Lazio 2-2 AC Milan: Five things we learned – disastrous defence meets constructive chemistry

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·1 de septiembre de 2024

Lazio 2-2 AC Milan: Five things we learned – disastrous defence meets constructive chemistry

Following a draw and a loss in their opening two games, AC Milan travelled to Rome with the hopes of picking up their first win of the season against Lazio.

Paulo Fonseca made some changes to his starting XI compared to the defeat in Parma, most notably bringing new signings Emerson Royal and Youssouf Fofana in for their first starts whilst also deciding to drop Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez, which was a bold call.

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Those changes, however, did look promising in the first half with Milan leading 1-0 going into the break. The Rossoneri did not exactly dominate but ultimately managed to keep danger away from Mike Maignan whilst also scoring through Pavlovic, who got his first goal in red and black.

It all came down crashing in the second half when in the 62nd minute Lazio got their equaliser through Taty Castellanos and in the 66th minute managed to complete the comeback through Boulaye Dia

Leao, Theo and the last summer signing Tammy Abraham all came off the bench around the 70th minute and combined wonderfully as Leao made it 2-2, which is how it would finish. Here are five observations from the game itself.

1. A disaster on full debut

Emerson Royal got his first start of the season replacing Davide Calabria in the line-up, who has come under fire for some poor performances in the past few months. The Brazilian was brought in to elevate the quality on that right flank, but the reality was far from that.

The right-back being the worst player on pitch offering nothing in attack whilst also being sloppy at the back, failing to mark his opponent on both goals allowing in them plenty of time and space to find a team-mate in the box.

Emerson came on in the previous game against Parma and now played from the start, but is yet to impress or even contribute to anything positive. It looks like it will be another season where that right flank will be causing a lot of trouble for Milan unless he steps up his game.

2. Hero and zero

Pavlovic has started his time with Milan fairly well as he played a good game against Parma. He was also very useful in certain moments against Lazio and grabbed his first goal, though like the last game he also made some questionable decisions at the back which hurt his rating.

The centre-back had multiple crucial interceptions and blocks, but in transition he struggled with positioning as seen in Lazio’s first goal where Castellanos was left in acres of space to finish from close range.

The potential and the heart is clearly there, and Pavlovic will probably get better with age, yet the lack of experience is hurting his team at crucial times now and he might need to mature quicker because Milan simply cannot afford to put up with further mistakes.

Frustratingly the management did not bring any experienced central defenders to help nurture the existing younger players so Fonseca will have to be the one to help the Serb reach the next level game.

3. No control in the middle

The midfield has underperformed once again for Milan with Fofana and Tijjani Reijnders failing to take control of the game in the engine room, despite being the first choice double pivot on paper.

The Frenchman made some sloppy passes and his decision making at times was not the best, and with the whole build-up being static in general we also didn’t manage to see anything impressive from Reijnders either.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek wasn’t much of a hand in the playmaker position either. He had a couple of good moments using his physique to spring breaks but that was it, and it is surprising that he continues to be getting these minutes without any end product.

#ACMilan have not started a season this poorly since 1938/1939 and 1930/1931. In both of these, they clinched just one point in the first three games. [via @MatteoDG93]
– sábado, 31 de agosto de 2024

4. Some positives up front

Noah Okafor was given the nod to start up front again, with Alvaro Morata and Luka Jovic absent. Considering how limited the service was into him, he actually dropped deep on multiple occasions, getting the ball and dribbling into dangerous spaces.

He was unlucky not to be involved in a goal as he had a couple of good moments, though he should be happy with his overall display and really it is on his team-mates to help create more.

Christian Pulisic also had a decent game picking up the assist and showcasing a lung-busting work rate. He did fade a bit towards the middle of the game but then was involved in a couple of good combination towards the end.

Unfortunately their colleagues in the attack and midfield – with Loftus-Cheek and Samuel Chukwueze the chief culprits – weren’t helping a lot, so it is with that context that we must judge those who did better.

5. Saved by the subs

Theo, Leao and Abraham entered the pitch at a delicate moment after Lazio managed to score two goals in the span of a few minutes, but that didn’t stop them from leaving their mark on the game within moments.

Leao combined with Abraham really well for the equalising goal, and Theo was involved in the earlier stages of the move too. Eventually the English striker provided a nice flick for the Portuguese winger to score with a venomous finish.

If that sequence is anything to judge by there should be an interesting partnership forming with Leao and Theo on the flank and Tammy ahead of them both. The interesting bit here is that Morata will probably the one to start the games, but it’s exciting to see some instant chemistry.