AC Milan failed to clinch all three points against Napoli this evening despite heading into the half-time break with a two-goal lead. Olivier Giroud was crucial with a brace and below are the player ratings for the Rossoneri.
Starting XI
Maignan (5.5): He can’t do much on the first goal, in fairness, as it was a thumping effort from Politano. But questions must be asked on the second. Not because he necessarily should have saved it, but because the extra wall he placed completely blocked his vision (and wasn’t positioned well enough to block Raspadori’s effort). On top of that, the Frenchman had a few shaky moments.
Calabria (7.5): The best Milan defender on the pitch today without a doubt, as Kvaratskhelia only managed to get past on a couple of times (at the end when the game was stretched). The captain was also very good moving forward, getting the assist for the second goal and combining well with his teammates. In addition to his Kvara duties, he looked really good in defence.
Kalulu (N/A): He got injured early on and was forced to leave the game. His injury struggles are becoming a problem for Milan.
Tomori (6): Nothing spectacular from the Englishman today even if he did have a couple of good interceptions. He was a bit sloppy in the passing towards the end, but all in all he did a decent job at the back.
Hernandez (6.5): Much better from him tonight, at least getting forward on more than one occasion and creating chances that way. He may have faded a bit as the game went on but should have had an assist for a lovely pass to Reijnders in the first half (could have been 3-0 then).
Musah (7.5): He was everywhere tonight and ensured that Milan won that midfield battle, especially in the first half. It’s a shame that other mistakes led to two conceded goals, because the American along with a few others really made life difficult for Napoli.
Krunic (6): An okay display from him in both phases but nothing more than that. Certainly better than the disaster against PSG.
Reijnders (5.5): He looked very promising in some situations but, once again, he failed to find the back of the net. There was one counter he completely squandered with an effort, when he should have passed, and then he missed a sitter when Theo picked him out in the box.
Pulisic (7): The winger did absolutely everything right in the first half and that assist for Giroud was fantastic. He was subbed off at half-time due to a minor knock, though, and we didn’t get to see more of him.
Giroud (7.5 – MOTM): Mr. Efficient tonight with two great goals, even if the first one perhaps was a bit lucky. He could have done better in a few duels in the second half, but taking him off was still a very strange decision.
Leao (5.5): Apart from maybe one or two moves that could have resulted in a goal, the winger failed to impress once again. There was one occasion in particular when he had Romero to the right but arrogantly decided to attempt a dink effort instead. He can do so much better still.
Substitutes
Pellegrino (5): Had a very shaky moment right off the bat and on the first goal, he made what can only be described as a rookie mistake. It gave Napoli the momentum to complete the comeback.
Romero (5.5): Committed the foul which resulted in the second goal and didn’t add much going forward either.
Jovic (5.5): Zero impact on the game, really, except for one situation where he flicked on the ball well.
Okafor (5.5): Another sub that didn’t have an impact on the game, unfortunately.
Florenzi (N/A): He didn’t play enough to get a rating.
It’s time to move on from Pioli and Leao, he doesn’t give us on the pitch that he should and he wouldn’t survive in the Premier League so why are we feeding his ego. Until he shows heart like Mbappe, Bellingham and Haaland do his lazy arse is expendable.
I totally agree. The fact that he looks lazy in everything he does and doesn’t track back on defense, it is like we are always playing with 10 men.
I disagree. Without Leao, more often than not, we just go round in circles.
I am not posting comments 2 quickly
None of the substitute deliver, even become a burden. Can’t really blame Pioli on this one.
It’s ok to blame Pioli, he’s chosen these players.
Foolish Pioli… Is Pioli indebted to Krunic that Krunic has to play him even when he is utterly useless. Musa has to cover for two every game and lord Krunic just strolls around the pitch aimlessly and Adli who could have changed the game remains on the bench. How is Krunic’s performance an okay one in both halves? The Krunic fanboys must be high on something.
A callout is needed for Reijnders, Leao and a sack for Pioli. First game for Pellegrino and he is injured, that what you get when you don’t integrate players and just throw them into the thick of action. Pioli needs to go ASAP else this team will br stuck.
Talking like someone cheap is available ready-made who will win Champions League if he’s hired lmao
why do you people call for mid season sacks and ruin the season? You hate Milan that much?
If you love dysfunctional clubs so much go support Chelsea or Man Utd
Now Milan needs to do something about Leao, he needs to take games seriously, if not that Milan right wing is now functioning I don’t see where we would have gotten those 2 goals from.
😂😂😂😂😂😂
Pulisic had a knock ????
Do we look foolish here?
Pioli could not make a switch in formation, that’s the most horrible thing from him.
Leao, I’ve said this too many times, he’s been pampered and he does not feel threatened.
Pioli needs to leave.
Maignan, not his usual night but, still came through.
