AC Milan clinched three important points against Fiorentina this evening, asserting their position in the standings. Luka Jovic finally got off the mark and below are the player ratings for the Rossoneri.
Starting XI
Maignan (7): He made a really good save in the first half and also assisted Pulisic for the second goal with a great pass. The goal conceded was simply a breakdown in communication from several parties, not just the goalkeeper.
Calabria (6): An okay display from the captain who was comfortable in possession and also did what was needed in the defensive phase.
Tomori (6.5): The Englishman made a big mistake in the first half, rescued by the Maignan save, and that is not something we are used to seeing. However, he was good apart from that and also bagged a goal, being at the right place at the right time.
Hernandez (7): Great defensive discipline from him tonight, even if he did go forward on more than one occasion (he was clearly allowed to tactically). And when he did contribute in the attacking phase, it was of high quality as we saw on the third goal. It didn’t look like he was out of position at all.
Florenzi (5.5): A subpar performance from the veteran who, in fairness, played out of position. But he can still do better with his crossing.
Musah (5.5): He worked hard, there’s no arguing that, but he didn’t have as much success in possession this time out. Although it was offside, the 1v1 with the keeper showcased poor decision-making as he should have squared it for an open goal.
Reijnders (6.5): When Milan struggled to get things going before the first goal, he was the only one constantly moving, trying to make something happen. He also had several really good passes tonight, though fading a bit in the second half.
Chukwueze (5.5): Not his evening, that’s for sure, as he struggled to succeed with his dribbles and when he did do it, the attempts were not good enough. The cross on the first goal, let’s face it, was not a good one and Milan got a bit lucky there.
Loftus-Cheek (6): An important player in the physical battle, as always, and he had his moments in possession. More incisiveness can certainly be requested from him though.
Pulisic (7): It was a really great goal from start to finish. Maignan’s perfect pass, the lovely first touch and the ability to recover with a chip from a poor angle. He also did well in possession throughout the game and offered a solution for Milan.
Jovic (7.5 – MOTM): Finally, he got off the mark! Great striker’s instincts to anticipate the failed clearance and it was a clean effort as well. He also got the assist for Tomori’s goal with a nice header at the back post.
Substitutes
Adli (5.5): Not the best appearance off the bench, committing a few fouls and not always getting into the positions he wanted.
Bennacer (N/A): It was really nice to see him back, but he didn’t play enough to get a rating.
Pobega (N/A): He didn’t play enough to get a rating.
Chaka Traore (N/A): He didn’t play enough to get a rating.
Camarda (N/A): He didn’t play enough to get a rating.
Best game to play with so many absents. Frosinone rating was all 5
You’re gonna make Adli boyfriends angry with that 5.5 score lol.
Anyway. A good win and much needed after the 3-1 lost against Dortmund.
Jovic finally scored a goal + assist. Today he clearly put a better display.
Theo wasn’t that bad as CB too. Funny how some people already scream the doom and gloom before the match started just because Pioli put Theo as CB.
And it’s nice to see Benna playing again although he sure looks quite rusty.
Hopefully Leao and Kjaer can play against Atalanta.
Theo is emulating Maldini.
Sure
Nice professional win by the team today.
Theo had one of his best games this season. Focused for the entire game in defense and going forward. Tomori continues to shine even though he had a mistake.
Another goal by Milan best performing player so far this season. 5th goal for Pulisic. Keep em coming.
Happy for Jovic. Imagine what you can get from a player if you give him some continuity in playing time. Directly involved in 3 of the 4 goals Milan scored in the 2 games he started in a row. Hopefully he gets more time.
The others did their jobs.
Great to see Bennacer back on the field.
And lastly, great response by the team, the players, even Pioli to that cowardly dog that came from underneath his masters skirt to bark at a moving car.
Forza Milan
Great team effort. Let’s keep the momentum. Jovic is building confidence and I think he should start against Atalanta.Continuity is key to his success at Milan and Pioli should play him and give Oli some rest.
💯 agree with you. I’ve always said Jovic is the type of player that needs to continually play to improve, but opportunities were far and few in between. Hopefully after tonight’s display Pioli can split more minutes between him and Giroud. Pioli needs to trust to start him with Grioud available as backup, or at least alternate the two more often.
Granted Jović was excellent, my man of the match was Theo tonight. Incredible poise in a new position and was truly magnificent. Nights like these remind how elite a player we have in him. At some point I was genuinely concerned he’d overexert himself and get injured but 19 was everywhere tonight and didn’t put a foot wrong. Sublime performance.
Also, I know its irrational but Bennacer gets a sentimental 10 just for being on the field for around 18 minuteshis first gane back. His recovery rate is nothing short of a miracle tbh.
Maybe he should refer his doc to replace the bums we currently have @ Milanello. Lord knows they’re having a sh*t go at keeping our players fit.
I feel we’re underestimating Chuk’s growth of late. He almost scored today if not for a deflection that barely took the ball out of getting to the back of then net. He placed the ball in dangerous places for his companions. Chuk hasn’t scored for us a lot but he has been creating dangerous situations for the opponent’s defenses, lately. I think he is blossoming. I don’t think he deserves only 5.5. I’m getting more encouraged with him; I thought he would be a bust but he just needed some time and is growing.
Theo was fantastic today! And Pulisic, what a golazo! People have recently started blaming Maignan for some recent failures, forgetting that he played with 39 degrees of fever, and today he goes and produces a superb save and a great assist! Great Mike!
Jovic, finally. Sure, the opponent is a newly promoted team but this is his second game in a roll when he did well. I hope he becomes an asset for us; wouldn’t count on it yet after two good games and a series of bad ones, but there is hope.
Pioli did well. Theo as CB paid off. All the criticism is a bit overblown. The team was decimated by injuries. It’s not all Pioli’s fault.
Calabria recovered from his disastrous performance against Dortmund. Well done, capitano.
