AC Milan 1-1 Salernitana: Five things we learned – mentality doubts; forwards go missing | OneFootball

Following the superb defensive performance against Spurs, AC Milan failed to keep Salernitana at bay and dropped points against them in a 1-1 draw on Monday night.

After the resilient display in the Champions League the expectations were that Milan would not have trouble grabbing all three points against 16th-placed Salernitana at San Siro, especially after rivals for the top four dropped crucial points during the weekend.

However, Milan were lacklustre all night and were lucky to not concede in the first half with Malick Thiaw not having the best of nights, but Mike Maignan bailed him out with a tackle on Boulaye Dia before Olivier Giroud headed in a corner just before half-time.

In the second half, the Rossoneri did not seem in control despite the goal advantage and in the 61st minute Salernitana managed to get back on level terms as Dia got between Kalulu and Thiaw at the near post to fire in his ninth goal of the season. Here are five things we learned…

1. Unexpected flop

Malick Thiaw burst into the starting line-up in the 1-0 win over Torino and has done a great job in the three-man defence, but he was really not up to his usual high level against Salernitana.

The German U21 captain committed a couple of mistakes leading to chances for the away side and he has Maignan to thank that only one of them actually got into the back of the net. It must be said that Tomori was not on the scene at all for the equaliser and Kalulu went wide, leaving Thiaw alone to defend a cross.

The worrying thing for Thiaw is that he wasn’t at his best against Fiorentina either, although he played a much better game overall, so he needs to be more focus as we’ve seen that he can be at a very top level in the game against Spurs.

2. Speaking of flops…

Thiaw’s poor performance was not the worst among the Milan players as the crown for that goes to Rafael Leao, who has a pretty dismal three quarters of the game before being brought off.

His decision making was very poor and he could barely complete a pass against an opponent that haven’t been particularly great throughout the season. These are the games where Leao needs to show he is worth the salary quintupling that he is asking for.

The 23-year-old has really been struggling since the turn of the year and it’s more than obvious that Milan are not the same when he’s not at his best so Pioli will have to work hard with Leao to turn things around going into the final months of the season.

3. Missing in action

Brahim Diaz played a really useful game against Spurs and got the nod over Charles De Ketelaere, yet failed to impress against Salernitana.

However, this was to be expected since most of the games where Brahim shines are against sides that actually press higher which he can then use to his advantage and beat his man and escape the press, sitting between the opposition defence and midfield.

His strength has never been against sides that sit back in a compact block and we saw how De Ketelaere used his physicality to beat his man on a few occasions, which is probably something that Pioli should have tried to use sooner.

4. Continuing to disappoint

Divock Origi came on in place of Leao in the second half, yet he too was again more of a liability for his team as he failed to make any impact on the game except the chance where he came close to scoring with his chest.

Even on that occasion though the ball seemed to hit him not the other way around, and there have to be question marks about what he can actually offer when he can’t score from two or three yards out.

Excluding that, Origi tried to get on the ball and take on his man, but failed every time and he just seems to be trying too hard to make something happen instead of keeping it simple and helping his team-mates.

5. All in the head

Pioli seemingly turned things around with the formation change in early February, but after a nice run of form his team has again failed to win back-to-back games in Serie A which begs the question about the team’s mentality and why are they not able to play at a high level for more than a game at a time.

Everyone seems more than focused and motivated when it comes to the Champions League, yet the same energy seems missing in Serie A and the reality is that if the Rossoneri keep on dropping points against side in the bottom half of the table there might not be a Champions League night next season.

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