Simon Kjaer will step up and partner Malick Thiaw for tomorrow’s derby against Inter, and he will try and erase recent memories involving Lautaro Martinez.
With Fikayo Tomori suspended and Pierre Kalulu injured, Tuttosport (via PianetaMilan) writes that it will be up to Kjaer to lead the Rossoneri defence for tomorrow evening’s derby at San Siro between the two sides with perfect records so far.
The Dane will play alongisde Thiaw and will be called upon to put in a great performance to erase the memory of the recent derbies where he suffered against Lautaro Martínez.
This climate of skepticism around him and his ability to contribute in the biggest games seems to have burdened him a lot. Since he returned from knee ligament injury a year and a half ago, Kjaer’s performance has no longer been what it was before.
However, the Rossoneri No.24 remains a fundamental player within the dressing room and these are the circumstances in which a true leader must respond on the pitch.
The striker partnership of Lautaro and Marcus Thuram can put the Kjaer-Thiaw centre-back pairing in difficulty due to their technical and physical characteristics, just like they can virtually any side in Europe.
This is where Stefano Pioli will have to structure the defensive phase in a certain way, so as not to expose Kjaer and Thiaw too much, especially in transition where Inter are most deadly.
They have not played together much, but Thiaw revealed on Wednesday night that he feels comfortable alongside the 34-year-old.
“I think he is a very experienced player, very good, who talks a lot and I feel very comfortable playing with him. I hope he also feels comfortable playing with me,” he said.
Kjear should not be seen anywhere near the team. His career already retired while he’s still playing. Let’s risk Pellegrino or simic instead of kjear please.
What a joke. Lautaro will toy with him, would be dumb to think otherwise
Yeah, just like Harry Kane did in the Champions League last season, right?