Nice seeing Isma back!
Today we played well in all 3 sectors, defense, midfield and offense. It’s encouraging, in the middle of such a huge injury crisis. We’ll be getting some people back in mid-December. Forza Milan! This season has not been lost yet!
Typo: I meant two in a row, not a roll.
About Tomori, we know that periodically he is prone to mistakes. It hadn’t been happening for a good while and he was our best defender by far in several games; today the mistake did pop up back, but Maignan rescued him and he scored a goal, so all is good. I like Tomori.
Musah works hard but I feel that Pioli doesn’t manage him very well; moves him around a lot in different positions and he is just 20, he needs to learn one set of skills to be more effective. So he makes some wrong decisions but he has obviously a great potential.
Theo, Pulisic, Maignan and Jovic, excellent performances!
Like I read elsewhere, this team didn’t look today like a team that lost contact with the head coach. I have criticized Pioli a lot but today he did well and we did not have the second-half collapse.
Chukwueze is getting better at integrating his game with the team, but he has this incredibly high rate of losing the ball while in possession.
According to Sofascore, he lost possession 21 times in this match! Many times, he barely got a touch on the ball before he lost possession.
I think teams have figured out the book on him is to close him down as fast as possible and challenge him before he gets his bearings after the first touch.
Compare that to Pulisic on the other wing, who lost possession only 9 times. Pulisic, from his time in the Premier League where he was routinely kicked and fouled whenever he got the ball (because the English refs would never call a foul in his favor) has learned to play a different game, and doesn’t wait for the defender to close on him. Pulisic typically either does a quick evasive move or a quick pass as soon as a defender closes on him – he just looks much more ready to deal with the tight defensive coverage of Serie A, from having played in the Premier League.
Chuk is a turnover machine, and he looks like he is just not used to the tighter defensive coverage of Serie A. La Liga these days is a joke apart from the top four teams.
Facts. Every time Chukwueze touched the ball I was waiting for him to get dispossessed, fumble the ball out for a goal kicker or pass to the other team leading to a counter attack. I want Chukwueze to get it together so Leao and Pulisic don’t have to play every minute. Chukwueze’s weakness are the touch of death.
You make good points. But also, Chukwueze is capable of setting up scoring opportunities for his companions, and he has been doing it for a few games now. That’s why I think we’ve been underestimating him. But yes, he does lose the ball a lot. However, I think this is a problem that can be fixed, like you mentioned that Puli was able to fix it. Yes, it’s hard to adapt to Serie A but I think Chuk will eventually get it.
Adli is pretty inept in his defending and often looks clumsy when trying to do so.
Overall good win and the ratings seems reasonable as well as i see it.
Yeah. Adli definitely needs to improve his defends. He already made two big blunder so far and for this match he made an unnecessary foul at the edge of the box.
Yeah i was thinking of exactly that action of his as it sorta reminded me of when he committed a penalty kick in a different match. It could have become costly as it was a great opportunity for them to reduce the score to 3-2 which most likely would have made us play very nervously considering the matches we threw away after leading 2-0.
But don’t you read the comments from all the “experts” on here? Adli is the second coming, Pioli is an idiot. He is so clearly ready to start every game in any position.
The same experts who wanted to play an untested kid at centerback and jumped all over Pioli for, I don’t know, being way smarter than them and knowing what his players are capable of.
Yes and of course he needs to start every match.
He has some good sides but it surely isn’t defending and to be honest those commenting like he is the second coming of Christ are either freaking nuts, kids, uninformed or trolls send to ruin the comment section and cause division amongst the AC Milan supporters. Same goes for those wanting us to lose so they can see Pioli getting sacked, thats at least how i view it.
You Krunic and Pioli worshippers really go against anymore that separates them haha. Why do you criticize Adli so much but no one else? He’s not world class by any means, but apply your criticism on the same levels whenever bumass Krunic and Slowbega play. We win and instead of being positive, you criticize Adli. Krunic is being sold in January and Pioli will be fired after. Deal with it.
Im no worshipper of either of them and both surely has their faults which ive never had any issues in recognizing so compared to you and others around i actually present a nuanced point of view.
Why i crtitisize Adli so much = haha i think its the first post ive made where I actually critisized him and he certainly has loked wonky in that department of his game regardless whether you like it or not i stand by what i said. On the other hand you have no clue what nuanced means as there are pages after page confirming that. Oh yeah ive even said two days ago I could understand the recent dismay after his bad forum after his return from injury and his high salary demands that i could understand if he were to get sold but as always you just live in fantasy land so maybe you should deal with that yourself.
Yes Aldi is trash and my father Krunic should have played. He wouldn’t have foul at the box or run around the pitch like a weak child needing to use the restroom.
This game Pioli tried to lose but the players fought to win. I am not worried because when we play Inter, Juve, Napoli, Atatlanta my father will bless the Curva Sud with much skill and dangerous movements. Tonight Pioli sleeps on the couch.
Funny that some of you guys seems to consistently pull out some ridiculously childish and semi pseudo bs out your @rses when you haven’t got anything better to say and contribute with which sorta makes you even dumber than your own comments which quite frankly is an accomplishment in itself.
Ikr
No one say Adli is trash or even mention Krunic’s name until that insecure and mentally retard*d Krunics Heir talk about the guy in a most retard*d way i ever seen. Yessshh.
Yeah i agree and i don’t see anyone bashing Adli either but he has in fact showcased some limitations in his defending on several occasions. If that is bashing him then the comments about Krunic and Pioli is libel. I wish Adli all the best which definitely isn’t the case for those hating on Krunic and Pioli and some was even wanting us to lose yesterday so they could have their wish of him getting sacked fulfilled. Krunics Heirs comment is a candidate for sure 😀
LOal … I can’t decide if you are channeling Maldini’s Heir or Slytherin’s Heir!
