AC Milan secured an important 1-0 win at Lazio on Friday night, with Noah Okafor’s late goal sealing all three points for the Rossoneri.
It was a crucial result for Stefano Pioli and the players, as it further solidifies our position in the top four in the Serie A table ahead of the remaining fixtures this weekend.
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Milan currently sit in third place, 10 points clear of fifth-place Atalanta, and so it’s hoped that we can continue to extend that advantage in the coming weeks.
Our attention now though will quickly shift to facing Slavia Prague in the Europa League on Thursday night, and it’s pivotal that we recover, regroup and keep our hopes of European silverware alive alongside our continued push domestically.
Milan still lacking identity and quality
While it’s a positive result in our pursuit of a top-four finish this season, it was another unconvincing performance from Milan that lacked control, rhythm and creative quality.
That in turn led to an inability to create sustained pressure and clear-cut opportunities, and it’s an ongoing and consistent theme in our performances this season.
The character and resilience of this side isn’t in question given our ability to grind out results, but there surely has to be more than that moving forward, particularly beyond this season.
Okafor with another decisive impact
That’s now five goals in 19 league games for the 23-year-old, who has made a habit of scoring important goals and making a critical impact.
Having seen Milan become far too dependent on particular individuals in recent times, it’s a real boost to see others be decisive when called upon, and Okafor was vital on Friday in helping us secure all three points.
He’ll continue to knock on the door for a more prominent role for the remainder of the campaign, but he’ll need improvement around him to be consistent.
Crucial result in Champions League qualification pursuit
As detailed above, our win at the Stadio Olimpico further cements our position in third place in the standings, moving us 10 points clear of fifth-place Atalanta for the time being.
With the title gone given the gap to Inter, it’s important we salvage the minimum target from this season, and that is qualifying for the Champions League and continuing to benefit from what comes with that both in a sporting and financial context.
11 games remain in this campaign, and it’s hoped that we continue to take key steps towards achieving our objective without the need for late drama in the final weeks.
Long-term reboot still needed
There arguably has to be a short-term and long-term plan at Milan moving forward. The more immediate objective is noted above, with Champions League qualification the target this season.
Beyond this campaign though, have we seen enough this year to suggest that a reboot and refresh is desperately needed in order to evolve and becoming more competitive?
Most weeks the performance is underwhelming and lacking quality, both individually and collectively. Without a clear and effective identity, style of play, creative quality and control, we’ll continue to struggle with the same issues, and a change could be necessary to move in the right direction.
Comments from owner Gerry Cardinale this past week have raised question marks over what lies ahead as he eyes sustained success, and time will tell if Pioli will remain in place.
