AC Milan returned to Serie A action, and they did so in old style. Underwhelming, underperforming, unchanged.
This summer, Milan have been very busy. In fact, stating that there has been a reset would be completely fair. However, there has not been a reset on the pitch. Saturday’s game has been seen all too many times before.
As Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes, there is ‘no point’ really getting too worried after the first game. Nevertheless, the squad have to do some soul searching, Massimiliano Allegri must ask himself questions.
Gimenez’s horror
Leading the line, there was no clarity. Instead, it was two points of confusion, both struggling to find symbiosis. In fact, Gazzetta deem Santiago Gimenez’s situation ‘incomprehensible’, with him not being able to get ‘anything’ right.
A new striker is needed, as the Mexican does not look like the €30 million man bought earlier this year. His entire game said as much, as did the mistake leading to the second goal, a night to forget.
Modric’s effort
Everything in the midfield did not come from new young blood. Instead, it came from the 40-year-old Luka Modric, who ‘tried everything’. Already, the Rossoneri are at his mercy, and he will be a big player from this first game.
The midfield did not have any balance, and in a win, maybe that helps. However, it showed no signs of positivity on Saturday. In the future, Ardon Jashari and/or Samuele Ricci are needed in the midfield to provide a bit of balance.
Moving forward
So, where do we go from here, questions the paper. Well, it starts with another striker, as well as a central defender. Both areas lacked much positivity last night, and reinforcements are needed to help strengthen.
‘Everything’ was missing at San Siro, and the boos at full-time made everyone aware of that, if they didn’t know already.