Following a narrow 1-0 win against Sassuolo in the league, attention turned to the Coppa Italia and a last 16 tie against Cagliari at San Siro.
Stefano Pioli did make a lot of changes to the starting XI with players like Alex Jimenez, Jan-Carlo Simic, Chaka Traore and Luka Romero all starting the game. Luka Jovic also had the chance to finally start after a few positive performances throughout December.
Despite some early attempts by Cagliari, Milan got control over the game fairly fast after the opening exchanges and were in full control at the break, scoring the opener through Jovic and then doubling the advantage through him, both assisted by Theo Hernandez.
In the second half, it was more of the same and in the 50th minute, Traore got his first goal with the senior team. Cagliari did get one back, but Rafael Leao had the last say of the game as he ended his goal drought to make it 4-1. Here are five things we observed during the game…
1. Theo leads the way
Theo Hernandez started in the middle of the defence alongside Simic and won our post-game Man of the Match after a stellar performance where he got an assist on the first goal after a lovely cross from a central position.
Then there was a signature Theo run for the second assist as he got the ball back in his half and burst forward on an amazing run that ended with a through ball to Jovic and the Serbs’ brace.
Hernandez has shown great versatility in the last month or so playing as a centre-back amid the injury crisis but also doesn’t fail to disappoint going forward as he likes doing down that left flank.
Theo Hernandez vs. Cagliari
➤ 100% dribble success
➤ 95% pass accuracy
➤ 72 touches
➤ 8 ball recoveries
➤ 6 duels won
➤ 5 clearances
➤ 2 passes into final third
➤ 2 big chances created
➤ 2 fouls won
➤ 2 assists
➤ 1 accurate long ball
➤ 1 tackle pic.twitter.com/lSWFqneCKm— MilanData📊 (@acmilandata) January 3, 2024
2. Young duo impress at the back
Theo was not the only one that was impressive in that somewhat makeshift rearguard, with Simic and Jimenez also showing why they have been spoken about so highly after their exploits with the Primavera.
Simic had a very good game despite having little to do but did well to handle Luvumbo, who was the main threat for Cagliari. The teenager continues to take his chances well and he is one for the future but he will probably enjoy a lot of playing time in the present due to Milan’s injury crisis.
Jimenez also impressed on the left flank as he showed great confidence going forward. The Spaniard possessed great pace and was a menace for Cagliari’s right side, and was also involved in the third goal.
The only negative is that Real Madrid do have a buy-back option on him, so it remains to be seen whether or not Milan can keep him for good. Giving him chances, obviously, is more likely to want him to stay.
3. Grabbing his chance
Yacine Adli had a greater role at the beginning of the season, but a bit like with Rade Krunic he seemed to fall back to the bottom of the pecking order. Against Cagliari, though, Adli got the start and it was a perfect game for him given the lack of pressing.
We saw some good passing and he should’ve really gotten an assist but Jovic missed a big chance early on. Above all, it was the nice shift of feet to create the space that reminded Milan fans just how dynamic he can be.
The midfielder has the vision and passing range but we have seen him struggle against a high press and maybe that’s one of the reasons Pioli hasn’t played him as much, but if the former Bordeaux manages to improve that aspect of the game he can be a crucial part of this team.
Another thing worth noting is that Krunic could well be sold this month while Ismael Bennacer is at AFCON and Tommaso Pobega is injured, so he will almost certainly get more minutes.
4. Attacking trio join the party
Jovic finally got the start he deserved after a very good December and repaid his team with two goals in the first half continuing his red-hot form.
The striker keeps pushing for the starting spot in the league as well and Pioli will have no choice but to play him more if he continues in the same way.
The former Real Madrid man’s recent performances also solve the striker issue Milan had a month ago, and they now have no immediate need to bring in a striker in January.
Since the beginning of last month, Jovic has scored the most goals in all competitions of any Serie A player (5).
