2 days ago
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AC Milan bowed out of the Coppa Italia at the last-16 stage, losing 1-0 against Lazio on a night full of regrets in the capital.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport write, on paper losing by one goal to Lazio away from home is not a disagrace, but Milan were lulled into a deadlocked game and had to ask for another couple of super saves from Mike Maignan to stay in it.
Above all, they didn’t find a single bit of quality from those they would have hoped to rely on. Lazio know how to defend, and we know that’s their strength, but there are regrets for the Rossoneri. Four of them, in fact.
Missing grinta
Frankly, the collective is more striking than the individuals. Milan played for 80 minutes in first gear without any fire in their eyes. When Lazio scored, the spirit changed, and towards the end, Milan at least tried.
They unleashed themselves at the start of the second half, and then towards the end they threw a bit of chaos into the blender with a more direct approach. If they had done it earlier, if they had taken more risks, perhaps something would have happened.
Failed forwards
If anyone really needs to be put on trial, it’s two forwards above all. Rafael Leao was rarely seen apart from when he gave the ball away. Then, when a nice cut-back found him open inside the box, he sent it over the bar. Minutes later, Lazio got the decisive goal.
Christopher Nkunku was seen very little in the half an hour he got: he never had a shot, made four passes and had six touches. He was a ‘ghost dressed in yellow’. Paradoxically, the most dangerous Ruben Loftus-Cheek, raising more questions about the No.9 spot.
Moments
Allegri often puts a lot of emphasis on winning the key moments. Milan in Rome wasn’t his team. They was distracted for the goal that ended up deciding the game, first conceding a corner, then losing Zaccagni inside the box which Max was frustrated about.
Milan created few scoring opportunities and, when they had them, they didn’t capitalise on them. They was never dangerous from the corners. It’s difficult to turn such a stalemated game in your favour without getting an edge somehow.
Pillars disappoint
The sub-par performance of some starters didn’t help. Alexis Saelemaekers didn’t hurt Lazio, and was replaced early. This is understandable, amidst a season of great consistency levels. Adrien Rabiot crossed a beautiful ball to Loftus-Cheek but was less effective than usual, perhaps due to fitness.
Leao didn’t make an impact, and only Maignan did anything special. The problem now, paradoxically, lies in the alternatives: with one game a week, the same players will always be playing. Nkunku, Loftus-Cheek, Gimenez and Ricci, not to mention Odogu, risk being left frozen on the bench.
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