Yes, How dare Pioli leave my father out of the line up! He is a Scudetto winner and a CL semi finalist that has won more than any of the new signings that are disrupting my team. We will fail just like I predicted at the start of the season and we will spend even more on newer players and my boyhood memories of a team from yesteryear will be gone forever.
“Yeah. Adli definitely needs to improve his defends. ”
Would be better to NOT play him out of position. He excels in creating the game, not defending. But who knows, maybe he’s a quick learner. Imagine him growing to actually be a decent defender…
I have wondered this several times. He plays better in creating and not defending, why not play him to his strength and let him develop his game.
Cos the topic of Adli’s defensive mishaps would keep coming up if he keeps playing like one.
Sometimes it feels like some have it out for Adli like they do for Krunic.
Dude, get with the fvckin time. The era where one or two player doesn’t need to defend was already long gone.
Now is the era where every player including forwards must defend.
His tackling around the box has been suspect. He really needs to pull back on those to prevent more free kicks.
Suspect is the right word here and yeah either he becomes better at timing it or else he can just as well stay away from interfering and he really should know better than stretching his leg out that way as its pretty much a disaster in the making,
Yes, how dare Pioli leave my father out of the line up. My father is a Scudetto winner and CL semi finalist that has won more than any of these new signings that are destroying our club. We will fail just like I predicted at the beginning of the season and we will just go out and buy more unless players and the club of my boyhood memories will be gone.
I agree, Adli is a feel good story because aside from that I haven’t seen anything special out of him with the ball.
He has some good passing from time to time but he is also hyped up to unreasonable heights by some commenters on this website.
ACM1899, I respect your opinions. You understand the game well. Adli has skils, sometimes passes well and contributes, but he is also a defensive liability. I don’t understand all the enthusiasm for Adli. He is a nice guy, has heart, loves Milan, has positives, but also significant negatives.
“He is a nice guy, has heart, loves Milan, has positives, but also significant negatives.”
And how about Krunic and some fans adoration for him?
“He is decent at defending and always available but provides nothing going forward and constantly passes the ball backwards even if there’s seconds left and we’re trailing by one goal and also makes catastrophic mistakes every now and then”.
Yet somehow Krunic gets the thumbs up and Adli (who was frozen out for a year and is still learning) down. Go figure.
By your analysis of Adli, is that not enough to see the enthusiasm fans would have for him. And if he played more.
He is not a defensive asset, why keep hammering on it and not play him to his strengths.
And it’s not like he’s getting enormous amounts of game time anyway to consistently judge his growth. 😑
Good win. Jovic had some good passes too. As for Maignan giving him a 7 is crazy. The goal he conceded was ridicolous. In general this whole season his been average. Nothing like the past seasons.
When Maignan really screwed up he was playing with a fever of 39 degrees. Maignan is a great goalie. That goal by Frosinone was rather an accident. Sometimes it happens, even to the best. He perfectly compensated for it with a superb save and a great assist.
Yea it happens sometimes, but for him this blunders started to happen to often.
I thought Theo and Pulisic were a cut above the rest, both created the majority of Milan’s chances. Plus that touch from puli was delicious. He’s done it before, almost a carbon copy of his goal for the USA against Panama a few years ago.
Nobody saying sack Pioli in this comment section. The fair weather Milan fans strike again. When we win it’s great and when we lose we want a new coach. Ignorance is bliss
I often said that with so many injured players it is hard for a head coach to do well. I think our problem is the Trainer Department more than Pioli. Sure, Pioli supports Matteo Osti, the head of the Trainer Department, and therefore the multiple muscle injuries are a bit on Pioli too, Osti is incompetent. He’s the one who needs to be fired.
When everybody is healthy we play well.
I will.
This was a game he easily should win without too much to worry. He did so but our attack still looks unimaginative.
He was bailed out by a great save as well. If that had gone in and we were 0-1, Piolis worst characteristics would have come out.
With no leao, no giroud, no centerback i think every game milan now have to face will be not as easy as you look
Got conceded first? We already have that moment when against PSG and yes pioli have his worst characteristic and win 2-1.
Listen, if we talk about luck i will be more than happy because milan is one team that have created many shot on target but not lucky enough to convert it. If we lucky enough we will win more points instead of losing point to frosinone…And I still dont know how the ball didnt go in on the match against newcastle
Agreed. Every time we beat some small team, some people fall in love with Pioli. I’m sorry but beating Fiorentina at home, even with 3-4 major injuries, is MANDATORY. The truth is that the Serie A basically only has 4 formidable teams (Inter, Juve, Napoli, Milan), that’s it. Everyone else we need to beat 90% of the time. It’s not the 90s/early 00s when teams like Parma, Lazio, Fiorentina, Roma were world class, in addition to the big 3.
Your comment reeks of ignorant and stupidity.
FYI. Lazio ended last season as runner up despite this season at 9th place. And Roma this season at 5th and Fio at 8th place. All Lazio, Roma, and Fio are still tough team to beat and can’t be underestimate.
There’s also team like Atalanta, Udinese, Bologna, and Sassuolo who can surprise not just Milan but also Inter, Juve, Napoli.
If you want 90% of win then go play your video games.
If you think we shouldn’t win against 90% of the time against teams outside of the top 4, you are thinking too small. That’s exactly what Inter is doing and that’s why they will win the Scudetto while we struggle to stay in the top 4. The fact is that Pioli will never take us to the next level. Period. Thankfully he will be fired by the end of this season at the latest.
I also don’t play video games.
” When we win it’s great and when we lose we want a new coach.”
And this is how it should be too. Milan-fans except more than e.g. Viola-fans.
*expect
Don’t get the wrong idea. A game like this should be another day in the office, not an exceptional win. It’s regarded highly because of our own mediocrity during the previous games.
pioli should still leave the team IMO, now should it be done during january or june, is another question.
