Milan’s defence had a terrible night in yesterday’s 2-2 draw with Salernitana, a result that could prove the difference maker in the title race this season.
The Rossoneri took an early lead thanks to Junior Messias, but a Federico Bonazzoli equaliser later in the half raised the tension a little. The Campania side then took the lead in the second half, but Ante Rebic scrapped an equaliser to secure at least a point for the Rossoneri.
Pioli did not do well enough to prepare for the match, with La Gazzetta dello Sport calling them a “team depleted and light”, whilst Corriere della Sera noted that “this time the team has abandoned him.” These two dropped points could see Milan miss out on the Scudetto, should the title race remain neck and neck.
Tomori made too many mistakes in yesterday’s 2-2 draw, with La Gazzetta dello Sport highlighting that “usually attackers crash into him, this time where there is Fik there is a goal.” Corriere dello Sport called it “a bad night” and Tuttosport noted that he made “a crucial mistake.” The Englishman has only recently returned from a meniscal injury.
Maignan also had a bad night yesterday, with La Gazzetta dello Sport describing him as “unrecognisable” as he “fumbled even with his feet.” Corriere dello Sport were less harsh, noting that last night was the “first mistake this season”, a similar sentiment shared by Tuttosport, who said that the game was “his real, first clamorous blunder since arriving at Milan.”
Pioli’s ratings in the Italian newspapers:
La Gazzetta dello Sport: 5
Corriere della Sera: 5.5
Corriere dello Sport: 5
Tuttosport: 5.5
Tomori’s ratings in the Italian newspapers:
La Gazzetta dello Sport: 5
Corriere della Sera: 5
Corriere dello Sport: 4
Tuttosport: 5
Maignan’s ratings in the Italian newspapers:
La Gazzetta dello Sport: 4
Corriere della Sera: 5
Corriere dello Sport: 4
Tuttosport: 4
It was a bad night and it was by fortune of Rebic’s tenacity Milan came away with a point.
Lessons learned.
Tomori is coming back from an injury and it will take time for him to get back to his best. As for Maignan it is okay as Donnarumma, Szczesny and even Alisson have made howlers. He will learn but I am afraid Milan are not learning how to bury these type of teams. Is better to lose or draw against your rivals, but going to the smaller teams and winning is where the league is won and lost.
I still can’t understand how consistent performers across the season such as Maignan, Tomori and Tonali could ALL have a bad game SIMULTANEOUSLY !!
The likes of Diaz or Saelemaekers I understand and even expect, but these guys ..l
Yes there were individual problems like Maignan’s poor decision making, but if the team overall played badly then surely it’s either Pioli’s tactics were wrong, or Juric’s tactics were right, in that they managed to prevent us from playing well. Another possibility is poor overall mentality, maybe the players weren’t psyched up for the game, thinking it would be easy etc, and so weren’t focused enough. This is hardly the first time we have a shocking performance against a bottom side, so I would like to think the reasons might be known by now.
I felt the whole team seemed to have a lacklustre approach. Hard for a defence to remain stable with all that chaos in front of them. Maignan has, imo, been over praised so far this year and always looks to have a mistake in him but him and Tomori were put in a position to make those errors by poor midfield play in front of them. Hard to see this Milan having what it takes to win the scudetto but then nobody else is really any better, gonna be the worst team to win the league since I have been watching it in 1990. Could be an exciting title race though!
@Michael
Agree with you, the team’s attitude was the root cause! Didn’t look like a tactical problem to me.
you are getting Juric and NIcola mixed up though.
Magic Mike !