STEFANO PIOLI (photo by Lapresse)
Milan crisis, (also) Pioli in confusion
The sad photograph of this crisis of the Devil is all in the people of Milan not furious, but resigned. Never seen in the last 30 years (and more) a derby in which the Rossoneri supporters approached the match with the feeling that it would inevitably end badly. The paradox is that Inter’s 1-0 (goal from Lautaro Martinez, seventh center for Toro in the derby games) is almost taken as an ‘acceptable’ result after the recent strikes (humiliating 2-5 against Sassuolo, 4-0 against Lazio, 3-0 against Inter in the Super Cup).
Stefano Pioli (also) ends up in the dock. The coach of a wonderful scudetto won by Milan just a few months ago (the result of a two-and-a-half-year long ride of top marks), the coach of the “Pegs on fire” 70 thousand sang at the stadium (creepy after the 2-0 win against Atalanta, seven days before the Rossoneri Scudetto) and in discos (when Freed from desire started from which the chorus was born, displacing even Bob Sinclair in the early days), has now become “Pioli in confusion”. Not today, but a few weeks ago.
Pioli’s Milan cornered by Inzaghi’s Inter
And the derby perso con l’Inter led to other choices that ended up on trial. True, Pioli has tried to invent something to bring the team out of the state of crisis in which it ended up, but some doubts remain. The general picture of the match tells of a first half as a gift, with the Devil trying to play against the mirror Simone Inzaghi’s team and ends up like those boxers who go for cover in the corner taking, hooks and jabs to the chin until they capitulate. The second half was a little better, even if the team gave little away in terms of quality and built up one and a half goals (to be generous): a tiro in Brahim Diaz and theassisted by Leao to Giroud that this time he ‘turns’ on the wrong side (the Frenchman misses the stop, losing the fleeting moment in the penalty area and can’t even finish).
Milan, the benches of Leao and the ugly derby of Origi
Raphael Leo for the second time on the bench. Sure, the Portuguese isn’t going through the best moment of his season, but he remains one of the few players in the Milan squad who can make the difference, leap over the man, light a spark. If Ante Rebic had been chosen against Sassuolo (negative performance of the Croatian) starting owner, with Inter Pioli bet on Divock Origi alongside Giroud. The result? Fifty-five minutes of nothing from the Belgian ex Liverpool, while at least a couple of ideas Leao gave them in the 35 minutes in which he played.
Milan-Pioli, the 3-5-2 and Messias midfielder in the derby with Inter
Il 3-5-2? It could have been an option to engage in battle in the middle of the field against theInterma Messiah midfielder, re-proposed in a role that is not exactly his (even if it was proposed to Crotone in that area of the pitch)? He would no longer have made sense to deploy Escape/Vranckx (or maybe both alongside Tone them?)
It’s still
– Calabria between the 5 in midfield, full range? The captain played a derby of heart and suffering, but in that role at that point did it no longer make sense to bet on a good player like Saelemaekers (the Belgian actually came on in the 55th minute)?
– Cage starter in defense at 3 e Thiaw still out? Moreover, the 21-year-old German entered the last twenty minutes and did absolutely no harm.
Milan, Pioli and the management of De Ketelaere-Adli
Said of The Ketelaerereleased at the end of the first half against Sassuolo (not very well, but others had done worse) and never returned (benched in a derby that saw the former Bruges non-paying spectator even when in the second half Pegs tried to insert fresh forces to change the match), a final reflection that goes beyond this Inter-Milan: why Yacine Adli never play? The Frenchman has above average technical qualities and knows how to give the ball like no other. He is a player of undoubted quality: he was seen when he played with Bordeaux and some flashes also showed it in the friendlies with Milan. Yet 114 minutes were spent throughout the season (summed up in 4 segments of the game: the record is 60 minutes in Verona). Is it possible that in such a long and full season of matches, moreover in a team that in 2023 is struggling and needs ideas, the French playmaker (playmaker, but are we sure he can’t play on the right or as a midfielder?) couldn’t he deserve a few more chances, a minimum of trust and continuity of employment to show off his talents?
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