Zalaegerszegi TE 3-2 AC Milan: Rossoneri defeated in typical pre-season fashion

By Isak Möller -

AC Milan registered their first defeat of the pre-season as Zalaegerszegi TE scored three goals in the first half and thus put the clash to bed. The Rossoneri at least got on the scoresheet thanks to Giroud and Krunic.  

It took the home side just two minutes to take the lead as a corner fell perfectly at the feet of one of their players. It was right by the penalty spot and the finish left Tatarusanu with no chance as it was perfectly placed. Just five minutes later, it could have been more but the post saved Milan.

The Rossoneri’s first big chance came after 20 minutes as Messias started a counter-attacking move for the team. Rebic did everything right down the left and picked out Giroud in the box, but his effort was blocked by the defence.

However, instead of an equaliser, ZTE doubled the lead in the 24th minute as a long throw was headed into a good position. Tatarusanu once again had no chance and it was quite poor marking from Milan, especially Brescianini.

Three minutes later, the youngster lost his man once again and a great finish from outside the box resulted in a third goal for ZTE. It was a fantastic finish and one that Pioli could only applaud, and fortunately Milan got a way back into the game shortly after.

In the 29th minute, Ballo-Toure was brought down in the box and the referee pointed to the spot. Giroud stepped up and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way, scoring his third goal in two pre-season games for Milan this summer. An important goal for the Rossoneri after a rough start to the game.

 

With just seconds to go in the first half, the goalkeeper made a great save to deny Giroud from point-blank range. The scores remained 3-1 as the referee blew for the half-time whistle, though, and it was clearly a very lacklustre first 45 minutes for the Rossoneri.

In the 59th minute, Rebic perhaps should have found the back of the net after a nice pass from Messias. He made his way into the box but his effort was saved by the goalkeeper. Albeit a good save, he perhaps should have fired earlier.

In the 61st minute, Pioli decide to change almost the entire XI as he brought on the likes of Calabria, Saelemaekers, Leao, Tomori, Adli, Theo, Bennacer, Krunic, Maignan, Maldini. Gabbia was the only one left from the starting XI.

Milan had several half-chances in the second half but the home side certainly sat back and defended for their life. Understandable given the lead, and this made it difficult for the Rossoneri to spark a comeback.

However, in the 86th minute, Krunic was able to soften the blow as he found the back of the net with a powerful finish. Adli found him in the box and he did well to control the ball. The goal had been coming, as said, and wasn’t against the run of play.

The game finished 3-2 and it’s clear that Pioli’s men still have some way to go before they are ready physically. It was a typical pre-season defeat, in other words.

Tags AC Milan Zalaegerszegi TE

25 Comments

  1. Adli the best player. Even though he got only 30 minutes he could have had three assists. I am telling you: this player is a bargain!

    Saelemaekers on the other hand should be sold. He was his usualy awful.

    1. Anaximander, I hope your words about Adli will prove to be right. By the way, as a lover of philosophy, I must commend you for your choice of name 😀

    2. So every Milan player outside of Adli and maybe Krunic was awful today and you singled out Saelemakers who played only 30 minutes

      1. Unless, we try Tonali and Adli in a double pivot because Adli is an extremely creative player who’s tall, and can dribble too, I think the fact he can defend too just shows if we had him in the centre of the pitch with Tonali it could be extremely good! I understand people will say “what about Bennacer” Bennacer is decent but he’s not got the consistency and he gets injured a LOT so I feel like Adli could replace him

  2. Adli needs to be starter at 10 immediately. Brahim has no business starting , wearing n10 or even playing for Milan.
    The difference in quality between the 2 is evident. Adli touch, passing and vision are elite. He needs to put on some muscle though and we got ourselves a star .

  3. Adli just needed a team around him too show his quality. He still has room for growth, but having seen him in many times for Bordeaux last season, I am convinced he is a quality addition. There is no doubt in my mind that he should start over Diaz. His touch is brilliant, vision is good, movement great, and passing range very good.

  4. Looks like Leao is even lazier than before. I guess he’s such a big star now that he doesn’t have to defend at all.

  5. You think he could play in a double pivot role with Tonali? I heard he played in a box to box position at Bordeaux too

  6. I don’t think he is strong enough physically to play there yet.
    When Milan signs De Ketelaere I wouldn’t mind CDK and Adli interchanging during games between 10 and RW

    1. It is not hype, that dude plays like someone who have something to prove which he does, spending 32m on CDK will only be good if he is bought for RW and not AMF…… Adli should be the number 10, simple!!

  7. My own opinions:

    Maldini and Bresciani should be sent out on loan, they both desperately needs it.

    Diaz is done, it’s nolonger working and the more he stays, the worst he gets, the team have overgrown him

    Krunic can not even give a clear pass or have a good positioning, forget the goal, the dude is just toooóooo in inconsistent to be trusted

    Slamaekers decision making is just getting worse, sometimes simple things that a non professional can decide, becomes difficult for him to do, he is aggressive but his decision making is tooooooooooooooo poor

    Balo toure did good but his positioning have always been his weakness, dude got pace,balance and dribbling skills but his positioning as a defender is toooooooooo poor

    ADLI….to be very sincere, I don’t think we need CDK, spending that 32m on AMF when we have ADLI is freakingly stupid, that 32m should be spent on RW(unless CDK is shifted to RW), Adli is exactly what we need for our AMF, I have watched this dude preseason matches and all I can say is that this dude is the real deal, he is very composed, have a surprisingly good pace, have very good decision making, can dribble very well and also defends good, this dude is just perfect for our AMF, he came in and the match changed, he is the MOTM for me.

    Every other players had an Ok performance, they were rusty though which was to be expected but it was a good match…..this team just have this energy about them that just erupts over and over and over again, I am hopeful for the next season…….it’s just a friendly so I was not expecting much

    1. I agree on almost everything here. Ballo-Toure doesn’t add anything to going forward either so he is absolutely useless.

      I think Adli will be the Tonali of this season. Fans will fall in love with him.

  8. I know it’s preseason it it’s never a good sign losing to this caliber of team which tbh I quite low…reminds me of Allegri losing that time to a second division team and the outrage that ensued

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