Calabria has mastered the art of defending against Kvara
Tomori was decent
Tijjani is tired
Krunic, nothing spectacular, he couldn’t decide the tempo of the game
Musah, has won my heart
Pulisic, still a mystery he was subbed off after time
Giroud was fantastic, took his chances, and did press well.
Romero 😏😏😏
Pellegrino, too shaky and was obvious until he pretended to be injured.
It’s been reported he had a knock, reason for the sub
“…until he pretended to be injured.” 😂😂
Pioli out. You can’t be giving up 2 goal leads. The difference here was that one coach can make adjustments during the game and one coach cannot. Not to mention he is losing the locker room by playing favorites with his boy Krunic over Adli who has been the better player.
Reijnders needs to sit. With the exception of the first 2 games of the season he has been bad. He has become a liability defensively and he can’t hit the broad side of a barn with his shot. I’m done watching this clown miss the goal entirely from point blank range, which he has done several times this season. When RLC gets back Reijnders needs to sit. Musah is better than him. He was everywhere today.
Also, this is 4 years now with Milan being the most injury prone team in professional sports. Not even just during the game, but when you have players like Kjaer getting muscle fatigue when he hasn’t even been playing, and other players getting injured in warmups, you are ding something terribly wrong in the way you train. You think someone by now would think about doing something differently.
Well people here were saying that Rejndiers is better than Tonali lol. So far only Musah has been decent from all the mids that we bought. And he also has problems with his passing. Cant wait for Benny to be back.
As for the injuries just look at Pioli statements. He always talk about physicly strong players so you can imagaine on what he focous his traning. Lol maybe that’s why our players are so bad in passing and finishing, when all they do is just physical tranning.
Not true. RLC was our best midfielder before he got injured.
Fair result.
Milan was better in the 1st half , Napoli in the 2nd.
Pulisic sub changed the gane. Everything in the 1st half was going thru his side. The right side was dominant from Calabria to Musah to Pulisic.
Left side was awful.
What an amazing chip attempt by #10. The ball went into the stands and there is a track lane at the Napoli stadium.
Reijnders must have went to leao’s school of shooting.
Giroud was good in the 1st half but Calabria was the best player throughout the whole game.
You wanna blame someone for losing 2 points today, instead of going for the usual players you blame, like Krunic or the new kid, you should look at the supposed most valuable players on the team.
Theo wasn’t good. He got lucky in the 1st half when Politano missed open goal.
Leao was awful as per usual.
But Maignan was horrendous. That free kick should never happen to concede a goal on GK side.
The tough games of the early schedule are done and Milan is only 3 points behind inter. It’s better than majority of us expected. Hopefully they’ll use the easy schedule from now on to string a bunch of wins
Pretty spot on, I am Leao’s biggest fan, but he really needs to step up. The easier part of the schedule is coming up; time to regroup and get some W’s.
So frustrating…
Your absolutely right!
Not only have Theo and Leao become insufferable fools with bad attitudes, no workrate now they are actually both incapable of being a threat , literally the only reason we put up with them.
Calabria was superb!
I don’t know where this team goes now, it’s a mess. But thats what happens when you sign 11 players and sell as many.
I thought Okafor did well with the limited time/chances he had. Certainly deserves a start
“I don’t know where this team goes now, it’s a mess. But thats what happens when you sign 11 players and sell as many.”
Yes, Messias Tonali and Origi would’ve sorted out Napoli.
Not to mention Rebic & Gabbia too.
Well to be fair, we did sort out Napoli better last year than we did this year,.didn’t we? 🤷♂️
I don’t think Theo’s game was bad. He was ok or even good all in all. Leao, OTOH, was abysmal with some decisions that should have made been subbed him before. An atrocious game for him
“What an amazing chip attempt by #10. The ball went into the stands and there is a track lane at the Napoli stadium.” Bro 💀💀💀💀💀😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣
Yes, we have to be honest that Mike has been below his standard for several matches now. And what’s with that couple of miss catches?
Its just the mood inside of the locker room i think. Everyone is feeling down and have too much pressure to deliver results. Up to boldie and management to bring them up.
I can’t fault the first half because that was probably some of the best football we have played in a long time, it’s a ongoing problem with Milan that we are not ruthless enough in front of goal and that is costing us games even right at the end Calabria has got to score that header. Also Romero and pellegrino had a lot of minutes today and they are not ready, what I don’t understand about pioli is that if you bring on Okafor bring him on as a striker not left wing
Jovic shouldn’t ever be allowed to enter the pitch. It’s worse than playing with only 10 men.
You mean like any time Leao is on the pitch.
What a worthless, lazy ass, selfish waste of space.
Pretty much, yeah…
Still I think, Milan play much better football than second part of last season.
But we miss something ?!?!
It is that obvious feeling that we miss something !!!
We miss some more quality players. Our defence is missing something. Than we missing some solution in attack. When they need to pass, they shoot, and when they shoot that is time usually to pass the ball !!!
So it is obvious we miss some more quality depth !!!
