Tijjani Reijnders and Youssouf Fofana were previously undroppable for AC Milan, but a report has outlined how they ‘are no longer themselves’.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport reports, Paulo Fonseca’s Milan was supported by its two midfielders and they played together every four days. They were always among the best players, showing consistency despite playing so often.
In February they are not the same. Reijnders has not scored in five games and seems less involved offensively, as Joao Felix occupied his spaces of choice. Fofana always seems tired and in the most important match of the month – Milan-Feyenoord on Tuesday – he even ended up on the bench.
The Reijnders puzzle
Under Sergio Conceiçao, Reijnders has stopped playing as an attacking midfielder and it is no coincidence that since Joao Felix has been there he has been less involved in an attacking sense.
The comparison of touches per area, shown below, says that there is a difference in the way he is playing. It is not huge, but there it is noticeable and shows he is now getting on the ball in a deeper position.
Reijnders under Fonseca scored five goals in the league, three in the Champions League and one in the Coppa Italia. With Conceiçao, visually, he does not give the same impression and it is logical because of his role.
However, there are some encouraging numbers too. Reijnders under Conceiçao produces an average of 0.23 xG per game, up from the 0.17 he had with Fonseca. Of course, he has been struggling lately: 0.04 vs. Feyenoord at San Siro, 0.03 vs. Verona, 0.01 vs. Empoli and 0.04 vs. Roma.
Against Feyenoord in Holland and in the derby, on the other hand, he had good or excellent numbers: 0.23 and 0.72. This is certainly a curiosity because Reijnders had a very high figure (0.66) also against Inter in Riyadh. It might be that he is a derby player.
Tijjani also has good numbers for interceptions: under Fonseca he recovered 2.05 per game, with Conceiçao it rose to 3 with peaks in Feyenoord-Milan and Milan-Inter, evidently his best recent games.
Fofana’s fluctuations
Conceiçao benched Fofana against Feyenoord on Tuesday night. The reason? He seems tired, and here we need physical data that only Milan possesses.
The field data can help to understand what Conceiçao asks compared to Fonseca. Fofana under the old coach was almost a deep-lying playmaker: on average he completed 42 passes per game and created 0.75 chances. The vertical connection with Reijnders was a puzzle for many.
With Conceiçao, it’s different: the passes have dropped to 30, the chances created to 0.4. There is a clear reason: Conceiçao’s style is less possession-based and the attacks have to be quick rather than slower build-up.
Fofana has probably been the best summer signing, and it is worth asking how much of him is lost in a system with five players more attacking than him, six including Theo. The Frenchman is obliged to protect the defence first and foremost, leaving him less involved in possession.