That’s what is more amusing. I absolutely love the win, but fans are acting like beating Frosinone is a mile high achievement. If not for the mire the team has found itself this season, it should be treated as a mid table game as preparation for bigger teams.
This was a much needed win. Pioli got it right tonight. Despite his mistakes, I’m still of the opinion that he has been working without a midfield. Pulisic, Jovic, Theo, and Maignan really stepped up tonight. I’ve been saying this about our strikers from the start, they may not be world beaters, but they will score when they get good service. Unfortunately, they tend to feed off scraps. The midfield was average again, not offering much offensively nor defensively, but good enough to beat Frosinone. Chuk looks more lively now but still wasteful and ineffective. He will need a lot of work. The subs killed the rhythm of our play but it was great seeing Bennacer back. Now we have a week to catch our breath before Atalanta. Forza Milan!
Glad to get the win and with more than a single goal.
Jovic showed up and gave us a good performance. Theo played a brilliant game. I would say the back four did well other than Tomori’s give away. Good call for Pioli.
But again my biggest criticism of Pioli are the substitutions. I know Chukwueze was wasteful tonight but the team flowed better before the changes. Not sure if its a fitness issue or what because it happened in the Dortmund game as well. Pioli needs to let Musah focus on playing in the midfield, he is good at that and probably our strongest defender in the middle. I can’t seem to figure out our free kick defensive issues and why everyone looks confused after subs are made or injuries occur.
Pulisic looked good on the ball as he rarely wasted possession and that goal was great to see because he learned from the PSG game to just take it himself. Hope he grows on the fan base because I don’t see him wanting to leave if he keeps finding success in Serie A.
Bennacer got a warm welcome and I can’t wait to see him fully fit and helping us regain control of the midfield.
Maignan 7 ? Yeah,right,whatever …
Wish simic got to play but Theo played well
A good, COMFORTABLE, win.
However, we lucked out that Tomoris mistake didn’t cost us. If it had, watch Pioli panic.
Pulisic is golden. Knew he’d be great if he can stay healthy. Bargin buy.
Chuck still runs without a purpose most of the time. He has the ability and the potential but needs guidance.
So happy for Jovic. Maybe he has had a turn around and is one to keep for the future.
RLC, Musah and Reijndeers looked OK at best.
Theo looked OK at center back. Florenzi was his normal mostly unimpactful self. Tomori almost cost us.
I liked seeing the kids. I loved seeing a 15 year old pull down a seasoned cb!
All in all, I’m glad no one got injured. We still don’t look threatening going forward. Good teams will exploit us in our current form. This was a team we should win comfortably against. We did so I won’t take anything more away than already said.
Glad to get the win and scoring more than a single goal.
Jovic showed up and gave us a good performance. Theo had a brilliant game in all areas. The back four minus Tomori’s near blunder were all good. Slight nod to Pioli.
But again my biggest criticism of Pioli are the substitutions. Why take of Chukwueze? I get that he is wasteful no one would deny that but the game flowed and we were cruising to a clean sheet. I know Pioli has limited attacking options but stop playing Musah out of position and let him focus on playing defense in the midfield. He is our strongest midfielder and CDM is were we are weak, mold this 21 year into a proper one.
Pulisic was good tonight rarely wasteful in possession and it was great to see him learn from the PSG game by taking the ball down and putting it in the net himself. I hope he grows on the fan base here because if he keeps finding success in Serie A I don’t see him wanting to leave.
I enjoyed the warm welcome back for Bennacer and I can’t wait for him to be fully fit and regaining the midfield in our favor.
Good post
Chuk almost played full match against Dortmund and in this match Milan had a comfortable 3-0 lead at 74 minutes.
That’s why Pioli took out Chuk because he also needs a rest. You don’t want another player injured because Pioli made a late subs.
I understand your point but the game went sideways after the subs. I was more concerned with Pioli decision to put Musah on the wing. If Chukwueze was taken off not to risk injury then put the kid out on the LW and switch Pulisic to the RW where he will play when Leao is fit. Anyway, When Leao comes back no more Chukwueze in the stating 11 unless for rotation. It would be nice thought if Chukwueze had some confidence.
He took him out for numerous reasons. We were already comfortably ahead, he is trying to avoid more injuries and give some young players some playing time. And most of all Chuku was terrible in this game as he has been for most of the season. Good enough?
If avoiding injury was the reason then Pioli would have taken Pulisic off first because he has more minutes and more resent injury. Its okay to have different opinion on the sub but I think we both agree Chukwueze hasn’t been good for us.
And also… Chuku lost the ball 21 times during the match! That’s not helping the team to stay ahead in the final minutes of the match now is it?
Interestingly they had not score until Pioli took off Chukwueze so for this game your comment makes zero sense. We looked out of sort and i wouldn’t had been surprised if they did get another goal. We had a chance to put out a full performance from start to finish and we didn’t do that not since Lazio or even Bologna and Pioli made a bad substitution and bad tactical in game change.
“Interestingly they had not score until Pioli took off Chukwueze so for this game your comment makes zero sense.”
Makes zero sense? That tells more about your intelligence then. 😀
Another great goal by the Chelsea trash signed by the stupid American owner to sell jerseys, right? And the goal and an assist by another bad signing Jovic. If only we had Origi and Saleamakers back.
By the way , once again no Krunic = Victory.
Bro calm down and enjoy the win. No need to pick an unnecessary fight, or start a I told you so.
“Bro calm down and enjoy the win. No need to pick an unnecessary fight, or start a I told you so.”
Why not? All the “f*** Cardinale and all Americans too”-people do it all the time so why is the opposite thing “forbidden”?
Bcos that K dude or who I strongly believe is Poli from last summer can get very defensive when one criticizes Cardinal, the management (especially in relation to Maldini), and some of our shiny new toys.
Even pointing out some constructive criticism Flys the wrong way with that individual 😑😐. So sometimes it’s better to just placate such folks and give considerable distance.