We have again in roster players who can’t play for Milan. We need better combination play and stronger confidence especially when we lead.
It will be tough for Pioli, but maybe already someone write good comment about natural cycle in football and need of stronger coach !
Giroud sheer class ,just as I have told you all long ago
Great man of the match tonight ,,,4 shots all on target 2 goals ……pulisic also superb ….great work rate and cross for one of Oliviers goals ..
Just hope injury to pulisic is a minor one .
Onto the match I personally didn’t think we played very well at all ..The first half we did well and got two goals ,,,but we could have had a 3rd ,,,2- 0 up thought we would win the game ,,,second half we made two many errors,,,,I was a little surprised Olivier was taken off ! That said I still have faith in poili and our team .
Just hope Loftus cheek returns soon , and of course pulisic ..
We can still win the scuddeto this season .
I told you all at the beginning of the season that Olivier Giroud is class ,,and that he will score around 20 goals this season in all competitions…
I do feel that Loftus cheek can score quite a few goals .I do rate Rafeo leao very much ,but have to be honest a little disappointed with him tonight ,,,but he is a class player ,and I am sure he will also start scoring goals ,,,again I was still surprised he was also taken off tonight, as he always has the ability to do something at any moment in a game .
So let’s please try to remain optimistic..
Mixed feelings about the game. We played really well in the first half and probably should have put the game to bed. Individual mistakes undid us but they came from young players thrown into the mix in an emergency situation. Hopefully they learn from it and improve.
Much better from the midfield but Reijnders, who had a decent game, missed an easy chance and was selfish when Leao was open. As for Leao, he had his moments but the selfishness was too much tonight. After 20 minutes, the team rightfully ignored him and switched to Pulisic who so far is the only man who knows what to do in the final third (apart from the PSG game).
Giroud proved he is quality when he gets the service. I didn’t think he needed to come off tonight but he should sit out the next one. Same for Leao. We need Okafor, Jovic, and Chukwueze to get going. They won’t get better sitting on the bench.
Forgot to mention Captain Calabria who was the man of the match for me. Led by example after he called the team out against PSG. Hopefully he gets forward more often.
Calabria had some anger in him tonight and it showed on the field. Captain worth display by him. Hope other do the same. Pulisic was also great tonight, much better than the left winger. Sucks he got injured. Reinders gotta still addapt and he is probably tired since he has played every game so far. The kid got talent. There were reports that top teams in europe were after him after our purchase. Happy for giroud, 2 good goals. Leao gotta step up. By far his worse game. He is the top earner. Krunic was on the field but not visible. Guy sucks. Musah ran his sucks off, did well just needs more experience and coaching.
Pioli 0 again in my opinion. First half we went up in part of napoli’s poor defending. Whats even more troubling there rarely is any one-two in the mid. Always depending on the wings. Not much creativity in the mid. I don’t know what pioli does in the training. Wether the new comers need more time to adjust to this style of play or pioli is just clueless. Playing krunic as a regista doesn’t help with creativity, or with anything for that matter. I think boldie has lost the dressing room. I dont think I’ve seen leao and giroud react that way before with milan shirt when substitution. Not good for the coach. 1 player happens but 2 is a big question mark. Well, we are still disorganized in the field. Hopefully we make top 4 and say goodbye to boldie.
Who would you want to replace him (and who’s available)?
Up to the management. The man has serious flaws. If we want to reach the top, we need a better coach. Our quality is much better than our performances.
Replacing him mid season is a knee-jerk reaction. There’s no reason for it. He is relevant for Serie A. But evaluations need to be made at the end of the season. Pioli will keep us Top 4, not sure if we get the Scudetto this year given Inter’s form and our record against them.
Im all against sacking a coach mid-season, unless the team hits rock bottom and we are definitely not there. The end of the season i was referring to.
Right – but no one ever mentions ever names… just “Pioli out, pioli out” after every loss or draw. And then we win and you all go quiet again.
Criticism where it’s due and merit where it’s due. There have been moments where pioli did his home work like last years wins against napoli. However, come one man, we are so disorganized right now. Toothless against PSG, stupid loss against inter and juve. Hell even 3rd tier league teams would’ve put up more fight vs PSG. above all, its the way that play that isore worrisome. We can’t create anything from the middle and the team is compact on the field. Space between attacking line and defense is huge. Not to mention lack of form of some of our superstars. And don’t bring up what coach would you bring like we are in charge. Like i said. Management knows best, they will bring the right coach. We’ll have a great squad and coach next year and future.
Trust me, you will not have healthy discussion with PioliFanBoy or KrunicFanBoy.They just care about Pioli not Milan. For them, they don’t care if milan lost as long as Pioli is still the coach. That’s why you never see these fanboys questioning Piolis tactic. They keep defending him not matter what.
