Stefano Pioli made the decision to heavily rotate the team for yesterday’s game against Sassuolo given the second leg that awaits against Roma, but again it didn’t work.
As Tuttosport (via MilanNews) recall this morning, Pioli opted to make seven alterations compared to the team that lost 1-0 to Roma a few days prior, hoping to preserve his main starters for the comeback effort needed later this week.
However, the coach had to use players like Olivier Giroud, Tijjani Reijnders and Christian Pulisic to come back from a 3-1 deficit and earn a draw, while Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao had to stay on the pitch for the entire 90 minutes in the Reggio Emilia heat.
In short, it wasn’t the quiet afternoon that the Milan coach was hoping for, but he has has Noah Okafor to thank for coming off the bench and scoring the equaliser with his first touch of the game, and Luka Jovic for his goal too.
Although before the match Pioli assured that his thoughts and that of his team were only for yesterday afternoon’s match against Sassuolo, Thursday’s match in the Europa League against Roma had a significant impact on the Rossoneri’s concentration.
At the Olimpico a different Milan is needed, certainly one that is more solid in defence because yesterday the Diavolo allowed way too much space in behind, which a struggling Sassuolo side exploited to score three times.