AC Milan were forced to fight from behind on Saturday as we secured a 3-2 win over Verona having been two goals down at half-time.
Olivier Giroud eventually managed to spark us into life with a goal just before the hour mark, and Stefano Pioli’s tactical tweaks and personnel changes made the difference as Franck Kessie and an Koray Gunter own goal turned things around.
READ MORE: Five big talking points as gritty Milan show fight to secure comeback win vs Verona
It was a crucial win for the Rossoneri to keep up the pace at the top of the Serie A table, but it was certainly one that we can learn a lot from and improve as a result as it was far from our best.
Disjointed Milan punished in first half
The performance in the first half was arguably one of the poorest from Milan in some time. Not only was it devoid of any quality in attack, but we had no composure, fluidity or rhythm to our play and look vulnerable at the back.
That in turn led to Verona taking a 2-0 lead and deservedly so on the general balance of play, and it looked as though we had dug ourselves a big hole that would take real work to get out of.
Fortunately, we improved after the break and were able to mount a stirring comeback. However, as seen in the first image in the tweet below, it summed up just how poor we were. The Milan defence is stretched and completely out of position, and as Franck Kessie loses his 50/50 header in the midfield, a significant problem itself through the opening 45 minutes as we lost the midfield battle, it breaks right through the heart of our backline for the visitors to score the opener.
It was a really concerning goal given the ease with which they cut straight through us, and so Pioli will no doubt be analysing that further with his squad.
Couple thoughts on goals from weekend.
1] Sums up our performance in 1st half. Disjointed, disorganised, no shape as Verona ran straight through us
2] Giroud. Excellent from Leao but the ability to find space in the box/outnumbered, still finds a finish.#ACMilan #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/bcsXhJ7ppe
— Talk Milan (@talkmilan1) October 18, 2021
Giroud class makes big impact
While we did improve after the interval and looked to be playing with a bit more quality and confidence, it was Giroud who made the all-important impact to kick-start the comeback.
As seen in the second image above, the French international is outnumbered in the box but still manages to find himself some space to attack the ball.
It’s great work from Rafael Leao down the left flank before he puts in an excellent delivery, but the movement and finish from Giroud was just textbook centre-forward play, and he deserves a lot of credit for that moment which made all the difference.
That’s now three goals in six games for the 35-year-old since he joined us in the summer, and as expected, he’s an ideal addition to the squad given his ability in the box, and the fact that Milan tend to play better and are more effective in the final third when we have a focal point or target man leading the line to spearhead the attack.