Counting his assist against Frosinone back on 2 December, he has 6 goal contributions in his last 215 minutes played, an average of one every 36 minutes. pic.twitter.com/SYnWcF1WzM
— MilanData📊 (@acmilandata) January 3, 2024
Chaka Traore was also another one to impress. After starting rather slowly, he grew into the game and was braver going forward which resulted in him picking up his first goal.
Finally, Leao came off the bench and got his goal after a long wait. The Portuguese beat his man and placed the ball in the far corner in what is a signature move for him, after a few attempts doing the same thing.
Leao been under some scrutiny as of late, mainly because of the high expectations, but has reacted well and Pioli will be hoping that this goal will boost his morale resulting in many more to come.
5. Not all sunshine and roses
Despite a lot of players thriving, some didn’t quite cut it and for the purpose of balance it would only be right to mention them.
The first is Luka Romero, who got a chance to start the game too, but seemed too rusty and barely made any impact on the game. In fairness to him, he barely had any playing time and was
It begs the question why he wasn’t used in the Primavera as well as he is still only 19 years of age and Pioli doesn’t seem too keen on giving him more playing time. Perhaps a January loan might now be an option.
The other disappointing performance was Chukwueze, who we can’t excuse. The Nigerian has scored a couple of huge goals against big sides in Europe, but then can’t bring the same efficiency to domestic action.
Against Cagliari, one of the weakest sides in Serie A who also played with their second team in parts, you’d expect the winger to have a big impact and we’re not talking goals and assists, but at least being dangerous down that flank which he was not.
About Theo, I don’t want to make too much conclusions because this was a weaker version of an already weak team, but it seems that him playing as a CB is actually more suitable for him offensively rather than being an inverted fullback or whatever Pioli is trying to make him do.
In the last games where he played as a CB, Theo actually made more efficient forward runs rather than when he was as an inverted fullback.
I think the reason is that, as a CB, he actually has more space to operate with, and he gets the ball or wins the ball while facing the opposition, rather than having his back or his side to the opposition side when being inverted. But that’s just my theory.
Overall I think Theo is a decent CB against small fries, but not against decent teams.
100%. It seems he finally makes a run, it’s calculated and it’s when he actually sees some space whereas when he’s a fullback he makes them for making them sake and is part of the overall offense. When he does it as a CB the opposition defence seems in disarray. He’s really coming along as a CB
Cagliari ? Things we learned ? Feel said about Ranieri-bad and ugly team.Should play in Serie B.Theo is a funny player with some quality for 80-100 mill let him go 🙂 This season is lost – still in EUROPA LEAGUE and COPPA ITALIA,but who cares ?
Theo was an absolute beast in this game..I was wondering how he would have been rated as he defended excellently and had part in two goals…as a centre back. It should be near perfect imo, 9, 9.5 even. Many a time I see defenders doing what they need to do ie defend…and they end up with 6s 🤷♂️.
“Simic had a very good game despite having little to do “…see like this. Having to do things is the visible aspect of defending while there are other things that don’t go noticed …. keeping the defensive shape, preventative marking, offside trapping, occupying passing lanes. None of these gets u a 1v1 necessarily but it’s very important in the overall defending phase. Sometimes having too many things to do ain’t a good thing lol.
Also, Romero reminds me of Messi but without the drugs. Let’s hope he can bulk up on his own and figure out his place to come good.
I agree about Theo, what more could you want, I’d give a 9 for that match winning performance.
You did lose me on the Romero is like Messi tho lol
Lol was just joking around. But yea, not sure how many people know but without (human growth hormone/ hormone replacement therapy) HGH drugs at a young age Messi would have been a midget. He had dwarfism so he is actually waaay taller than what he should’ve been (even though he’s short). That to me was a bit weird because I always wondered if the drugs gave him an advantage that he would not have normally had(he might not have headed that ball to goal over Rio in the UCL final perhaps?) . Was being tongue in cheek as he is nicknamed after Messi lol 😂, maybe he didn’t get the same drugs
Romero is like Brahim, he knows how to dribble, pass and shoot, but he keeps bumping on defenders.