Have no idea who that is or what you are talking about but if you need to make up fantasies go ahead. If anyone has constructive criticism, I sure haven’t heard it. Almost all the criticism I’ve seen is juvenile ignorant statements just criticizing him for being American, or an evil businessman, you know stupid stuff like that, but then again most of the posters on here are ignorant juveniles, so what should I expect.
No offense but are you by any chance an American yourself as it seems to me you take offense in those sort of comments not that i have said them myself though i do remember some in the past.
Why would I be offended by that?
Well maybe because you would take it personal or something or that you felt i was was critical of being that which at least wasn’t my intention to imply that but are you ?
You try to create imaginary enemies.
Pulisic has been appreciated and even praised from very early on by the vast majority (yes there are always few negative people in every single case).
If there were (still are) any concerns, it’s primarily on physical condition, injuries etc and secondly on consistency. His quality hasn’t been questioned.
So, it’s completely unnecessary “fight”, there are no enemies on this.
Exactly 🙌
Beautiful assist from Mike😍, and that Pulisic goal was a breath to watch. Even his build play that lead to Jovic’s goal was class. He really is so far one of the best examples Milan has this season.
Impressive positioning from Luka to be able to slot in that goal. And Theo’s cross into the box that brought about the assist from Jovic to Tomori😊.
Great win Milan
Good win to get some morale back and with Leao and Kjær back, that will help the team.
Great to see these subs didn’t involve Krunic. He and Pioli must of broken up! Haha
It’s funny reading these comments. Pioli wins and is on fire. He looses and we all say #pioliout!!
All these fans are so fake. I watched the game tonight and yes it was good to see us win but it was a flat display. Nothing special and it was Frosinone and at times we were the ones pegged back.
We were soo slow. Ruined every counter with pointless back passes. I wasn’t impressed.
I haven’t said one single time that Pioli should be sacked and has not even said #pioliout when he was hired so not everybody here has been of that view but I’m not saying that he is completely without any faults either as he also has room for improvement in some aspects of his coaching.
Overall we were clearly the better team, first half both teams pretty much was without much quality up until we scored then the second half we were clearly the best team minus a few minutes toward the end where Frosinone had their best period of the match but overall we deserved to win tonight,
I never say “Pioli is out” when we lost or even a draw. Don’t lump me with those crybabies.
And we don’t have our fastest winger, Leao, while Theo our fastest LB is focused as CB. That’s why our counter looks a bit slow. But the new players are still growing and adapting with Pioli tactics and the old players. As a team we can get better for sure.
I don’t think anyone is saying Pioli is on fire because we beat Frosinone. It’s weird how people on here seem to read whatever they want to read regardless of what’s actually written.
“I don’t think anyone is saying Pioli is on fire because we beat Frosinone. It’s weird how people on here seem to read whatever they want to read regardless of what’s actually written.”
You just saved from typing pretty much the same thing.
Pioli out!
I was waiting for that. Thank you.
We got the win and I don’t want to be a Debbie downer but it still wasn’t a good game. First half was really bad. Theo played well there but it’s because he had the freedom to free roam with florenzi hanging back. Had it been a tougher opponent we could have possibly been caught out. It’s a good bounce back but I have one thing that bothers me. Why must loftus play the attacking rold and reijnders the defensive? Wouldn’t they both be much better if they switched?. Never understood even when Kessie played there.
I agree. What was even more strange was where he had Bennacer playing when he came in. He was playing high up the pitch like an attacking midfielder while Adli played deep. But I’m done trying to make sense of Pioli’s decisions.
Talk about overreacting. Some thinking Pioli is Pep because he played Theo at CB against Frosinone lol. Ya it’s a win but let’s be honest it was against one of the weakest teams in the league so ya we should have won it handily. Pioli will win us some games yes, we still have the talent, but it’s his lack of tactics against better coaches that usually costs us. Simply put he’s not the coach IMO to take us to the next level. Will he be fired? Of course not. He’s exactly who Redbird want. Low cost, doesn’t complain, doesn’t ask for $ and keeps his mouth shut.
Chuk was wasteful. Jovic was fine, ya he scored but it was rather fortunate it deflected right to him. The Adli bashes seem to forget the kid is still learning the position and will make some mistakes on the defensive side of the ball but if you have the patience I believe his talent will reward us. Nice to have Benny back. Mike responded well after his poor performance in UCL. win over weak opposition – take the points and build momentum after a tough few weeks.
How exactly is 11th one of the weakest teams in the league? Yes, that is just barely the bottom half but they are no pushovers, unlike Udinese.
Yes. And they started this game as 10th. That is, upper half of the league. In any case, 10th or 11th, they are a mid-table team, and whoever follows Serie A knows that mid-table Serie A teams are tough. Yes, Frosinone is a recently promoted team but they are definitely not pushovers. They are playing well enough to remain in Serie A instead of facing relegation right after promotion.
Frosinone sit at 10th place before this match and they beat Atalanta 2-1 and Sassuolo 4-2 and draw against Udinese. So Frosinone definitely NOT one of the weakest team in the league, especially when they just promoted back to Serie-A.
And saying “Jovic is fine” is just disrespectful considering he worked hard and played really well not just with a nice goal and one assist for Tomori but also with the pass and how he tried to find a good space between Frosinone defenders.
I don’t know what the **** is going on here but for once I agree 100% with Juro. Hell might be starting to freeze over…
Hahahahahahahaha!!!! Well done @bb well done. I spit up my coffee when I read your post, couldn’t stop 😂
Easy win.
Glad Jovic shut some people up.
Pulisic ballin’ in a new team, new league, in a position that is not his favorite.. Great signing.
