Monza 0-1 AC Milan: Five things we learned – French excellence and failing strategies

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·3 November 2024

Monza 0-1 AC Milan: Five things we learned – French excellence and failing strategies

Following the 2-0 defeat at home to Napoli on Tuesday night, the game against Monza was a must win for AC Milan in order to avoid another crisis.

You know the situation is not great when every other game is a must win as Paulo Fonseca and his team can’t seem to find any consistency. Against Monza, the coach opted to bench Rafael Leao yet again continuing to put faith in both Noah Okafor and Samuel Chukwueze.

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However, it was Monza, who managed to create most of the chances in the first half but with a bit of luck – and some big help from Mike Maignan – the Rossoneri stayed in the game with the scores still level.

The only goal of the game came in the 43rd minute from Tijjani Reijnders after a counter-attack down the right. A cross into the box was met by Alvaro Morata but his header was blocked, then the Dutchman was on hand to provide a diving headed finish of his own from close range.

In the second half Monza looked less dangerous as Milan somewhat improved defensively and didn’t allow their opponents as much space, yet chances were spurned to kill the game off early. Here are five observations from the game up the road.

1. Useful utility man?

Filippo Terracciano started on the right this time around after being deployed as a left-back in Theo Hernandez’s absence and he played a solid game, albeit being clumsy on a couple of occasions but Monza didn’t take advantage of it.

The young defender has played very little since joining the club in January from Verona, but in the last few games has proven to be useful as his versatility allows Fonseca do play him in various positions across the defence.

Whilst his performances have been average at best so far, it is nice to have such a played that can be slotted in to fill the gaps and just do a good enough job whilst the main man is out.

The positive attitude shown by the Italian also extended to his comments after the game in which he admitted to a burning desire to stay and earn a spot. Surely he can only improve with more game time given his is still only 21 years of age.

2. French excellence

Maignan is the reason that Milan did not fall behind in the game. With the home side piling on the pressure in the opening exchanges, he stood tall and rejected everything that came his way barring a deflected disallowed Dany Mota goal.

In the second half the goalkeeper didn’t have as much to do, but he kept a valuable clean sheet and once again got himself on the ball to help in the build-up.

His compatriot, Theo, also played a positive game and finally it seems as Milan have an actual captain on the pitch. The left-back was constantly dangerous going forward launching dangerous crosses into the box and finding the space to shoot on one occasion too.

It must also be mentioned that Youssouf Fofana was among those who grew into the game, and by the second half he was an effective breakwater in front of the defence.

3. Go go Power Reijnders

The goalscorer Reijnders was the match of the match in our ratings and with good reason too. The Dutchman scored the winner, but that was just the cherry on top of what was a really tidy display.

His passing and intelligent movements allowed him to combine with his team-mates very well as he was once again the engine in the middle for Milan. He ran a lot and made himself available all the time which made life easy for his teammates as they always had a passing option.

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

After his brace against Club Brugge in the Champions League, Reijnders has scored in two consecutive games in all competitions for the first time with Milan.

The feeling with the former AZ Alkmaar man has always been that only goals are missing from his overall package in order to become a complete midfielder, and his recent form suggests that might change.

4. Weapons blunted

Milan started the season poorly in terms of results but they were able to score goals in bunches, and now that ability is seemingly gone too. Chukwueze and Okafor barely created anything, with the Swiss in particular again failing to take his chance from minute one.

Alvaro Morata meanwhile continued his trend of being anything but a striker, dropping almost as deep as the midfield line. While he did help his team-mates play out of the press, he was never the focal point needed when service was available from the wings.

We saw it on a couple of occasions where the 32-year-old dropped in and combined with Pulisic, who then was pretty much alone against three or more Monza players. Morata’s work rate is fantastic, but two goals in 10 appearances is not and it might just force reflections from the management.

The team around him doesn’t really make full use of him dropping and creating space either, as we don’t see anyone bursting forward to make use of said space, which is something Leao might be able to do.

Pulisic was maybe the only positive out of the four as he was involved in the goal, but he too faded in the second half.

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

5. Strategy not working

Speaking of Leao, Fonseca once again chose to bench him which he seems to think is a motivational move, but the results are mixed in terms of final scores but also how the winger has responded.

Milan won against Udinese with Chukwueze and Okafor, who is Leao’s replacement and who played a crucial role in the goal. That was true against Brugge too, where Leao was struggling and the game turned the moment he was subbed off for Okafor.

Then against Napoli, the Rossoneri lost and failed to score whilst against Monza – despite the win – the team hardly created anything interesting up front and there was an element of good fortune about the goal scored.

Excluding a few good moments it doesn’t seem like Okafor and Chukwueze can carry this attack down the flanks, but Fonseca has also failed to motivate Leao and hasn’t helped him improve his game either.

We all know Leao’s limitation and even if we take leadership out of the equation seems mind blowing that Fonseca is not trying to improve his efficiency in the final third.

It is something that needs fixing because he is the game-breaker and the best in the squad on his day, yet the situation is really worrying.