GdS: Meteoric rise, slow decline – how Thiaw reached ‘lowest point’ of his Milan career | OneFootball

Malick Thiaw’s first game of the season against Torino did not go to plan as the defender was the symbol of a back line that were far from solid.

La Gazzetta dello Sport have published a reflection piece on Thiaw and his ‘meteoric rise, before a slow decline’. Thiaw showed what he could do during the two legs of the Champions League clash against Spurs, helping neutralise an attack with Harry Kane and Heung-min Son in.

As the months passed by though, he declined from that level up until the most recent worrying display: his league debut for Paulo Fonseca’s new Milan. The game ended 2-2, but the Italian media agree he was the worst player on the field.

Having arrived in the summer of 2022 from Schalke 04 for less than €10m, Thiaw struggled for starts at first but got big opportunity in that European night against Kane and co., playing in a three-man defence and then – after those two legs – partnering Fikayo Tomori in a pairing.

He began the 2023-24 season as a starter and alternated good performances with so-so ones, then the turning point of the season came at San Siro against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, on November 28 of last year.

During that game the German suffered problem with his hamstring that kept him out for two and a half months, depriving the Rossoneri of their starting centre-back at a crucial moment of the season. Milan would go on to lose that game 3-1, and it would effectively knock them out of the competition.

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Upon returning to the field in mid-February, something wasn’t right and he continued his decline in terms of performance. Thiaw made errors that suggested not just physical rust but also mental fogging, to the extent there were calls for him to be benched.

Things became uncertain for him after the signing of Strahinja Pavlovic and those rumours that Newcastle United were keen. Nonetheless, on Saturday against Torino Fonseca fielded the 23-year-old from the first minute.

What followed was – up to this point – the lowest point of his Milan career after an own-goal and a mix-up for Torino’s second. To redeem himself, a decisive leap will now be needed to return to the Champions League nights that he thrived in.