AC Milan have struggled for goals this season compared to their Scudetto-winning campaign, and that must be addressed as we reach the business end of 2022-23.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (as seen below) write how Milan’s attack is currently far from firing on all cylinders as they have scored 10 goals in their last 12 games between Serie A and the Champions League.
After 27 games in the league last season the Rossoneri had scored 53 goals, nine more than the 44 in the current campaign. These are just basic numbers, but more elaborate statistics and images reveal noticeable problem.
Since February, when Milan began playing more cautious football with a switch to a three-man defence, their Expected Goals (xG, or quality of chances created) dropped from 1.43 to 1.10. It means they are not wasting chances but moreso failing to create them at all.
Who can help fix this? Theo Hernandez and Olivier Giroud are by far the most dangerous players at the moment aside from some improvisation by the out-of-form Rafael Leao and some moments of glory from Brahim Diaz and Junior Messias.
Excluding the last goal which was a penalty plus Messias’ against Monza and Atalanta, the pair have been involved in most of the last eight. Theo’s volley resulted in the the 1-0 against Atalanta after Giroud’s knockdown, while the former crossed for the latter in 1-0 win against Torino:
Milan have had 15 different scorers this season but the contribution of many came before the World Cup break or in January. In fact, from February 1st to today, only Giroud, Messias, Theo and Ibrahimovic have scored.
Leao hasn’t scored since mid-January, Origi never got going, Brahim had the most important celebration of the year but remains inconsistent and Rebic is now in a prolonged drought.
Set pieces are a problem too, as Milan have not scored from a free-kick in the league and only three times from a corner. The last one was Giroud against Salernitana. Comparing numbers with Napoli, they have 13 goals from corners and 80 shots to Milan’s 47.
A positive note is that the Rossoneri score a lot in the last 15 minutes of games plus added time, partly because there is more space to exploit, and the 11 goals from 30 minutesof the second half to the end shows that.
Source sempremilan.com