They just don’t like critisim. Oh no..they do “like” to hear critisim but with solution as well as if we are getting paid to do it. That’s why you always get question like “who is the available better coach out there?”.. an absurd question
Based on comments here you would think Pioli intentionally injured Kalulu and Pulisic so he can lose the lead lmao
Do you ever have any analysis on the actual game? Take Pioli’s pallinas out your mouth and open your eyes.
Do you? You just wait for Milan draws and losses to celebrate
Cringe Inter Fan in disguise
Yes I’ve expressed multiple times the tactical deficiencies Pioli shows game after game. Did you watch the second half? Zero adjustments. Please provide your analysis in regards to why Pioli is awesome. And don’t mention how I’m not a fan bc I don’t support Pioli’s loser mentality.
You just stay quiet when Pioli does something right? 🙂 Like the first 45?
Nah dude, a game is 90 minutes, wake up. You need to end as well as you finish. We crumbled in the second half, choked. That’s good enough for you? “At least we won the first half.” Loser mentality.
You need to end as well as you start***
Can’t believe ppl are content with a draw after being up by 2, smh. Pioli lovers are unbelievable.
Sensible adjustments can be made…he’s way too rigid…he didn’t make sensible adjustments to shore up the result and that’s the problem…Klopp has won multiple games with 10 men and less..Pioli just doesn’t know how to shore up a lead
For a supposed best player on the team, Leao is way too often the lowest rated Milan player after games. Thats not going to work.
Disappointing to lose 2 points after such a great 1st half and being up 2-0.
Milan needs to buy another CB in January. Tomori and Thiaw are the only ones you can count to stay healthy..Kjaer should be gone by the end of the season.
Musah looks more and more as Kessie in the midfield. He is everywhere.
Reijnders needs to work on his shooting. Also, he can use a break.
Pulisic has been amazing signing.
Giroud can still score as long as he gets service.
Maignan, what the hell was that?
Leao needs to be benched.
Bring that Betis LB as early as January.
Both Theo and Leao need competition.
Udinese next. They are always tough to crack
The problem is Pioli tactically doesn’t know how to shore up a result..good coaches know how to do that. He doesn’t…and that’s the problem..you can’t go man for man substitutions if you see what you’re doing isn’t working…perfect example Mourinho playing Christian Chivu almost as a LF to counter Barcelona and Munich. Pioli doesn’t know how to use the players effectively, any top manager would know how to do that…and we were the team in control. It’s terribly disappointing when you know your manger is inept tactically and cannot read the players’ strengths properly.
The way Leao was playing, he should have been taken off at the 60th. This kind of casual & selfish approach to the game shouldn’t be tolerated. Also, another notable one was Theo in the first half – very laid back and late to react to whatever was happening around him. The last season, we had a functioning left wing and a toothless right wing. Sad to see the degradation on the left.
And again – PioliOut
Pioli out? We made Napoli look like Sheffield United in the first half and would’ve easily won it if we didn’t have to replace Kalulu with a rookie and Pulisic with Romero. Napoli thought they had to disrupt the game by throwing projectiles at our bench but Milan Lab did it for them.
I agree. For all the criticism Pioli gets, he did a lot of things right tonight. The subs were forced. I don’t understand taking Giroud out, but Leao was sub-par all game.
We have a lot of injuries but also had a wretched stretch of games. From here on it will get easier domestically. But you can tell how many players need a rest, Reijnders and Musah especially.
Yup – Giroud was up for it and shouldn’t have come off. Other than that I’m not sure why everyone’s melting down over a draw in Naples with players dropping like flies mid-game. I mean it was Pelligrino’s debut for christ’s sake.
When you are up 2-0 you need to be able to close the game out, against anybody. That’s 2 points dropped. Champions don’t do that. Did the same thing against Roma last season and it sent the team into a downward spiral for about 5 games. You can already see the players openly questioning Pioli.
I think we would’ve closed out the game if Pulisic and Kalulu hadn’t gone off.
What is the point by saying milan made napoli look like sheffield at first half? You don’t play only 45 minutes. I don’t care if milan made Napoli look like Serie c team, what i want 3 points after back to back lost.
.. geez pioli fanboy always have absurd argument for beloved pioli..
In as much as Tijjani is wasting easy chances, I will blame Leao for making this guy do all the tackles. At least Pulisic tracks back to support Musah and Calabria. He should learn and do same. Not bad of a performance just too many avoidable mistakes.
Reijnders is TIRED! He has started EVERY game and played EVERY minute.
We were effectively playing with 10 men all second half. Cos Romero was absent throughout. The Napoli red card only evened it up. Was watching the game thinking, since this is Napoli and Romero hasn’t played that much, couldn’t Pioli think of another solution ?
Then another one, Jovic on for Giroud , gosh Pioli!
At no point in the game can you sub on Adli for Krunic because he is just soooo amazing. Pioli and Krunic need to have their wedding ceremony asap and just get it over with. They are clearly lovers.