Matter fact let’s look at the production of the new signings so far with just a little less than 2/3 of the season still left to play:
Reijnders 1 Gol 2 Assist
Musah 1 Assist
Loftus-Cheek 1 Gol 1 Assist
Chukwueze 1 Gol 1 Assist
Okafor 2 Gol
Pulisic 5 Gol 2 Assist
Jovic 1 Gol 1 Assist.
19 goals production from the new signings so far with 6 months left in the season.
That’s what the 115 mil spent this past summer has given to Milan so far.
The 50 mil spent the previous summer returned 5 goals combined for the WHOLE SEASON.
Let’s fire the current guys and bring the previous guys back.👍
Imagine how much more productive these new signings would be if they were playing under a proper coach, with actually tactics, not just press, chase and sprint.
The call him Ismael. Welcome back sir.
Puli was my MOTM. He was in the middle of everything after we stopped dumpimg the ball left early in the game.
5.5 for Flo?! 6 please. Watch any 5 minutes of the he game and notice all his arm waving. He was orchestrating the left side. (Yes his crossing could be a bit more intentional tho)
5.5 For Musah? His job is to be everywhere all the time. Even as a midfielder he is making early (not late) runs often. Then he magically has tracked back to help the D. This is not E for effort. It’s acknowledging the job he’s been assigned and grading him accordingly.
I agree with others tho. Let’s put him in front of the defense and watch Magnion fall asleep from boredom. Tho I’d still like to see him off the bench as a game changer.
Magnion is not 100%. Not sure if it is lingering effects of the flu or something muscular. In either case there is only so much an IV of fluids and some cryo can do between games. That said, GK with the assist. 7 … Enough said.
Really happy to to see the progression in Jovic’s last three games. Personally he is another who is not moving right IMO. But he is moving better and now it’s become noticable. Hope we see more of him to change the play in rotation with Giroud. Let them play 60/30 and keep both fit by rotating who starts based on opponents tendencies.
5.5 for Chuk? 4.5 please. While he seems to have marginally improved yet again in knowing where his mates will be … I’m sorry but … watch the first 15 min on the right again. The moment the ball comes his way the defender is glued to his left side and the possession is over or the pass is desperate. Maybe he can play left and become a crossing machin like Kostic.
Reinjders needs a rest. RLC is a mystery to me.
Aldi a 5.5. 5 please. He regressed with his defending. The foul at the edge of our box was nearly identical to the penalty given up by him previously. I’ll forgive mistakes (looking at you Fikio) but if you are gonna screw up I expect it to be in a new and novel way each time.
Worse, his energy continues to drop. In this he seems almost the opposite of Musah. Rarely do I see Adli moving flat out to win a ball or position. He jogs everywhere and most maddeningly when he should be hustling to be available for a pass out of the back. Not sure why he seems to be tired.
More damning tho was the lack of silky passing this game. He was really out of sorts.
So I will use Adli as a sort of bell cow for the general problem. He is young and clever and has a clear skill in passing. but with 2 unfamiliar forwards and the other playing out of position he has no rhythm to rely on. With no consistent peers in midfield and a brand new one to him in a game this year he has no rhythm there either.
Going back to Musah for a moment he is young, all action and has played (I think) 5 different positions this season in the same conditions described for Adli.
When I think about this same impact on each individual player, I have to admit … I am impressed with this win. We scored from open play. We were opportunistic (Jovic goal). We were clinical (Puli goal, Jovic assist) and we scored from three different players.
I hope Pioli will focus on consistent use of folks in expected positions as people return. I hope to see the likes of Adli shine when he knows the tendencies of those ahead of him subconsciously like Lautaro and Thuram have clearly developed or De Bruyne and Haaland.
We are 1/3 into the season. Our players are still new to each other due to the injury crisis. Yet we are still 3rd in the league and well within striking distance of the Scudetto.
Forza Milan.
This was one of the best posts I’ve read in a long time. Well done. You made some very good points.
Some math says that
We payed €10m per goal involvement (GI) last year, and …
That this year we are already at about €6.5m per GI, and …
We are tracking to €2m per GI for the season.
If, like me, you believe we will improve dramatically as injuries abate and consistency of tactics and player position,/role improves this could look even better by end of season
Of course with Bennacer coming back that will mean one new midfielder plays significantly less, so “Lies, Damn Lies, and stats …” YMMV
1. It was not an easy win. xG was 1.01-0.73. Statistically, this is much closer to draw than win.
2. After 14 games, we have a total score 24-15 (xG 22.55-17.31).
Last year, same game day, same coach: 27-14 (xG 27.16-14.23).
(let’s not even talk about CL)
That’s all it matters. None cares if player A or B scored in the end. That’s what matters to (most of) us fans: TEAM performance.
So yeah, if we have to follow your logic and compare current with previous management, the old one is on top, all the numbers are on their side (for now).
This is a bit of a misleading stat.
Many of last year’s signings barely played (Vranckx ? Adli ? ).
This year, we’ve got a completely new midfield, Tonali and Diaz are gone and Ismael was injured, the only regular from last season was Krunic. A goal from the midfield is bound to happen, and this year, the only midfielders who can score/assist and the new signings.
Same for the right wing, last season we didn’t have a new winger, this year the ONLY old winger remaining is Leao.
So it’s impossible for this year’s signings to have less goal contribution that the previous ones.
That being said, I still maintain that some of them were good signings, especially Pulisic.
For me, this was a fun game to watch. I thought Theo played well, and his offensive runs were dangerous.
Pulisic is very skilled, by far the most individually skilled player on the field.
Chuck had a great goal in the last game, but most times, like today, he wastes possessions.
Too often this team looks for their own shot, when better opportunities are there, and more often than not, those better opportunities are with much better shooters.
Too, most of the midfield/strikers on this team tend to be static in the attacking third, waiting to react to a cross (too easy to defend); whereas good team play would have the attacker moving to the spot just as the cross arrives.
