Rennes 3-2 AC Milan (3-5 agg): Five things we learned – calm turns into chaos | OneFootball

After a comfortable 3-0 win at home, AC Milan traveled to Rennes to try finish off the job and qualify for the round of 16 of the Europa League.

It seemed obvious that Rennes – who remain in excellent form – would attack from the off and it only took the hosts 11 minutes to open up the scoring and start dreaming of a huge comeback as Bourigeaud netted, but not long after Luka Jovic levelled with a header.

The Rouge et Noir showed kept the pressure up and they retook the lead in the 54th minute through a penalty kick converted by Bourigeaud, but again the Rossoneri struck back quickly through Rafael Leao’s solo goal.

There was plenty of drama left though, with yet another penalty awarded to Rennes in the 68th minute that was again netted by Bourigeaud who got his hat-trick, though that was as close as they came to any late scare.

Slavia Praha await in the next round, and here are five things we observed during the game…

1. The perfect response

Luka Jovic acted foolishly at the weekend and will have to serve a two-game ban because of his actions after he got sent off against Monza, but was given the chance from the start against Rennes and he did respond positively.

Jovic got a goal to bring his team level and it came at a delicate moment early in the game when things could have got out of hand. He probably could have added another goal or an assist to his name but in truth Milan were wasteful in the final third.

The Serb continues to show great movement in the box but has somewhat struggled when he needs to drop deeper and involve himself in the game a bit more. Nevertheless, a good game overall by Jovic who hasn’t quite fully made up for the Monza game but at least responded.

2. When will it end?

We can argue that those two penalty kicks were very very harsh, which is a different topic on its own, but the fact of the matter is that Milan have been struggling at the back for quite a while now and it’s not just the game against Rennes that exposed cracks.

On the first penalty kick, it was clumsy from Simon Kjaer to try make that challenge even despite the questionable decision and Milan also allowed an early goal that gave their opponents a big boost.

Admittedly the whole back line are not to blame nor did anyone really have a horror show, and the midfield in front of them was not on the needed level to stop the opposition and it is matches where control is needed that Yunus Musah, Ismael Bennacer and others show limitations.

Whether it’s poor defending or lack of intelligence in the middle, Milan always seem to struggle in the defensive phase and it’s something Pioli needs to address fast if he wants to increase his team’s chance of going all the way in the Europa League.

3. More expected

Rafael Leao was in truth saved by his brilliant individual goal, but he missed the easy chances throughout the game that could’ve sealed progress far earlier in the match, saving Milan some of the stress and energy.

This performance is almost symbolic of Leao’s current season as he has been continuously delivering mixed performances. Where you’d expect him to bury what looks like an easy chance and he fails, he will then succeed with the next opportunity by doing a more difficult thing.

On the other hand, it wasn’t just his shooting that was frustrating in Brittany as he also struggled to beat his man in isolation and create chances as he’s done in recent weeks.

4. Lack of impact

It’s hard to recall who came off the bench for Milan because none of those players had any impact on the game.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek brought some strength onto the pitch, but never really managed to use it going forward barring one carry of the ball.

Samuel Chukwueze and Noah Okafor, on the other hand, continued their disappointing nights in Monza as they had zero impact on the game and they are not doing themselves favours in terms of knocking on the door for a starting spot.

Pioli has tried to rotate a bit in recent games, but the players have let him down it must be said as there have been numerous individual errors that have cost Milan goals or points.

5. Questionable management

Speaking of rotation, Pioli has drawn criticism for his selection in the last two games. The coach rotated heavily against Monza where a win would have sent his team to second place, making six changes, and then he fielded a stronger side in the game where his side had a three-goal lead.

Given the eventual scoreline, it probably looks wise that he fielded close to a full strength line-up, but his overall approach and the tactics against the French side just didn’t feel right as Milan never really took control of the game.

Some players have committed a lot of individual errors in the last couple of games, but it’s also fair to say that Pioli’s tactics don’t seem to be working either. Simply put, there Rossoneri possess zero ability to take the sting out of games and it will cost them fatally against better opposition.

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