Against Udinese, the 40-year-old Ibrahimovic was once again the saver. His goal in the 92nd minute luckily brought Milan back a point.
Sometimes the higher you stand, not only do you see farther, but you fall harder.
The 92nd minute of escape brought back a point from Udinese away, which is definitely not a good result for the Milanese who are vying for the title, but it is already a portrayal of the favor of the goddess of luck. After the national team match day in November, Milanese people with increasingly heavy footsteps watched the top position difficult to protect, and Pioli's "dream of winning the championship" also stayed more and more at the "dream" level, which was difficult to become a reality.
Since the day of the November national team match, Milan have played a total of 7 games, recorded 3 wins and 1 draw, with a winning percentage of only 42.9%, which is far from the previous 62.5% win rate. In the middle of the Serie A games 5, the opponents except for the front class of Fiorentina, the rest of the opponents are in the 10th place. This is somewhat strange: how can the Rossoneri, who have retreated from the Serie A and Champions League devils twice since the season, suddenly get into trouble?
If there is an element of unexpected mistakes in losing to Fiorentina, then losing to Sassuolo is a total setback. The Green Shirts attacked Milan and set a benchmark for other Serie A teams against Milan: it wasn't that hard to win. Pioli is good at high-pressure pressing, but he is also afraid of the same tactical oppression. Once the slowness of Milan's midfield is seized, and the pressure of the front is increased to kill Milan's attack in the back, milan's defensive problems in the back position will be fully exposed, leaving room and opportunity for their own side to counterattack. Sassuolo's first goal in the match for Kamaka was a model.
Milan conceded the same goal in this game as against Sassuolo.
Udinese followed suit, completely reproducing Sassuolo's style of play. How did Betto's goal come about? The Black Rooster forward pressed forward in an instant, forcing Bakayoko, who was carrying the ball on his back, to lose the ball in a hurry, and the back line was wide open, and Beto was able to seize the second chance under the awkward attack of the Hurried Tomoris. This shows that Pioli's muffled losses in Sassuolo's game have not been translated into practical experience at all - the continuous opening of the door by opponents in the same way shows that the coach has at least failed to do a good job in tactics and training.
Pioli had an idea: he sent Bennacer and Bakayoko for the second time in the season, but there was a slight difference in the division of labor as before. Bennaselle frequently pulled back to pick up the ball at centre-back, Theo was largely fixed in the left wing in the opening stages, and Milan's actual formation was similar to 3313. Kyal is absent, and the most serious lack of Milan is the offensive ability of the back line to directly play long passes; the injury of Leo and Rebić weakens the team's ability to disrupt the defense on the left side and actively attack the defense line.
Weaker than confrontation, Dias, who lacks organizational ability, struggles to survive under the opponent's bag defense, and it is difficult to come up with the dominant performance that the No. 10 should have.
In this way, the shortcomings of Milan's lack of organizers in the front court are more thoroughly exposed. Behind Diaz's increasingly mediocre performance is that his weakness has been eaten up by a number of defensive players in Serie A: more and more opponents are trying to defend Diaz with double bags and increased physical confrontation, which has reduced the Spaniard's ability to hold the ball by more than half. In a positional warfare situation, it is difficult for Díaz to create too much of a threat.
All of this forced Pioli to sort out another offensive plan for the team: Bennasel's retraction, which was a viable move. Withdrawing from the back position can play the footwork and vision advantage of Algeria's long pass dispatch, while avoiding his physical disadvantage as a defender in the middle, and withdrawing the team's organizational line, so that The role of Ben nasser can be effectively played. In the midfield position, Clunic's recovery and Bakayoko's presence can ensure the team's defensive hardness, which is completely feasible in theory.
Bakayoko, who sits in the back position, has enough defensive hardness, but his ability to protect the ball is worrying, and he often becomes the object of the opponent's key pressing.
The problem is that in reality, Bennacer and Bakayoko are completely out of shape, especially the former. Although he frequently withdrew to take the ball in this game, he preferred to pass the ball too much on the ground in the way he played the ball, and chose the direction of the ball and the receiver to be too risky, which kept the defense under extreme pressure. When Udinese deliberately chose him to press forward at the moment of the ball, the weakness of Bakayoko's sticky ball but poor ability to protect the ball was magnified, resulting in this midfield combination becoming synonymous with Milan's weakness. Over-belief in theoretical ideas, neglect of the scheme to compensate for the lessons of facts and methodological research, let Pioli once again step into the same river: not only wet shoes, but also stepped on a foot of mud, making himself difficult.
What is the Pioli solution? It was a return to tradition, allowing Tonari, who was in good form and no less capable of passing long passes than Bennacell, to drag his tired body back online. This is naturally the most direct way to correct mistakes on the playing field, but back on the field, it cannot be a permanent solution. As soon as the African Cup of Nations kicks off next year, Milan's backside position can't just expect a Tonari to carry the flag – although the Champions League exit has reduced Milan's front, Tonari can't always play the game, right?
In other words, Milan need another "Tonari", at least a qualified midfielder with status. This season, Milan can survive in a situation where the squad is broken and the bench is mediocre, but if you let the red and black camp admit that they are not able to catch and fight for the championship when they are just halfway through the season, it is inevitable that the team will be blocked in their hearts. In this way, the only way to solve this problem is to resort to foreign aid.
Reporter Longo said: Milan has planned to let Adélie return to the team early in January to increase support for the team's midfield.
Interestingly, Maldini spoke out to the media a long time ago, saying that the team would not bring in reinforcements in the winter window. In an interview with Sky Sports this week, Maldini still insisted on this statement, but there was some relief in tone: "Kyal's injury will let us evaluate players who are ready or can stay in the team next season." Does that mean that Adéli, who is actually already a Milan player, has a chance to return early in the winter?
Of course, even if Adélie and Caldara really return early, Milan will have to wait until January, and the key battle for the title against Napoli is imminent, how to quickly adjust the state and lineup to deal with this game is Pioli's biggest concern. Can the match against Udinese bring some new enlightenment?
Castilejo, who was chatting and laughing with Theo before the game, probably did not expect that he would become a hero in Theo's 100 commemorative games.
With Pioli's employment habits, Castilejo, who has been beaten into the cold palace for a long time, has the hope of turning over the salted fish. He used his usual "three-plate axe" in the final moments of the game to split Udinese's defensive iron plate, and the internal arc ball with his left foot helped Ibrahimovic complete his 300th goal in the five major leagues, and also helped the team get a lucky 1 point, avoiding the embarrassment of leading the team from 60% winning rate to 60% defeat rate after Pioli's contract extension.
Using role players well has become the most reasonable and feasible means for Pioli to change the situation today. Especially after the opponent has thoroughly studied The Short Pass Tactics of Pismeran, Castilejo's crosses and incisions seem to be rougher, but they are also a simple and effective attack that is difficult to fully defend. In addition, giving Daniel these marginal players more opportunities can increase the training opportunities of young players on the one hand, on the other hand, the opponent may also receive a miracle effect in the absence of understanding and targeted defense. Although Paloski and Locatelli did not become the same as Maldini's youth training products, the good villains also scored the team's deadly goals, leaving their names in the history of red and black, right?