Theo Hernandez is suffering what can be considered a goal drought, but only because of his own exceptionally high standards it must be said.
MilanNews recall how the Frenchman struggled and did not perform at his best against Torino during Sunday night’s draw but on Friday the chance to put things right against Genoa will be presented. Milan are now obligated to picked themselves up in order to continue fighting for the Scudetto, and they need the best of Theo Hernandez.
On the left flank both Theo and Rafael Leao wreaked havoc in the first half of the season but the pair have not been in top condition in the recent period. In the months of January and February the they were excellent in providing goals and assists but they seem to be leggy and lacking their usual clarity in decision making and the dynamism they offer.
In 26 league appearances this season, Hernandez has scored 4 goals and provided 6 assists. In all competitions the number of assists rises to 9, but in the last 5 games has had not added to his tally of goal contributions.
Theo’s last assist dates back to February 19 against Salernitana in the league, while his last goal was on January 9 when he scored a brace against Venezia. The tally must get moving again soon.
It’s a bit unfair to expect Theo to improve giving how unbalanced the team has become throughout the season. Theo has not been stuck with the same stats since a while because he doesn’t want to improve, and it’s no coincidence it’s happening to Leao as well. We have become the most predictable team in Serie A because our number 10 is always MIA regardless who plays that position and the right wing produces nothing. The other teams are not stupid, they know that all it takes to deactivate Milan for the most part is to focus on the left flank even if means essentially giving away other areas sometimes because they know Milan are very unlikely to produce anything quality wise there anyway, so they’re taking advantage of that. If we look at Theo’s stats he has more goal contributions than Perisic despite Perisic is a winger who plays with a system of 3 CB. Theo has more goal contributions than Cancelo and almost the same as Robertson in their domestic league to give examples of similar defensive formations. Better stats than Jordi Alba as well; it should be enough with what Theo is doing to have a much more consistent season than the one we’re having, but it’s the lack of quality in other areas that’s taking a toll on some of our best players even in different positions. It’s a mistake to believe that our RW or Number 10 problems only affect the performance in those positions, it is a TEAM; if we are unable to produce anything on the right flank, that’s going to make our left flank and ultimately the entire team, very predictable. Milan matches have become a movie the other teams already know how will end. I think Theo is trying, and he could improve a little but come on, let’s not expect miracles here with the current state of the team. The truth is that if it was Cancelo or Robertson or anyone else playing there instead of Theo, they would be struggling with the same thing. Leao and Theo are far from being solely responsible for their performance drop, again we cannot forget they’re part of a team, and the severe lack of quality that the team is experiencing in some areas is obviously going to have an impact on other areas too, even on our strongest, and that’s the true dimension of the drama we’ve had on the RW and attacking midfielder position this season, that it’s been on for so long that the rest of the team has inevitably resented from it.