Krunic is the only player that can be invisible, do nothing positive the entire match and still get a 6 rating o here. Must be Pioli’s cousin giving the ratings. It’s an insult to the fans and the players in that locker room that Krunic keeps getting the start. Before he got injured there were some people that could argue that he was the only one capable of playing that position. But since Adli went in there and played well, there are no more excuses for this insanity.
😂😂😂😂
Fair rating overall. Captain Calabria is the MOTM for me. The real story is of course our injuries. We have this problem for over a decade.
Napoli didn’t turn up first half and that made us look good and that’s the problem with the Italian top flight because when it comes to the big boys in ucl we can’t compete.
Remember it’s all about standards and holding those responsible ie the owners gerry elliott or whoever it is necessary raise those standards .
Never forget history the owners don’t and are more than happy to live of that reputation whilst contribute nothing to the club apart from selling our best players.
Which “best players” did we sell? Oh you’re going on about Tonali again who was talking to Newcastle before talking to us?
Selling Mr Betting Man is our ‘best player’? lmao
This is our best game so far, but subs were awful. Pioli really need to do something about it. His game management is really sub par.
Ok I understand Pellegrino and actually wanted to see him in real game but man… we did not need Romero not because I dont like the lad but its wasnt right decision at all. Why not to close a lottle bit if you have such problems — switch to 4-5-1 for CS! Leave Okafor upfront and bring in Pobega and Florenzi. Close the game a little not a shame in Napoli with 2 goals lead. We would get them on counter. Jeeez that was a grate game finally. Such a miss!
Pulisic had a knock. He had to come off. Giroud should have kept playing. OKafor for Leao was fair.
Culprits:
1) Reijnders missed a sitter.
2) Leão didn’t pass to an open Romero.
These mistakes not being made, we’d have been 4-0 and beyond Napoli’s reach for a comeback.
3) Theo and Pellegrino both failed in their first goal.
4) Maignan positioned the barrier poorly. However Raspadori’s free kick was perfect and his merit, and Maignan did make some important saves so I give him a pass.
——
Calabria, superb game. Tomori did well too, avoided at least two goals by Napoli and didn’t make any mistake. I don’t know why the rater gave him a so-so evaluation. I thought he did very well.
Pulisic and Musah were destroying Napoli’s defense in first half. We were unlucky in having Pulisic hopefully mildly injured because in his absence the right side wasn’t as effective and Musah got orphaned. Overall Musah still impressed me. He is very good and is growing more and more.
Krunic was very bad in the first half of the first half. He did improve later. But I’d have started Adli. Krunic has been off-form.
Also Kalulu played well the first 15 minutes then suffered an injury, forcing a substitution with a youngster who did make mistakes. That was also unlucky.
This is a game we should have won and was marred by two injuries and some failures from some players.
Leão did have an excellent shot that should have been a score if not for a formidable save by their goalie. Had he scored that one, everybody would be forgiving him for his mistakes.
Reijnders is overextended, overworked, tired. He needs L-C to be back in order to take the pressure off him a little. However his finishing remains atrocious and he never shoots on target. He also lost not one, not two, but three midfield balls that resulted in dangerous counters by Napoli. I thought Reijnders was a liability today but I understand that he is tired.
This week, of 9 possible points in two competitions, we made 1 point.
Still we played better today than last two games and the toughest part of the schedule is over, so there is hope. We are close to getting L-C back which will be important. I hope Pulisic is fine.
After not a single win in real test, the club will struggle to the top at least first half of the season, so just wait for second half of season.
I know – Imagine getting a draw in Naples after playing Juve and PSG in 10 days… We’ll be lucky to stay in Serie A at this rate. 🙂
Calabria motm, Puli, Giroud, and Musah all excellent, Tomori good too. The rest somewhere between ok and awful
Always interesting to see the overreactions to a match. Milan played well coming out with an away draw to Napoli. Yes, a 2 goal lead was wasted but ultimately the result is a positive one given the tough schedule leading up to the match. I don’t see a need to criticize or find a culprit (scapegoat) amongst the players/staff. Assessments should be made at the end of the year when a good sample size is available. Last week everyone was chastising Calabria, this week he gets praised. Let the season unroll before coming out with pitchforks!
Deaf ears, man. Deaf ears. Pitchforks will stay in the cupboard if we win, but are already being sharpened for the next draw or loss.
Milan can be top of the table, the moment there’s anything other than a loss everything sucks, Pioli needs to be sacked immediately, Gerry needs to go, Maldini needs to buy back the club etc etc
I hoep these are 10 year old kids because no way grown adults think like this
I think it’s clear to see if you choose to be objective that it’s time to move on from Pioli. We have reached our ceiling with him and this team. It feels like the players sense it as well. Hence the frustrations of Giroud and Leao. Of course we won’t get rid of him now but we definitely should at seasons end without question. Yes we had a great first half – BUT guess what – Napoli adjusted at the half and BOOM – Pioli was caught with his pants down and could NOT ADJUST HIS TACTICS. It’s the same old story. Pioli CANNOT ADJUST IN GAME TACTICS. Those fans defending Pioli saying we had a great first half are missing the point. A game is not 45 min. It’s 90 min and great coaches adjust IN GAME and at the half. Garcia adjusted at half time and Pioli could not counter. We were lucky to hold the draw.
