AC Milan followed their embarrassing 4-0 loss against Lazio with an even more humiliating 5-2 defeat against Sassuolo on Sunday, a side sitting 16th in Serie A.
The Rossoneri continuing digging their defensive graves as it only took Sassuolo 19 minutes to open the scoring and then a couple of minutes later it was 2-0. Olivier Giroud got one back in the 24th minute to get Milan back into the game, but Sassuolo scored a third through Berardi to make it 3-1 at the break.
In the second half, Davide Calabria foolishly gifted away a penalty which Lauriente tucked away to make it 4-1 as things kept getting worse and worse for Stefano Pioli and his men. A fifth goal came from Henrique before Origi fired in a consolation.
It has gone from a battle to defend the Scudetto to a fight just to get in the top four with the Rossoneri having now slipped to fifth. Here are five things we learned…
1. Disgraceful defence
The problem seems to become more serious with every game in January as the Milan defence has crumbled. This is utterly disgraceful for the reigning champions of Italy and whilst playing poorly happens from time to time, conceding 18 goals in a month is far from normal.
Tatarusanu was yet again helpless in goal and while his rearguard didn’t help at all, he still failed to make a decisive save and was beaten twice at his near post.
Calabria and Theo Hernandez were both sloppy on the flanks as they were both at fault on the first goal with Calabria conceding a penalty later on and Theo being at fault for the fifth as well.
Kalulu and Gabbia had a clear lack of chemistry that showed in their movements. At times they might as well have not been there as Defrel, Berardi, Lauriente and Frattesi continued to ghost into the box and pretty much have a free reign.
2. Midfield fails to keep up
With Bennacer suspended Krunic got to start alongside Tonali, but the outcome wasn’t much different compared to the last few games as Milan were dominated in the middle of the park with Tonali misplacing most of his passes and losing his man on a couple of Sassuolo’s goals.
The Bosnian looked a bit better as he won some duels, but ultimately couldn’t do much to change the outcome of the game as again the Rossoneri were overrun in the middle as well as on the flanks.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that Pioli has a solution on the bench for the double pivot and it will interesting to see how he solves the issue, especially with Bennacer now injured.
#ACMilan have conceded the most goals in 2023 (all competitions) of any team in Europe’s ‘top five’ leagues. pic.twitter.com/a1vtAMziU0
— MilanData📊 (@acmilandata) January 30, 2023
3. Questionable decisions from Pioli
The Italian opted to drop Rafael Leao from of the starting XI and also gave Ante Rebic and De Ketelaere the chance to shine from the get-go. The Croatian struggled to impose himself on the game and excluding his disallowed goal he was all over the place with his finishing, wasting a couple of half-volley chances.
De Ketelaere on the other hand actually looked decent in the opening exchanges which included a nice turn and dribble to start an attack. He was one of the more positive performers, but Pioli opted to bring him off.
That decision and benching Leao did not work out for Pioli and neither did his overall tactics which raises questions marks as to is he able to come up with a plan to get the team out of this difficult situation or is he out of ideas.
4. Droughts end
On the bright side – individually at least – Giroud got a goal after struggling for form after the World Cup and Pioli will hope that he can continue that trend in the following games so that he can help Milan get back on track.
Divock Origi also scored a lovely goal off the bench to double his tally since arrive, but that did not help his side in any way and was a mere consolation, thought it could be a good morale boost for the Belgian as he looked sharper.
5. Not the right attitude
Leao came off the bench and did not look interested at all, something which became apparent when – at 4-1 to Sassuolo – he did a backhell pass in the middle of the pitch that went five yards backwards and was met with jeers.
The Portuguese winger has still not renewed his contract and is demanding a hefty salary, but his performance after the World Cup has ben subpar as he hasn’t managed to help his team get out of this negative moment.
That does not help his quest to earn the money he is demanding, so he’ll need to put his head down, work harder and lead by example.
