draw against Lecce after a poor first half and a comfortably Supercoppa defeat to rivals Inter.

A change in gear is needed or else it could be a battle just to stay in the top four, and a response must come tomorrow against Lazio away from home, given that they are one of the chasing pack.

Sacchi spoke in his weekly column for La Gazzetta dello Sport and he reflected on what has been a difficult start to the year for the Rossoneri, urging them not to give up on the battle for the title even despite the gap to Napoli.

“The season is not over. Milan have shown that with motivation, team spirit and play they can leave everyone speechless,” he said (via SempreMilan.it).

What has gone wrong for Milan?

“Whoever won last year has fallen into normality. Then a few too many injuries, some unexpected negative results and lack of experience. Today Milan on the pitch are no longer a collective. The errors seen in the Supercoppa are mental errors, which speak volumes about Milan’s momentum.”

What must Pioli do?

“He must regain confidence in his own ideas, without giving in to tactics. If you want players to follow you, you have to be very persuasive. He has to go back to thinking about how to dominate the game: this is what made him win the Scudetto.”

How can he get Theo Hernandez going again?

“You have to use persuasion, and if you can’t, percussion. Sometimes leaving out those who do not perform as they should can also be good for the person concerned.”

Charles De Ketelaere continues to struggle…

“The moment is difficult, I would bet on those players who know how to handle the weight of this particular moment.”

What impact can Paolo Maldini have?

“His presence at Milanello is essential. He embodies the club with his style, his rules, his history.”

Tags AC Milan Arrigo Sacchi

7 Comments

  1. “Charles De Ketelaere continues to struggle…

    “The moment is difficult, I would bet on those players who know how to handle the weight of this particular moment.””

    Eeeexactly. We’ve seen how much (ie. little) CDK provides. There is no excuses to play him at his current form. Even Krunic is a more of a guarantee and that says a lot.

  2. Yes, there’s no need and there’s no use on playing CdK on the moment like this. We’re out of Coppa, so I can’t really think on when he should play

  3. Look let’s not panic …maybe a change of formation .
    Giroud must still lead the line against Lazio ,but come on let’s start delivering in some decent crosses for him .I am sure we will come good against Lazio .
    We must not lose belief ..I would like to see Giroud pay alongside Origi or Rebec.up front .But Olivier is still our top man ..The form of Rafeol leao has dipped recently ,he is not getting past the last defender anymore ,and holding on to the ball to long before delivering crosses into the box ..I am sure that the form of Rafael Leao and Giroud will come good again .
    So it’s a win against Lazio ..I remain optimistic.I also believe we have a great manager in pioli ..

  4. Tatarusanu is the primary problem, without Kessie to provide physicality in our midfield and cover for our defensive line as a destroyer, this current Milan team would always pay a great price for inexperience and not renewing Kessie.

Comments are closed

Serie A Standings

Live football scores . Current table, fixtures & results.