Oh if Brahim was just a bit stronger he’d actually be quite good 😊
Also his last season with us was quite good (and that’s without a RW). Him Puli and Leao hmmm 🤔
Brahim is doing good in La Liga and was named Madrid’s player of the month in December. But La Liga is different and we can all see that with Chuk struggling in Serie A. I think Romero is also more suited to La Liga football although I have him in high regards and hopes for us as he does resemble Diaz.
Chuk is just hopelessly LAZY.
The one goal by Cagliari came when Simic’s long pass to Chuk was intercepted and quickly brought back for a shot on goal that went in.
I blame Chuk – he was standing there and waiting for the pass instead of moving closer to claim it, and only saw the Caglieri player cutting in for the ball too late.
Chuk then slipped when he tried to move for the ball and then just did a slow half hearted jog after the Caglieei player instead of sprinting back on defense.
A similar incident happened earlier in the season in the 1-5 loss to Inter, when Chuk turned the ball over and didn’t bother to sprint back and this turnover led directly to an Inter score
Chuck is a 28M bust it seems. How many more chances is this guy gonna get. Waste of 28M that could have been used on a striker. Add Musah (20M) and Chuk (28M) – who are both essentially back ups – and we could have purchased a ready made polished striker.
Pls convince Real to not buy back Jimenez. We all know Redbird will sell Theo if not this summer, then next, and Jimenez looks to have the potential to be the perfect replacement. I saw more from this kid in one game than I have in Calabria in the past 2 seasons lol. The kid was fearless. Adli needs more playing time. His vision is exactly what we need. Jovic should have finished off that sublime pass. Simic was solid again despite that pass. Theo finally broke out. Let’s hope he keeps it up rest of season.
Chuk is showing to really be a bust. I know Leao needed a season and a half to show his true talent but that was on display from the beginning with glimpses every now and then, he just needed to find his consistency. But Chuk is doing his merry go round every match with his one trick flick. He’s even more one dimensional player than Antony of Man Utd and he’s really bad.
Romero reminds me of Diaz. I didn’t really see bad performance from him, he made himself available, looked for a pass all the time and didn’t force anything like Chuk is doing all the time. But he’s physically inferior to most defences in Serie A.
Chaka is another talent I kept my eyes on during the match. He showed some lazy bits. He was walking around a lot and didn’t really track back or pressure the opposition. But that was in his final third of the match and maybe he was just tired thus Leao came on for him. Did good to stayed on his feet for the goal and didn’t back down.
Jimenez is a beast but I don’t want to dwell on him too much as Real will most probably take him back unfortunately. At least for the time being, I think we’ve got ourselves Theo’s deputy and don’t need to search on the market.
All in all, I know that was only Cagliari and with most of their B players as well, but the young lads showed good composure and character. Exciting talent that’s ready for the stage I’d say but it’s now on to coach to make most of them and to nurture their talent.
We need to focus on Bartesaghi.
Every second Jimenez plays we’re developing another club’s player over our own.
I could understood a newly promoted or mid-tier team doing this type of deal but what the hell are AC Milan doing being a feeder club for Real Madrid.
It’s an absolute disgrace.
And, yes, for balance, the whole Brahim thing was a disgrace as were all of these stupid loan signings we’ve made over the years.
A club like AC Milan should not be loaning anyone or offering any buy backs.
We buy for the long term. Every signing is targeted to add quality to the existing squad. They’re focused with a view to building a Scudetto winning squad and returning Milan to the top of Europe.
Agree. And about Bartesaghi, while I also want to see Milan use their own domestic products, is he really good? I mean we haven’t had the chance to see much of him in action. I do want to believe he is and can be a true deputy for Theo.
Well Bartesaghi has made it this far which puts him in the top 0.0000000001% of footballers on the planet.
If the club can’t turn him into something then they’re incompetent.
We can’t just keep writing off endless players.
In order to know that, we need to give actual playtime, not just leftovers from some games here and there.
It’s only after he’d have enough games under his belt, that we’d be able to determine if he indeed he is a good player that we should keep, or that he simply is average or below average.