GdS: Milan’s attack is a ‘big problem’ – why the department is not working

Davide Bartesaghi stole the headlines for his brace against Sassuolo, but the game once again highlighted the shortcomings in Milan’s attack.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport report, Bartesaghi’s afternoon was and will remain a beautiful story. Stepping outside of his personal fairytale for a moment, the scoreline of this match inevitably raises unpleasant questions and reflections about Milan’s squad.

The 19-year-old left-back won’t always be there to save the Rossoneri with two goals. The fundamental problem is that this Milan squad – given the way the league is evolving – needs to resolve issues if they are to compete for the Scudetto.

Missing in action

The attack is missing, and it’s probably not just a matter of numbers. Sure, it’s only been a few days since Pulisic’s fireworks display against Torino , but Captain America – who has a stratospheric goal-per-game average in Europe – can’t always be there to don the superhero cape.

A true striker like Olivier Giroud is missing. Allegri continues to navigate the top end of the league, is forced to invent something new every time, without being able to count on a consolidated attacking structure.

For example, Pulisic and Leao – who should be the starting attacking duo – have only played 135 minutes together. Christopher Nkunku is starting to show some very timid signs of improvement – and rightly so, considering it’s Christmas – but remains without a league goal.

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

And then there’s Santiago Gimenez, dealing with the great mystery of his ankle injury, also without a Serie A goal. Allegri also added in the press conference that ‘the club ares keeping a close eye on the transfer market’ and it’s easy to imagine he’s not averse to the idea of ​​a reinforcement up front.

The names that have been circulating most in recent days are Joshua Zirkzee and Niclas Fullkrug, two very different centre-forwards in terms of their characteristics, but who would nonetheless offer the coach something extra.

Ultimately, the goal is to avoid having to deploy Ruben Loftus-Cheek again to support the striker due to a lack of alternatives. Of course, Bartesaghi-style magic is welcome, but the important thing is that it doesn’t become a necessity just to get a draw.