Pulisic, for instance, had a great cross on the ground, that Chuck should have been running to the far post to finish. If the reverse had happened, Pulisic would have been there to put it in the net, as running to the most dangerous spot is his game. I think his decision-making quality comes from his speed chess play.
I feel like we need to take small victories wherever we can this season. Pioli will make good decisions as he will also make questionable ones. But he is at the ceiling of what he can offer as a coach. He will secure Top4 this season I strongly believe. Need to build on this momentum as we have 2/3 of the season still to go. And I feel in the summer his time will have run its course at Milan. 5 years and all.
Milan needs to upgrade and improve and that involves the coaching position too. Pioli’s time at Milan has been a huge success considering the shambles Milan was in when he took over and what he was able to accomplish. He has been one of the most successful coaches here.
Over the last three games Jovic has showed a great striker’s instinct. He could have around four goals in the three games if he had better luck. He definitely gained confidence today.
He is certainly not the hold-up style of striker like Giroud, as well as Ibra. Jovic needs to be given the ball at the right time. He’s pretty deadly when that does happen. Giroud can’t handle all the minutes at his age so this is good news.
Just imagine if Jovic becomes consistent and Milan suddenly ends up with a quality striker for the next five years. Ya never know…
I mostly agree but remember that this is very recent. Up to a couple of games ago, Jovic had been useless and mostly a traffic cone. So, I also am hopeful from what he showed in the last couple of games but it’s still early to be certain that he will be a true asset for us.
Wild, we beat Frosinone and all of a sudden Jovic is world class and Pioli is a mastermind.
Can we do the same in CL or against any of the top teams like Inter or Juve? Or are we just can crushers?
We will see…
Oh and Pioli out!
Whether we win or not, PioLOL still out?
No one says Jovic is a world class and Pioli is a mastermind just because we beat Frosinone.
But is it that hard for you to admit that against Frosinone Jovic played well and Pioli made the right decision despite he doesn’t have Leao, Giroud, Okafor, Thiaw, Kalulu, Kjaer, and many players on his disposal because of injuries?
Your arrogant-smartass attitude and don’t want to give credit where credit is due only give the vibe that you should just go support other clubs that can satisfy you every match.
Pulisic created the first goal with his centering pass and his run across the goal. The second goal was all him; what a touch. Star of the game.
Happy we won. I still think Simic should have gotten the start at CB and Theo in his natural position. If anything he should have gotten the last sub and 82 minutes instead of Camarda. We’ll have Giroud back for Atalanta so Pioli will be able to rotate at striker. It wasn’t essential to give Camarda time. Meanwhile, me may still be with only one senior CB and who knows who well get hurt next. Simic should have seen time.
*last sub AT 82 minutes
Yeah camarda time in senior team is getting smaller to break youngest scorer record, since giroud will be back from his suspension, guess the Amedeo Amadei’s record will stay where it is.
It’s a tad hilarious to see the smart *** fans guessed the score unexpectedly different from each other. Will coach PioLOL stay the same with this formula or adapt with the new challenge in coming days.
It was good to get a win, Jovic is a player with good technical and tactical awareness,, he knows how to hold the ball and knows how to give his team mates good set ups, he needs more playing time and trust, honestly Giroud should not be our main striker, he loses a lot of balls , and is easily dispossessed of balls.
With regard to the defence, I honestly feel it was the right time to play either Simic or Bertasarghi in defence, sometimes situations like this give birth to new opportunities, the significance and timing of the occasion would give birth to a new star, who would use the chance and give the team a worthy performance, the Coach simply lacks the courage to play a young player…
Pioli has been playing lots of young players. Lots. At one point months ago I also resented that Pioli wouldn’t give playing time to the youngsters, but it does seem like Pioli has changed his attitude regarding it.
With the amount of injuries we have right now, he simply doesn’t have a choice.
Abate needs Simic on Primavera. Remember Primavera team also have their own leagues to play.
And to say Pioli lacks the courage to play young player is just ignorant at best.
Yes I will say it again and again, he lacks the courage and the confidence to use young players, Bartaserghi is the designated left back reserve, he has been working with him not just this season, since last season, the boy is mature why won’t he use him, instead he prefers to use Florenzi who is always a weak link, do you honestly feel we can beat Newcastle like that or any other very good team, that left flank will be exposed, look at Pioli from the beginning of his career in Milan, not only does he lack the courage, he even lacks the methods or ideas of playing the right players at the right time, because of him we have lost many good players, just look at the list, he does not know how to unleash talent, he ends up scaring players, before you point out someones ignorance, try and look at yourself, you fail to analyse things properly, then you come online to say rubbish and open you dirty wanker mouth to say trash, keep silent.
I’m sure Pioli knows when’s the time to play Bartesaghi or any young player more than you who doesn’t watch Milan daily training and thinks football is as easy as a video game where you can play anyone and turn them into a world class player.
And you scream lacks of courage when it’s about knowledge. You can have all courage in the world to smash your own head to a concrete wall. But having knowledge will stop you to do that because it’s suicide.
I’m glad Pioli is the manager, not you with your lack of knowledge and false bravado.
Scoring struggles
Finally for once, something that looks like a comfortable win. This type of game, is what the Udinese and Lecce games should have looked like.
But the hype stops here, Frosinone is a weak team, we should be able to beat teams like this in this fashion or even better, but the fact is that we got so much used to our own mediocrity, that this game looked good while it should be just another day in the office.
For the game itself, honestly I didn’t like our defense, especially during the first half, we were too shaky at times and if it wasn’t for Maignan, the visitors could have had an early lead. Also even during the last minutes, they could very well have gone way too close in the scoring.
We seem again to have a problem with set pieces, the Frosinone goal was a big mistake.
Adli, I have defended you a lot, but you really, really need to work on the defensive aspect of your game, the foul near the penalty box almost brought the game to a 3-2.
