AC MILAN v CAGLIARI: OPPONENT REVIEW | OneFootball

After drawing with Genoa at home in their last league outing, AC Milan will be looking to return to winning ways when they face Cagliari at San Siro on matchday 36 in Serie A. Despite the fact that 38 points separate the two sides, the upcoming Saturday showdown will certainly not be an easy task for the Diavolo. After seven consecutive wins in all competitions, the Rossoneri have since failed to record a victory in any of their last six matches across Serie A and the Europa League (D3, L3). Furthermore, Coach Pioli’s men have conceded five goals in their last two home fixtures in the Italian top flight (three against Genoa, two against Inter), as many as in their previous ten encounters. The Rossoneri haven’t shipped 2+ goals in three consecutive matches at San Siro since January 2021 (when they did so against Parma, Lazio and Juventus).

Cagliari, meanwhile, are fighting to avoid the drop and currently sit just three points ahead of third-from-bottom Udinese. The Sardinians have lost just one of their last six Serie A fixtures (W1, D4) and picked up seven points in this period, two fewer than the Rossoneri (nine - W2, D3, L1). However, the Rossoblù continue to struggle on the road. In fact, they’ve won just one of their last 22 away fixtures in the Italian top flight, with seven draws and 14 defeats completing the picture since March 2022. In the same period, only Frosinone (zero in 18 matches) and Venezia (zero in six games) have recorded fewer victories on the road.

QUICK BALLS FORWARD, COUNTERS AND CROSSES: THE KEYS TO INTERPRETING RANIERI’S SIDE But how could the Rossoblù cause the Rossoneri backline problems? This season, Cagliari have often wasted no time in trying to attack in behind, with Ranieri’s men looking to recover possession in the opposition half of the pitch as quickly as possible. In fact, together with AC Milan (76), Inter (65) and Sassuolo (61), Cagliari (59, the same as Atalanta) are one of the top five teams in terms of number of direct attacks in Serie A this season. Furthermore, thanks to their ability to break quickly, Cagliari have had an effort at goal following a counter-attack on 24 occasions this season. Only Inter (26) have done better in this regard.

Looking at the numbers, it’s also obvious that the Sardinians like to make use of the flanks in order to take advantage of the aerial threat of their strikers. This season, the Rossoblù (134) have produced the third-most crosses across the division (after Inter with 137 and Atalanta with 135) and are one of the two sides (90, the same as Genoa) to have had the second-most headed efforts at goal (behind Juventus with 91). Furthermore, it’s clear that Ranieri’s side never give up: they’ve won 17 points from losing positions in the final 30 minutes of play this campaign, more than any other team in Serie A.

THE PACE OF LUVUMBO AND LAPADULA Although the Rossoblù have shared the goals around this league campaign (16 different scorers, only one less than Fiorentina, who lead this stat with 17), the Sardinians' "luck" in front of goal mainly falls to two players: forwards, Zito Luvumbo and Gianluca Lapadula. The Angolan has the most goal involvements this season for Cagliari (nine: four goals and five assists); he has touched the most balls in the opponent's area (123) and got off the most shots, both the total number (44) and on target (13). Furthermore, after the goal in the reverse fixture on September 27 2023, AC Milan could become the first side the 2002-born player has grabbed more than one goal against in Serie A.

The Italian-Peruvian centre-forward, and former Rossoneri with 27 appearances and eight goals in the 2016/17 season, has not scored away from home in Serie A since 21 April 2021 (Genoa v Benevento), and will be trying to put an end to this drought at the ground where he brought several joyous moments to the Diavolo fans. These two are Cagliari's strong points, attackers capable of putting the Rossoneri defence in difficulty.

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