AC Milan secured a 0-0 draw at Juventus on Saturday, but having failed to register a single shot on target in Turin, it was another uninspiring display.
The fact that Rossoneri goalkeeper Marco Sportiello received the Man of the Match award spoke volumes too, but ultimately it was a performance from the team that lacked any quality, and was instead abundantly mediocre, as our disappointing season continues to wind down.
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In fairness, it was an important point in our quest to secure second place and more importantly, a top-five finish in Serie A to ensure we have a spot in the Champions League next season.
Nevertheless, with our European journey over this year, our Scudetto hopes ended, and with major question marks over the future of Stefano Pioli and many of the players in this current squad, the summer ultimately can’t come quick enough once we’ve achieved our minimum objective in these remaining four league outings.
Speculation continues to build over the identity of Pioli’s successor, and so that can’t be an easy element of the situation for neither the current Milan coach nor his players, knowing that a significant change is incoming.
That said, if it wasn’t already clear for some, the need for a change to freshen up the club with new ideas, energy and a clear identity and style of play was evident this weekend once again.
Admittedly, suspensions and injuries continue to hurt Milan, as we were without many key individuals against the Bianconeri, which made the task more difficult that it already was.
However, we’d still expect some quality from the side that was put out, led by captain Rafael Leao, but that didn’t prove to be the case with so many underwhelming and disappointing performances across the pitch.
As noted above, Milan ended the encounter with no shots on target and just five attempts on goal despite having 49 percent of possession, but given it was mostly recycled ball movement within the comfort of our own third and in midfield, it was never enough to really trouble the Juventus backline with sustained pressure.
Granted, the hosts weren’t much better as it was a drab goalless draw, but from a Milan perspective, this game merely reinforced the need for a reset this summer. Much will depend on who is appointed to make those changes though, assuming that there definitely will be one, as it’s a fundamental decision that the club’s hierarchy can’t afford to get wrong.