Happy to see Jovic scoring and overall having a good game. Yes it was against a weak team, but maybe this will boost him and he’ll be able to perform better in the upcoming games.
I didn’t have a problem with Theo being a CB (he is supposedly a defender afterall !), and I’m not suprised to see him perform well. First of all, the opposition was weak, and also, since he will mostly receive the ball while facing the opposition, he can run forward. Receiving the ball so deep also mean he has more open space to run, and Frosinone can’t commit many players to mark a centerback.
Chukuweze is really annoying. I feel like sometimes, he himself doesn’t know what he wants to do. His decision making is also very poor at times.
Reijnders really needs to rest, Pulisic is really the MVP among the new recruits, RLC is a bit dissapointing (was the PSG game a fluke ?) and Pioli for once, did an okay game coaching wise.
But again, Frosinone is a weak team.
Good result, average performance v’s a weak team.
Good to see Jovic finding form, I loved his assist. He has good technical ability, hope he keeps improving.
Chucky just looks a low quality player with very limited technical ability.
Pulisic was class, though he was not good v Dortmund. He is fast enough on the wing at this level but not at CL level, he would be best at AM
RLC seems to be struggling.
Mike going through a poor moment but still v good.
Well done Theo for finally turning up!!!
Longer term we need to be planning our best system and best 11
Pulisic is crying out to be played AM, he is so much better centrally, problem is our squad is built for 433 not 4231
It also means we still don’t have a great RW despite 3 signings (perhaps okafor can play RW)
How about
Jovic
Leao Pulisic Okafor
Bennacer Musah
Theo Tomori Thiaw Calabria
Mike
I partially agree with you and was actually pretty happy about the acquisitions we made this past summer and i also suggested back then that we should stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation with pulisic at the atm position and before he joined us his stats compared to matches/minutes played and his goal/assist contribution was actually the best there. Playing him there would also give other players more opportunities to play like for example chukwueze and romero if needed, That would in my opinion have given the team and new players a more easy road to gel. The 4-3-2-1 formation also seem to suit both theo and leao the best, I would use okafor on the left as a backup or a backup forward though but could also be called upon on the right side if needed to do so,
I guess the issue with 4231 is our midfield is full of mezzala’s and no real DM.
I think Okafor has huge potential, just needs game time. Most good wingers can play either side, and he looks to have 2 good feet and good balance (unlike Chucky)
He could be an option there as i also said he could be backup for that position but my overall point is also that it would offer a great deal of rotation options up front,
It seems like the summer transfer had in mind the switch to a 4-3-3, hence our overpurchasing of Mezzalas. The problem is that it was implemented in the worst possible way for us, limiting and nerfing Leao, Theo and even Calabria, and that, by actually forgetting to purchase a defensive midfielder, we found ourselves with no cover and having to rely on players that simply aren’t defensive midfielders (Krunic and Reijnders are CMs, and Adli is an AM originally). Also I think the management expected Chukuweze, a natural right winger, to shine and actually bench Pulisic, the natural attacking midfielder.
So in the end, we found ourselves in this “no-man’s land” where we’re neither perfectly suited for a 4-2-3-1, and where we simply can’t use the 4-3-3 the way the wannabe Guardiola, Pioli wanted it.
It can certainly be argued that we should have purchased a true defensive midfiekde but even Gattuso pointed out that he thought that Musah was a better player than himself at that age so I believe he and hope can be molded into that but with bennacer back we should be able to do better with the 4-2-3-1 formation.
With Bennacer (assuming he gets back to his prime form), we will certainly have an easier time choosing who is the defensive midfielder. But the problem is, Bennacer needs a deputy, he is simply way too injury prone, and with this current staff, he risks getting injured more often.
Also Bennacer did well when there is another midfielder who is more physical than him who could do the “dirty work”. In the past it was Kessie, but right, it seems that neither RLC or Musah can do that job.
Well Musag could be the understudy of Bennacer and RLC playing next to Bennacer but Reijndeers actually has some good ball wining mentality so i wouldn’t worry too much but sure if the club were to acquire a true defensive midfielder i wouldn’t complain either,
Pulisic is good centrally my only worry is when he is playing centrally like he did at Chelsea he ends up on physio table injured. Pulisic will always drift to dangerous areas like the goal against Genoa and even his first goal against Bologna was central. Against Dortmund Pioli tactic had Pulisic central so Theo could take up a more offensive position. Yesterday Theo did not push up as much for obvious reason and Pulisic on the wing completed 3 of 3 dribbles. But if you think having him central I’m willing to give it a try. IMO Pulisic looked good against Dortmund but failed to get teammates to play off him but true you are right the few dribbles he had against Dortmund he did not complete. It would be interesting to see your line up get playing time because your double pivot is strong with our better attacking options up front.
Not sure about this one. Game was a dull drab affair. Yes we won yay for the points. But up until we scored, Fros was in this one. We didn’t really create anything of note til then. Was hoping to see more “back passing by the DM” comments but I guess it’s ok now /s. This game reminds me of the first couple games this season. Sure we think we’re good but deep down you know we’re very exposed and fragile, with a proper team likely able to carve us out. This lineup in the defence isn’t a long term solution. And I don’t mean to rain on Benny’s return but the first thing he did was drag himself out of position upfield due to excitement which Jovic (are you paying attention Reinjders?) Mopped up for a professional yellow card foul that stopped an attacked with the defence exposed. But I guess I’m pessimistic on this one
That’s a good call on the tactical by Jovic. I don’t think he does that until last game
It underscores for me that he is able to move more freely and has the energy to pull that off. I’m marginally more bullish on him for next game. .
I don’t mind Jovic as much. I don’t get the hoopla. But once a player starts or is on the field I support him 100%. Besides, he’s slowly showing nice glimpses of what he can bring and is getting up to the speed of the game like you aluded to. I actuallly hope he starts the next game to continue his rhythm. If he doesn’t it would break the momentum