AC Milan battled to a 1-0 win over Genoa on Saturday night to move clear at the top of the Serie A table, with Christian Pulisic’s second-half goal proving to be decisive.
After Inter were held earlier in the day, the Rossoneri knew three points would leave us top of the standings, and although it was a struggle, we eventually managed to come away with a victory.
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With the international break now ahead, it’s an opportunity to reflect on the season thus far and prepare for a crucial run of games to end October, but the Genoa performance certainly raised question marks given we continue to look unconvincing after a goalless draw at Borussia Dortmund in midweek.
Importantly though, it’s another clean sheet and three points, and this result hopefully proves to be crucial come the end of the campaign.
Pioli has to find attacking answers
Although we scored three at Cagliari and saw off Lazio in a 2-0 win, Milan’s attacking play is still inconsistent and lacking in quality more often that not.
We failed to score against either Newcastle Utd or Dortmund despite having chances and we’ll perhaps rue those missed opportunities in trying to advance out of our group, while breaking Verona and Genoa down has been a struggle.
Milan lack rhythm and structure outside of the tactical system, as we often get to a certain point in our build-up play and hit a wall. There simply hasn’t been enough creativity and inventiveness in dangerous areas where it matters, either individually or as a collective, and we need to find answers to address that.
Giroud heroics help secure win
It was a dramatic end on Saturday night, with Mike Maignan’s dismissal forcing Olivier Giroud to don the goalkeeper gloves for the final few minutes.
From the initial organising of his defensive wall for a Genoa free-kick to the focus and commitment he showed in claiming the ball in dangerous situations, the Frenchman did a brilliant job to help preserve our lead.
The reaction from his teammates at various points said it all, and although he won’t want a repeat of that any time soon, that was a pivotal shift from the Frenchman to help secure the win.
Pulisic proving to be decisive
That’s now four goals in eight Serie A appearances for the USA international, as he continues to prove to be a vital addition with his decisive impact in games.
Milan are obviously struggling as a unit in Europe after consecutive goalless draws, and so Pulisic along with his teammates will need to improve in that competition still.
However, he showed great technical ability and composure to score the winner this weekend, and his integration into the side so far has been key to our positive start to the season domestically.
Musah impresses again
The signs continue to be promising as Yunus Musah is growing into that midfield role and becoming an integral presence for us with his energy and tenacity.
He imposes himself on games to give us a sense of control, and while comparisons to Franck Kessie are perhaps slightly lazy, the pair do share key characteristics that give us a similar influence in that area of the pitch.
Having provided the cross for Pulisic’s goal, it’s hoped he can increase his impact in the final third, but he’s certainly making a positive impression as he looks to cement his place in the Milan XI with competition set to step up after the break with Ruben Loftus-Cheek returning from injury.
Tomori-Thiaw building solid foundation
That’s now three clean sheets in the last four games that Fikayo Tomori and Malick Thiaw have played in together, with Milan conceding just one at Cagliari in the other outing.
While of course, Mike Maignan, Davide Calabria, Alessandro Florenzi and Theo Hernandez deserve credit for being part of those backline performances too, with Simon Kjaer coming in and doing a fine job as well, our centre-half pairing is building a solid base.
Tomori is back to his consistent best recently as he’s cut out the mistakes and is making key interventions, while Thiaw has bounced back from the horror show against Inter and is continuously improving. It’s hoped they can continue on this run as our success usually stems from a strong defensive foundation, and they’re starting to provide one again.