AC Milan’s season arguably hit its lowest point on Saturday evening as they were beaten 2-0 by relegation battlers Spezia at the Stadio Alberto Picco.
Milan have had struggles against the lower-ranking sides in the league recently and there was no exception to that rule in Liguria, with the warning signs there after a tepid first half that it was not going to be a good night.
The first goal of the game came in the second half when Przemysław Wiśniewski reacted to a header against the post to fire in from close range, then Salvatore Esposito’s wonderful free-kick doubled the advantage and sealed the victory.
Here are five things we learned from the game…
1. Definition of insanity
When you do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result, that is insanity. Admittedly it must be mentioned that Rafael Leao was not risked and Olivier Giroud was rested, leaving Stefano Pioli a bit bare on attacking options, which is not a good start.
However, there was never really any attempt to field an attacking combination that would cause a problem for Spezia’s low block 3-5-2, which aimed to limit the spaces available to Milan’s forward.
Ante Rebic was way off the pace but was also marked out of the game, Divock Origi’s size was wasted out on the wing, Brahim Diaz never has joy against teams that play with a No.6 and three centre-backs, and Alexis Saelemaekers just wasn’t at the races.
Yacine Adli came off the bench and looked bright, so questions must be asked about his bit-part role so far. Pioli knows that he needs to use his reserves yet it is the same plug-and-play style line-up choices, ones that keep yielding poor results against lesser ranking sides that offer no space or opportunities to counter.
2. Shaken and stirred
The game provided a chance for Fikayo Tomori and Simon Kjaer to rebound after a torrid night in the derby on Wednesday, given they were facing an attack that had scored just 28 goals all season and five in eight games prior to the match.
However, when the game became more stretched in the second half and the team went in search of a winner more forcefully, the defence buckled at the other end. The first goal came from failure to deal with a set piece but there had been warning signs before that with Gyasi’s saved shot.
#ACMilan have dropped 29 points this season against teams that are outside of the European places at present, with 7 draws and 5 defeats.
[via @MilanNewsit] pic.twitter.com/0WbuSmDLek
— MilanData📊 (@acmilandata) May 14, 2023
The old adage in football is if you cannot win then don’t lose, and yet Milan’s poor defensive record in terms of conceding against the lesser sides continues. The cheap free-kick given away for the second goal was a further embodiment of just how nothing is going right at the moment, but it was a good strike.
The worry now is that the defensive department will have another confidence crisis as happened after the bad results in January. The doubts have already started seeping in with either rash decisions or indecision, which must be cut out in view of Tuesday.
3. Middle of the road
Milan have lost Ismael Bennacer for the season and did not have Rade Krunic due to a slight knee issue, which caused a real problem for a midfield that has already been thin on the ground for most of the season.
That department has struggled since Franck Kessie left in terms of having guaranteed quality depth, struggling to dictate the tempo of games and control possession at the best of times, but things are looking dire now.
Tommaso Pobega lost the ball 17 times which is of course a real issue when playing as a deeper midfielder. While he does provide some physicality, he is simply not at the level of being a starter nor does he look like he could become a functional player in that deeper role.
Criticism shouldn’t be isolated, but it is hard when Aster Vranckx continues to be snubbed and Tiemoue Bakayoko has been limited to two cameo appearances. All we can do is judge what we see, and that is not positive when it comes to Pobega.
4. Heads drop
The team can be criticised for a lot of things this season, especially when it comes to these frustrating dropped points (29 this season against teams outside the European spots) but it would be tough to call them out for a lack of effort.
Milan have sometimes resembled headless chickens, running around plenty – like in the game against Inter – but without any real feeling of co-ordination or strategy.
Intensity and the desire to move the ball and win the ball back quickly have been a strength for this team, now it seems it is their weakness and they are being picked apart.
#ACMilan have won just 3 of their last 11 games, having beaten – from March onwards – only Napoli, Lecce and Lazio. pic.twitter.com/iD2r9efWus
— MilanData📊 (@acmilandata) May 13, 2023
However, in this particular game the body language was not good. Several times players stopped and flapped their arms after misplacing a pass, implying the recipient was at fault and not even attempting to look like they wanted to track back and help out.
Little signs have begun to creep in suggesting this team are frustrated and upset with how things are going, but also with some dejection and even apathy.
Simon Kjaer’s interview after the game showed just how low the morale is right now, which is a massive worry at this stage of the season with two major objectives still to fight for.
5. An extra push
Pictures and videos circulated not just around the Milan social media circles but also around the world showing Stefano Pioli, Davide Calabria and some other squad members deep in discussion with leaders of the Curva Sud after the game.
From what emerges it was not a heated confrontation but rather a reminder from the Curva that the team still have the full support of the fans ahead of Tuesday’s derby against Inter, which now has extra meaning in terms of pride.
It is important for everyone close to the club – and that includes the most vocal supporters who travel all over the country to watch the team – to form a protective bubble around the squad in difficult moments.
They have the backing of the fans for Tuesday, but a response is needed. The patience of everyone has a limit and the Curva will be no exception to that: either the Rossoneri show up, or things could turn sour.
This season has been one of the most frustrating ever, even more frustrating than those banter era seasons because at least we didn’t have any hopes at that time.
I hope I’m wrong, but Milan has 0.01% chance to win with 2 goals vs. inter. Last time Milan beat Inter with more than 1 goal difference was the 3-0 win when Mihajlovic was our coach.
We can only score goals on the counter and Inter doesn’t need to attack, so will have even harder time to score. Plus they dominated us in the last 3 games that happend in the last 4 months.
Hope I’m wrong.
