AC Milan have had a disaster of a month where they dropped out of the Champions League and the top four race, and it seemed that dire run was going to continue on Saturday.
Now, the goal should be the Europa League at the very least and the first obstacle was Lecce, who have been struggling too, as of late. For this reason, the game was a perfect opportunity for Milan to get back to winning ways.
The game got off to a great start, as Santiago Gimenez scored in the first minute of the game, but unfortunately for Sergio Conceicao’s side, that goal was ruled offside and to add to frustrations, Lecce scored six minutes later to open the scoring.
The Rossoneri then had yet another goal disallowed because of another slim offside and eventually they fell two behind with Krstovic scoring his second in the 59th minute.
Things were looking bad for Conceicao and his men, who didn’t have the worst game, truth be told, and eventually they got a goal back in the 68th minute through an own goal.
Then in the 73rd minute, Christian Pulisic converted the penalty he won to level it, bringing an even bigger spark to Milan’s game and in the 81st minute, the comeback was complete as the American scored his second of the game.
A win that resembled the mentality of Conceicao’s Milan in the first few games, something that has been lacking in recent weeks, but those signs are finally back and the Portuguese can breathe for now, as his job is still safe after that performance.
Here are five things we learned:
1. Trio disappoint at the back
Milan continue to struggle at the back and Conceicao just can’t seem to find the answer.
Kyle Walker, Matteo Gabbia and Malick Thiaw were just not on the needed level, and with both of Lecce’s goals coming directly from big errors, it’s fair to say that the trio just failed to control the opponent’s attack.
Walker was decent enough but he lost a couple of 1v1s and was poor going forward. Then, Thiaw and Gabbia were not that bad either. However, a few bad clearances in situations resulted in dangerous chances for Lecce with the duo not up for the challenge on the night.
It’s also fair to say that the Italian was unlucky with the disallowed goal but ultimately he had to do better at the back.
2. Finally a positive performance from Theo
Theo Hernandez was very unlucky not to pick up two assists as both goals were disallowed, and truth be told, Gimenez disappointed a bit as he had to position himself better whilst Gabbia was just unlucky.
At the back he could’ve been a bit better, but overall he did his part and it’s really an improvement given his drop. Unfortunately, though, that is settling for a product which is inferior to its former self.
3. Midfielders struggle a lot
It’s fair to say that despite all the attempts of the management to strengthen the team both in the summer and in January, they failed to add the needed quality in the midfield, which was probably the most important area to improve.
Youssouf Fofana and Yunus Musah have simply not been good enough, whilst Reijnders has had some great moments and some very underwhelming ones, like the game against Lecce. It is worth noting that he’s played so many minutes, so one could argue fatigue plays a part in this.
Regardless, against Lecce, the Rossoneri failed to control the game and Bondo didn’t impress on his debut either, although we have to say that he did grow into the game and showed some good qualities.
The Frenchman is still just 21 years of age and having just gotten his debut, we will cut him so slack.
4. Pulisic back with a bang
The American has struggled, similarly to his teammates in recent months, but against Lecce he came in clutch once again. He was involved in most of the dangerous situations, including the first disallowed goal.
Then, in the second half, he won the penalty and converted it to bring the game level and topped that off with some good movement in the box resulting in him grabbing his brace and scoring what was ultimately the winner.
It’s great to see Pulisic having fun on the pitch and he was back to being decisive against Lecce. Hopefully he can find the consistency now, as he did earlier this season.
5. Good subs by Conceicao
The Rossoneri weren’t horrible, but, unfortunately, they were down 2 goals at half time and Conceicao was quick to react bringing on Rafael Leao for the struggling Alex Jimenez whilst only bringing on Joao Felix and Tammy Abraham around the hour back in an attempt to energise his side.
Thankfully, that seemed to work just fine with Leao forcing the own goal to bring some hope to his team and then providing the winning assist to Pulisic. Truth be told, the Portuguese was not brilliant, but he was efficient enough with his crosses to help his side pick up two goals, which is more than enough.
Abraham also did well as he was involved in the first two goals and bringing energy to the pitch, whilst Felix also did well and brought quality to the midfield given Reijnders’s struggles.