Let’s face it – we have peaked with Pioli and the lads know it. His message is not getting through. He’s been with us for 4-5 years now? I thank him for all he has done. He was perfect coach when we were a young and inexperienced team. But that has changed and it’s time to find a coach to take us to the next level.
Upvote.
-Calabria imo was the best on field tonight and Giroud just right after. He once again shackled Kvara and is his kryptonite.
– Seems we always play Napoli well so I wasn’t surprised by the start and overall game which was played well. Calabria knows he can do well vs their danger man, Krunic knows how to tactically move and organize the defence (I know you all hate him but off the ball movements count too) and for some reason we own them. Until now that is. Unlike us vs Inter where we just got the life.sucked out of us, Napoli fought back. I think that’s the difference this year.
– Tomori rating here seems low. There were some crucial interceptions he made that were significant in stopping goals. To me he played very well and had to cover for two players as Pellegrino was not ready.
– that brings me to Pellegrino who was terrible. Too often I read here, “bring on Pellegrino how bad can he be?” Well here you have it. Sure it was a baptism of fire but the level of serie A is no joke and he’d have the same problems against lesser teams let’s not kid ourselves. It’s the reason why Im always staunchly opposed to the hype and hyperbole. It’s the same hyperbole about Abate, Camarda, Traore, Eletu and Simic currently. Sometimes players aren’t ready or aren’t good enough and sometimes the coach knows better than us.
– Musah’s rating is a bit high, no? Doing many things doesn’t mean doing things well. Right now he’s more quantity than quality but he’s getting better.
– Leao can be the most dangerous player and the poorest on the field at the same time.
– Something’s really not right with our injuries. There’s bad luck and then there’s Milan. That needs to change asap.
– overall fair result as we were better in the first half and they were better in the second
– our formation leaves alot to be desired. Not so much the formation but what we do with it. There aren’t clear movements or style of play. Balls are still getting hoofed upfield waywardly. It’s a very basic interpretation of the 433 and this falls on the coach. It’s actually quite poor imo.
– Well this is the 10 game mark and I did say I’d give a verdict until sufficient time has passed. We’re 3 points off the top, won 7 against poor form teams, D1, lost 2. Not bad but The losses and draws are of course big or too form teams. I don’t believe we’re Scudetto contenders. That’s a battle between Inter and Juve. Next it’s a battle for 3rd and 4th between us, Napoli and Fiorentina (for now, I believe they’ll slip) and ofc Lazio and Roma will eventually recover but it depends on how well they do in Europe.
I’d like to also say that this is what almost everyone wanted in the summer. Just wanted to remind ppl. The commenters called for a change in formation particularly the 433 and to scrap the 4231. Got mostly players for the new formation and apparently was one of the best transfer windows in a decade. I can’t say that this is a great improvement over last year, just a different set of players with a different style (or lack thereof) of play. I’m not impressed with the mids we got but I’m still happy about the Right Wing simply from a style pov.
These are the players Pioli wanted, the formation he wanted and unlike previously, worked in harmony with Furlani and Moncada.
How about that Pellegrino? Glad we don’t have to hear people calling for him to play for a while.
The same should apply to Romero. He almost makes me miss Saelemaekers & Messiah.
Yes, but fortunately his position means he’s much less of an existential threat than Pellegrino. They should both be on loan at a mid-table team.
Yep. Pioli’s legendary “not ready” certainly applies to both of them!!
Sack pioli. Change him with Abate
Now some people who thinks Pellegrino is ready to start just because he got called up to Argentina NT can STFU.
As for the draw, it was unfortunate because the boys played really well in the first half. But again, Giroud did a great job scored two goals but the others like Reijnders, Leao, and Romero was stupidly wasted the golden chances to make more goals. If Milan scored at least 3 goals in the first half, they don’t need to feel pressure when Napoli scored 1 goal.
For me MotM is Calabria. Not just he made 1 assist but he also silent Kvara for full time just like last season. The sad thing is that a lot of people in here who loves to mocked and hate Calabria didn’t gives him the credit he deserves for this match.
There’s 6 more days for Udinese match which i hope RLC can recover and play because Reijnders looks tired af.
I think if Milan decide to replace Pioli with a good coach. The new coach maybe able to get the best out Leao, Thiaw, Calabria, Kalulu and Theo.
These guys have been playing with Pioli for at least one year and they haven’t shown any progress or growth.
I think, the team should not sell anyone at the moment and bring a coach that can improve players skills and show their best then sell them.
Pioli tend to kill the talent these young players have as he did with Pelligreni yesterday.
Plus, why didnt we see Adli replacing Reinders if Reinders wasnt giving enough yesterday.