At least in the league there is still some hope because of the impending Juventus point deduction. Win the last 3 games and pray serie A deducts more points from Juventus than we are behind them. Right now we are 8 points behind and from everything it’s been reported Juventus will most likely get 9 points deduction.
Win the last 3 games, including beating Juventus, and 🙏
There is no way in the world this is worse than the banter era. If you’ve been through the banter era and watched all the games then, there’s no way you can say this.
Didn’t say worse,
but more frustrating.
During the banter era we went into the seasons without much expectations. So there was not much disappointment when you already know you’re not good enough to compete.
In this season we went in with the goal to defend the title or at least reach the minimum goal of making top 4 and qualifying for the UCL 3rd year in a row.
We are on the verge of missing our minimum goal and be out of UCL, which will set us back.
You get back to the top by making UCL year after year after year.
Bro I have PTSD on the banter era. Mesbah, Traore, Montolivo, Bertolacci and non existent football. We have quality and a style of play now.
I actually don’t think playing in the UEL next year will be that big of a loss. Sometimes we need these things to galvanize the team and keep them on their toes. That being said, the season isn’t over and anything can happen
“Win the last 3 games”
LOL. Two matches against relegating teams and Juve. Win three matches? Yeah, like that’s going to happen. Milan would be lucky to score one point. And based on recent history, the odds are that Milan actually win against Juve but draw or lose the Samp & Verona matches.
I wonder if Pioli will rest Giroud & Leao in the season finale against Verona… The way he has managed the team lately suggest he might actually do that.
The main problem I can see are two , the management and Coach.
The management should not have bought both of Florenzi and Messias, it was clear for all to see, Florenzi is gone, he is injury prone and frankly dead weight, Messias is an extremely average player, you can see it even in his game, he is a Serie b player, Ground has never been a prolific scorer a team like Milan should depend on.
Why is Pioli still refusing to play Bakayoko who could have helped out at this crucial time, why is Dest not used, he still is a very good player, question marks are beginning to be asked about why Pioli continually continues to discard very good players, look at Paqueta , why did the management not look at Andre Silva properly, this attitude of not using certain players affects the team , it has been happening since Elliott took charge of the club.
Pioli needs to be properly examined, their us clearly a problem with him and his backroom staff, he relies on the opinions of his son too much, sometimes they make stupid decisions.
Why was the back 3 discarded, it would have been the perfect formation, Kjaer should not be in that team, he is old and slow, Pioli should revert back to the back 3, it gives more assurances and u get to field three young and good defenders, what most people don’t understand, Bennecer does not give the defence the necessary cover
“Kjaer should not be in that team, he is old and slow”
Same sh*t, different week.
Some people…
Pioli missed to use rotation on start of season.
Yes we have bad bench players.
Yes Pioli knows that best.
But you must risk something and also rest best squad.
Hipotetically, Milan would have same results or even better, if he started to rotate players in time.
Pioli used a lot the best players in first half of season. Of course, to finish second in european championship, and also to run for scudetto, but before new year we got many first team members injured. That affected squad a lot.
And now, still we have couple of best players injured 3 games before end.
So if everybody rotate, Pioli must also. Inter, Juventus, Roma, and even Lazio, this season rotated frequently, because they must done that.
Next season Pioli must introduce second class players with game as soon as possible. He can’t wait longer, because we will be in same situation.
There is no way we can get rid our mediocre player until next summer market open. Better focus now to raise team morale for semifinal CL and 3 last match serie A. Since it is hard to win with margin 3 goal ( hard but not imposible ) vs IM in semifinal , i would say better focus on winning 3 match serie A and hoping IM / lazio lose or draw , juve get -9 point deduction from FIGC
I hope Adli gets a full ninety minutes next week, similar to Thiaw after his impressive cameo against Inter. With the exception of CDK, Pioli doesn’t seem to throw players in if he doesn’t think they’re ready. Adli could solve a big problem for us next season if he starts delivering. Diaz works hard and has improved but is still not at the level we need. CDK needs the preseason to restart. Coming off the bench isn’t working for him. He seems to need 20-30 minutes just to get into the rhythm of things. I don’t mind all three staying especially with a top striker and right winger drawing defenders and creating space for them. It was nice seeing the fans behind the team after a new low and hopefully they’ll close out the season well.
The writing was on the wall the day we took the Scudetto by surprise. This is what happened:
1. Winning the Scudetto – It was a big achievement for a young team. It could only lead to 2 directions – ambition or overconfidence. The team this season took to the latter.
2. The renewal saga of Maldini and Massara contracts. These were delayed right up to virtually the last day of the contracts. That meant distortion in acquisition of their planned targets, going into a full-blown transfer market ill-prepared and cash-strapped. We were always bound to end up with our 3rd or 4th choices on the transfer market
3. Losing Zlatan – you know, that enigma of the Swedish slab. He has been out virtually all season. Is it by coincidence that it’s also the season we have seen less improvement among our young players? I doubt some of the new signings have even had 10 training sessions straight with him involved. Like some of his teammates have said. When he’s in training, it seems to go up a notch or two. Training sessions determine how well you will play the matches.
4. Change of ownership. There’s always a need to scrubb something and reset/re-arrange a few areas depending on what the new owner wants. With the current one, we lost Gadiziz. He had been around since the turn-around started. So we lost consistency there.
5. Losing Kessie. He may have asked for a hefty some. But to lose him in a season being preceded by such a tumultuous transfer window was guaranteed to have a knock-on effect in the level of performance, especially in the midfield.
I would not be surprised by how we have performed.
Good/valid points you got there.
Spot on!