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Three consecutive wins, second place, and a very encouraging performance against Udinese. AC Milan’s improvement is there for everyone to see and as highlighted by a report, the transformation is significant.
As stated by Gazzetta dello Sport this morning, Milan have sent a huge signal to their rivals. After the narrow results and wins, the third consecutive win conveyed a sense of dominance: more chances, a proactive attitude without fear, no obvious threats, mixed positioning, and refined technique.
Furthermore, it’s not just the win that brings light to the Rossoneri, but also the awareness that their new direction already has a well-defined depth. Milan have changed their leader and their character, absorbing much of Allegri’s energy, and it’s paying off.
Individual dominance
Aside from Gimenez, who’s still looking for his first goal this season, the player ratings are very high for the entire team. Pulisic scores a brace and sets up the other goal; Saelemaekers is unstoppable when he sets off; Estupinan offered great support on the overlap and so on.
However, it was the midfield that dominated the match with intelligence, quality, and cohesion. In terms of technique, variety of options, and experience, Milan have one of the best midfields in Serie A.
Modric manages possession and timing with proven reasoning, displays silky touches, and is always in the thick of things. Rabiot’s movement is interesting: he starts on the left and when the move begins on the opposite flank, cuts toward the centre, waiting for his teammates to find him.
Fofana also made a splash, scoring his first goal of the season, and showing no inferiority complex when compared to his sophisticated midfield colleagues.
Pulisic at the helm
Milan found themselves in the opposite situation to the match against Bologna: they always had possession and, with all the options described, always attempted to break through Udinese’s double wall.
While they had to wait for the goal a little, it could have come earlier as Gimenez was more or less through on goal. However, when the attacker’s ruthlessness was needed, he fired it straight at the goalkeeper.
Then, with a few minutes to go in the first half, Milan made the most of two mistakes (Ehizibue’s misplaced clearance and Kristensen’s near-own goal). Pulisic found the back of the net, and the same move was initiated by him, with the help of Estupinan.
He was also the protagonist of the second goal, stealing the ball from Karlstrom (and drawing a penalty), which Fofana capitalised on and scored. As if that wasn’t enough, the American then bagged the third goal with a quick but smart finish.
The entire sequence for the third goal, which began in Milan’s own penalty area, is worth framing as several players were involved. In short, it was a quick counter-attack with all the right decisions.
Udinese brought back to earth
Udinese, who had crushed Inter, could have moved to the top of the standings with a win, at least for one night. However, they were left with nothing after not just poor results, but also a poor performance truth be told.
Runjaic modified his tactical plan to avoid the defeat he suffered last April here against the Rossoneri (4-0), but he came close to the same outcome even though he switched from a 3-5-2 to a 4-4-2.
In defence, Milan’s captain Gabbia was in command and Terracciano, Maignan’s replacement, had no trouble ensuring the team’s third clean sheet. Sunday next week will offer us Milan-Napoli and Allegri is electric: he can’t wait, and he will be back in the dugout.
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