Adli deserve a chance, unless Pioli insist to kill his talent completely.
Lol. Adli, Adli, Adli! Adli is too slow for Napoli, but who knows, we might have seen him if Pioli hadn’t been forced to use subs for Kalulu and Pulisic.
Not a bad display but a bad outcome.
My Observation:
-Leao can be frustrating this day.
-We now have a new Gattuso in Musa.
-Romero is a waste of spot. Chaka Toure is far better than this guy.
-Pellegrino is a waste of spot. we should have invested the money on left back. The primavera guy, Osmic is better that this guy. Just that Milan place too much important on players outside Italy. Like going for Chuwkueze instead of Beradi.
-Pioli needs to be bold. He needs to give young players chance especially during this injury crisis. e.g. Theo and Leao seems indispensable and their performance were not justifying that. Bartesaghi, Osmic and Chaka need a run especially in this injury crisis period.
Pioli please be bold. Forza Milan.
Lol even though I agree you’re contradicting yourself. He was bold and gave young players a chance, he played Pellegrino and Romero. And if he plays Barte and Chaka and they fail in one game too then what?
All of the twitter idiots need to calm down with the demanding Pioli be sacked!
I counted, 5-6 (easily) chances that Milan had to make goal number three, and the game should have been 3-1 to Milan after the first half!
That is not Pioli’s fault. And he was SMART to substitute Pulisic before injury. The Juve match and recent results and defensive play have asked a lot of the American scorer, and he’s too excellent to risk, at this point, with PSG crucial fixture coming. I would even hold him out for the weekend if not 100% sure.
Fact remains, some decisions, bad shots, bad passes, (Leao, Theo, Krunic, Reinjders) happen far, far too often! That is problem #1. This is why we dominate vs. Newcastle and Dortmund, but don’t score a goal in the Champion’s League yet! If these players were as efficient as Pulisic, Musah, Adli, and Giroud, with the ball….we would be up in the CL competition right now.
Pulisic and Giroud have been saving us, and it’s not enough over the entire season! They cannot be the only ones to provide consistent, efficient creative chances and shots on goal! Leao and Theo and Okafor and Jovic…..must be more efficient and involved to have any real chance at Scudetto or CL.
Problem #2: Defense. It’s just not good enough in the back line, and defensive midfield, as well as THEO! Right back is OK but obviously deficient athletically. And still….Calabria played 100X better than Theo today. Theo has to embrace defending!
And either Reinjders or Krunic have to sit for Adli to start, assuming Musah is 100%, though he needs rest I think, himself.
But pressuring Pioli right now, 3pts. out of 1st, is foolish! And his 1st half tactics were working!
Only bad play from Reinjders in shooting/not passing, Leao (struggling everywhere ATM), and Theo being a ghost, cost us a 3rd goal, and probably 2 more points!
If we can make it until January 5pts. or so off the top, we have a chance to get another mid and fullback, and then we might get to see more goals.
We cannot play 2 strikers, like Okafor/Jovic + Giroud, because we cannot afford to give up a defender.
We should get Marcos Alonso from Barca on loan in Jan., till end of season! He isn’t playing for them, and he can defend well enough for the league, and would be affordable! And his set piece goals might offer something new too. We need 2 fullbacks who can actually defend in our own box, and help out the center backs, PLUS a good, physical, center back. Then, we could play more attacking players that we already have, move Pulisic into the Messi role in center.
Wrong substitution cause us the Game. Romero has no business coming, he was too small in size and couldn’t Mark. I would have expected Adli and musah move to the right. Jovic is a waste. Giroud should have been left on the pitch.
Perhaps when they’re both healthy, Pioli could start Pulisic on his favored LW, Chuk on the RW, and remind Leao that for all his talent, if he’s going to stroll around the pitch and refuse to track back, there are other talented wingers who can replace him.
As a final note, at this level, if Pulisic was injured, Leao wasn’t helping AT ALL, defensively, and we had a 2-0 lead, we should have reverted to a 4-4-2, pushed Leao up and brought on another MF (Adli?) to see out the match. Romero was beyond useless, and seemed only to be on because Pioli HAD to stay married to his 4-3-3.
Romero should be playing in Seria B. Pioli bring on Romero, sub Giroud for jovic shows the height of clueless tactics he displays. He has no tactical adjustment in a game, he’s only eager to make 5 changes before 85th minutes.
Tbh Milan needs to part ways with pioli, whatever good he does from now on should be out of luck not that he merited it from tactical point of view.
Reijnders a liabilty? Not better than Tonali? Already? Geez I thought you revolving door fans would give him at least until June.
Fact is when Kalulu came off for Pellegrino, that was the turning point. Sure it was baptism in fire for him but that kid is nowhere near ready. Remember a kid named Gabbia? Yeah, we traded him and wasted few bucks on Pellegrino.
However, Musah won my heart this match. He has an engine allright. I hope he can be moulded into Kessie/Kante hybrid.
