8 hours ago
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AC Milan’s draw against Fiorentina suggests signs of life for the attacking department, one which had become too reliant on two players.
La Gazzetta dello Sport recall how Christian Pulisic squandered three chances he usually scores and Rafael Leao was anonymous after coming on. Yet, Milan created three scoring opportunities through Niclas Füllkrug and equalised through Christopher Nkunku.
The latter is someone who has been criticised a lot after he arrived in the summer, while the former was signed in January and didn’t exactly generate unanimous excitement. It’s too early to draw any conclusions, but there’s a sign.
Spread threat
Füllkrug and Nkunku did the simple things well. The German set Pulisic up three times, opening up the old centre-forward’s playbook: he shielded the ball with his back to the goal, returned a one-two, and got the American in behind.
Nkunku, on the other hand, turned the game around with a simple execution: a dart into the box and a first-time right-footed shot in at the near post. No flourishes, no feints or dribbling, just the pure art of instinct.
The big question now is who will play in Como and against Lecce. For the second consecutive game, Allegri finished the match with three forwards at once: Leao, Pulisic and Nkunku coexisted in the final quarter of an hour, honestly producing little beyond the goal.
It’s very difficult to imagine seeing this hyper-attacking formation at the start of the match. Allegri will continue with two strikers but will have more doubts about his choice.
Allegri was leaving the conference room and Nkunku was stood in the doorway. When they meet, Max comments: “Oh, thank goodness you scored.” And he cracks a smile, typical of his style. Could it be that he is convinced?
English (US) ·