AC Milan produced a brilliant display in a 3-1 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday night.
Goals from Malick Thiaw, Alvaro Morata and Tijjani Reijnders sealed the three points as we picked up our second win of the European campaign to move up to 18th in the standings, and this will hopefully act as a vital catalyst for us to build on.
Focus now switches to Cagliari on Saturday as we look to end on a positive note ahead of the international break, but there was much for Paulo Fonseca to be delighted with as he takes the positives away from a memorable European night for the Rossoneri.
Fonseca gets his gameplan spot on
From the structure and shape that we displayed as a collective to how individuals performed in their own specific roles and duels, it was a brilliantly crafted gameplan from Fonseca, and the players executed it very effectively.
Real Madrid have vulnerabilities, and so the way in which we exploited those while remaining diligent and concentrated on our defensive task, all concerned deserve a great deal of praise.
It hasn’t been an ideal start at the helm for Fonseca thus far, and that’s reflected in the Serie A and Champions League tables, but this was excellent from the Milan boss and hopefully gives us belief and confidence moving forward.
Maignan makes decisive impact
Mike Maignan made fundamental saves throughout to thwart the hosts, and it proved to be a decisive aspect in our win as it provided the foundation on which we could kick on and hurt Real Madrid.
Having conceded 16 goals in 14 games so far this season with just four clean sheets, we need to shore things up at the back and build a stronger defensive structure to give us a platform on which we can win games consistently.
While he didn’t get his clean sheet in this one after being beaten from the penalty spot, Maignan will hope that this level of performance will be replicated in the weeks to come.
Reijnders majestic in midfield
Tijjani Reijnders was a joy to watch as he continues to mature and develop into a leading figure in this Milan side.
The 26-year-old took his goal superbly as his first touch allowed him to set himself before applying the finish. Beyond that crucial goal though, he was hugely influential in our ability to hurt Real Madrid in their own third by building our play through midfield.
That’s now four goals and two assists in 13 appearances so far this season, and it’s hoped that the Dutchman can continue to build on that moving forward.
Leao devastating threat on big stage
It’s been an underwhelming campaign for Rafael Leao thus far with just one goal and five assists in 13 outings, but this was a devastating return to form as he showcased what he’s capable of when he’s on form.
Aside from utilising his physical attributes to provide a constant threat for us down that left flank with his power and pace, he displayed tactical awareness and intelligence too with his positioning and decision-making, and he was unfortunate not to get on the scoresheet himself.
Nevertheless, this is hopefully now a personal catalyst for him too in his attempt to find consistency at a high level, but this performance in isolation was key to our ability to stretch Real Madrid and cause them problems throughout.
Result with potential to be catalyst for season
While certain individual performances have been picked out above, take nothing away from the display as a team as we were exceptional across the pitch working as a unit.
Fonseca spoke after the game about the difficulty of coaching in Italy against different approaches from fellow Serie A coaches in the way that they man-mark and make it more difficult for us to implement and express our preferred style of play, but that’s his challenge to find solutions for that on a consistent basis.
Regardless of Real Madrid’s weaknesses and problems, this is a huge win for our season, but only if we build on it and grow in the coming months to start playing at a level that will make it very difficult for opponents to match what we do with and without the ball.