Musah has been doing this for a month. IMHO he is the best transfer of the summer, maybe only Pulisic being better. Don’t understand the criticism of Reijnders vis a vis Tonali, since they’re not even the same type of player. The only criticism of Reijnders can be that he hasn’t scored yet. That will come.
Lol 😂😂😂 already indeed. I thought he was the next coming of Seedorf? Where are those people? ,😂😂😂
I believe Leao needs to start the next match from the bench as he’s pretty useless and lazy nowadays , Adli is better in midfield than Krunic and I don’t understand why Pioli prefers him on the bench , can’t wait to see Musah with bennacer in our midfield .
I think the management should start talking with De Zerbi now for next summer.
I don’t see that milan should continue with Pioli mext season.
De Zerbi managed Sassuolo few years back and he was quite successful promoting and developing young players.
He manages Brighton now,not such rich club and just lost many important players, and seat currently 7, which is pretty impressive.
De Zerbi is out of reach. The time to get him was before Brighton. He’s going to be waiting for one of the big prem jobs to open. The way it’s going with Newcastle, United and Chelsea, he might not have long to wait. My money is on United. Heck, I can even see him taking over from Ancelotti when he leaves Madrid next summer.
Pioli Out.
Absolutely superb performance from my man Olivier Giroud, but that does not surprise me ,,as if he is given service he will score goals …
The first half we did ok ,,,and perhaps should have lead the game 3 – 0 ,,,but the second half not good at all ,,,so many mistakes made ..pulisic another huge plus and provided a lovely cross in which Giroud scored one of his goals ,..yes Giroud realy do do well and chased everyone,,,he was in a pretty determined mood ..I really thought he was going to get a deserved hat trick …I just don’t understand why pulisic was taken off ..I definitely feel we would have won if he had stayed on the pitch ..just hope if it’s an injury that it is a minor one .. Yes I do understand Olivier and the frustration that he was taken off ,,,but I do trust in pioli and it’s probably to save him as he did seem to be limping a little bit …so yes I wanted him to stay on , but managers do often know what they are doing !
Also Rafeol leao who had a poor game in my opinion ,but again wished he had stayed on ,as he can create something in just a few moments ..
So I do like pulisic / leao / Giroud combination as you all well know …I think what we we really need is a midfielder who can pass a ball well ,and definitely score a few goals …yes we do have that man ,,Loftus cheek ,but sadly he is injured yet again .
That all said I really do still believe we will win the scuddeto this season .
Hahahahah….
How i love kvara to score on the last kick of the game. A goal that will do the revolution..
We still have that chance, no rush or whatsoever.
A draw with udinese, followed by home defeat to mbappe&co. should be enough to save the future
I thought it was just me…and there was something about Leao and Hernandez that I wasn’t seeing. They would never survive in the Premier League. They can’t string a group a passes together and they lose the ball about 70% of the time. The right side IS so much better. So what’s the deal with the left side…is someone scared to bench them? I guess there must be no one else.
They were combining very well not too long ago. Something happened in them two. Their drop in form is somewhat alarming.
Leao playing like he has let a bad woman into his life
Everyone bashing Krunic like it was a different match than what I saw. In reality him and Calabria owns Napoli for whatever reason. What exactly did he do wrong? He pressed high, intercepted balls and fed attackers 🤷♂️ if there was ever a moment to see what exactly he does look at 27-30mins and also 39min mark for positioning and timing opponents runs, calling off players and also bailing out Theo and Reinjders in the process (which he did throughout the game but never would get credited). Alot of the hate is unwarranted. This isn’t taking anything away from Adli but there’s no real problems with having a tactical mid as your 6. It’s probably preferred that you do. Barca has done it now for two footballing generations (Guardiola as the 6 and then Busquets) with incredible success. Too often people think aggression and fancy passing are the best things to do but often it’s the simplicity that allows the system (especially a 433) to function properly. You don’t need to run around like a crazy person or force the action to get off passes. If you’ve watched how Busquets (and Guardiola as a player) play in that role, he’s not exactly the pillar of strength and pace, but he does make effective movements to get his mezzalas in the right place to receive passes for the offense and makes movements to prevent attacks and interceptions. That being said, I’ve never seen someone progress a ball like Adli in this role BUT at the expense is leaving gaps. This is probably where Pioli’s choice boils down to. And he chooses the more tactical option.
Milan was good against Napoli last night, And also are doing good this season with 4-3-3 attacking system, but I dont understand Pioli how can he play with same tactical against PSG or Inter 4-3-3 attack, he connected 8 goals (5 Inter) (3 PSG) and he score only 1 goal. The problem with Pioli is he must have the plan B when he plays against big squads. I am pretty sure it would be better if he plays 4-4-2 attack agains big squads.
Messi cemented his place as arguably the greatest of all time when Argentina won the World Cup in Qatar in December 2022, with Messi putting in several Man of the Match performances throughout the competition.