Santiago Gimenez’s start at AC Milan could hardly have gone better, however the goals have dried up for him in the past month.
As Corriere dello Sport reports this morning, that goal after 37 seconds from Gimenez had given Milan hope against Feyenoord when he tapped in from close range to level the tie, after Malick Thiaw headed a corner back across goal.
Then everything went wrong, the story changed dramatically and Milan was deeply affected. From those 37 seconds onwards there was a succession of disappointments and disasters, only marginally calmed by the incredible victory against Lecce.
From those 37 seconds onwards, Gimenez also stopped, and with him practically all of Milan did too. The Mexican’s last goal dates back to that disappointing Champions League night and when the Rossoneri face Como on Saturday, almost a month will have passed.
It is too long for someone who is used to always and only scoring goals, but this is the period that Sergio Conceiçao’s team are in and everyone is feeling the effects, including ‘El Bebote’. The aim, as in every game, is to get back to scoring quickly, also trying to overcome the bad luck from recent games.
Gimenez has had plenty of chances since February 18th, but for one reason or another his personal tally hasn’t improved. Against Torino, he faced an inspired Vanja Milinkovic-Savic who denied him when he went through.
Against Bologna – just before the assist for Rafael Leão – Yunus Musah didn’t serve him with the right precision to immediately fire at Skorupski. Against Lecce, in addition to the goal disallowed by VAR for a tight offside, Falcone saved his back heel from close range. He also hit the post.
The good news is that the chances are still coming and that he is getting in dangerous areas. From the point of view of effectiveness in the penalty area there are few doubts, and he will continue to adjust to his new team-mates too.
Conceiçao is also aware of this: “Santiago is working. He arrived in a league that is not easy at all: Italy is very different from Holland. There is always a period of adaptation, it is absolutely normal.
“I have seen many players who have arrived in Italy, look at Retegui, and they struggled initially. It is not easy to arrive in Italy and immediately score 15-20 goals.”
There are some areas to work on, such as hold-up play and making the kinds of movements that help the players on the wings (plus the attacking midfielder), but there is no lack of time and desire.
Those close to him speak of a boy very focused on the idea of always wanting to score goals, perhaps starting on Saturday against Como.
