Milan Circle
After losing points in three consecutive rounds in Serie A, AC Milan finally did not continue to pull their crotches in the final game of 2021. Facing the promotion of Mannpoli, who has been in excellent form this season, Casey has justified himself with a second degree, Florenzi has also announced his career debut with red and black, and on the other side of the front, the returning winger Special O once again showed the value of his attack, and after a game full of "changes", Milan won the second place in serie A half and also held the relatively favorable competitive situation.
Pioli's adjustment, bringing about milan's "change"
With the gradual improvement of stability in recent years, Milan is no longer the "sending warmth" type player who talked about the color change of the promotion horse, before playing empoli, the Rossoneri army faced the promotion horse 21 times, only one loss. But Empoli is by no means a soft persimmon, having beaten Juventus, Fiorentina and Napoli this season and are full of resilience. Faced with such a tenacious opponent, Pioli, who is unbeaten in two league rounds, must make adjustments.
Milan's ups and downs over the past month are clear facts, and despite injuries and fatigue, the widespread concern among fans is – Diaz is not in good shape, should Pioli seek a change of team? Ibrahimovic is a double-edged sword, how to get rid of dependence on him? The chances of Casey renewing his contract are slim, how to deal with this "former" midfielder thigh? In this game, Pioli gave us the answer.
Since returning from the international break, Milan have lost 3 of their 6 league games, and the momentum of the beginning of the season has disappeared, so there are many voices that Pioli should change sides. But fans who have experienced FM know that unless the team has collapsed significantly, it may be counterproductive to rush into a lineup. Milan has a deep feeling about this, in the 2017/18 season, Li Ge bought and bought in the summer, public opinion said that it was time to change the team to 352, as a result, Montella doubted himself after the team's 1-4 defeat to Lazio, replacing the long-polished 433 with 352, and the Rossoneri completely collapsed, and the halfway points were not even lost in the top six of the standings.
In fact, although Milan lost 3 of their 6 league games, in addition to the defeat to Sassuolo in the three defeats, the games against Fiorentina and Napoli did not fall behind or even have the advantage. Milan's biggest problem is the difficulty of dealing with injuries and the depth of the squad on both sides, as well as the deviation of individual player positioning. Based on this, Pioli removed Díaz, who had previously performed poorly, and put Casey in the forward position, although the formation was still 4231, the rhythm of the team had changed.
The change in tactical details under the unchanged formation also has to mention the problem of Ibrahimovic. In the face of the god who is too old to be confused but can often score goals, Pioli does occasionally "dilemma", on the one hand, Ibrahimovic's efficiency and fulcrum in the front court are still top-notch, on the other hand, the decline in the Swedish's running ability has weakened Milan's high pressing ability. The key to solving the problem is probably to return to the original intention of bringing in Giroud - the two powerful centers reunite in turn according to tactics and rhythm, so that Ibrahimovic played three consecutive games, which is obviously not "rational".
(Milan's start against Empoli, with Casey, Ben4 and Tonali at the same time)
Against Empoli, Pioli made detailed adjustments to the team's recent problems, and eventually these changes were also reflected on the pitch, bringing a crucial victory to Milan.
Insufficient manpower should be used to the fullest
Casey in Atalanta showed excellent offensive talent, but it was only in Milan's long-term role as a back-up that it gave people a more "black and hard" impression. Facing Empoli, it was as if Kathy had been liberated overnight into a peak Boateng, and with the support of two technical attackers to the left and right of Salle Marks and Messias, more forward-stepping Casey played one of the most brilliant games of the season.
(Casey's running heat map of this game, interspersed up and down is very obvious)
4 wins in 8 confrontations, 1 steal, 1 pass, 1 dribble, 2 clearances, 2 shots on target... This is the data handed over by Casey in this game, when both sides have the ability to advance, the role of the front is no longer a simple organization, Casey can use his physical advantage to compete for the landing point behind the center, which is not achievable by Díaz, who is physically inferior, but the Ivorian can do this and score two key goals for the team.
Just 12 minutes into the opening, Casey broke the deadlock for the team with an outside instep shot, after which Milan conceded the ball in the box full of defenders, and at one point was in a stalemate with the opponent, and the key moment was Casey who stepped forward to break the goal from a small angle to stabilize the situation. To be sure, Milan didn't play well in the first half, and had it not been for Bajrami's poor luck hitting the goal frame, the Rossoneri would never have been able to play as well in the second half. But isn't this the daily routine of Milan's "away dragon"?
The contrast between Casey and Diaz can reflect The philosophy of employment implemented by Pioli - competitive sports, no matter when can not be "a theory", the recent predicament can not hide the glory of the beginning of the season of Díaz, the previous Casey has a "grinding foreign worker" feeling, the game of the play is blameless. As a coach, Pioli's job is to make the most of the people, adjusting different user and tactical details according to different opponents.
Modern football is no longer the era of sentimentality twenty years ago, so as Casey shows more and more similarities with Donnaruma and Char Khan oulu, Milan fans' "dislike" of him is increasing. But the club's top brass and coaches need to think more about reality than emotion, and the act of injuring a thousand enemies and losing eight hundred is definitely not what a manager should do. Even if Casey eventually leaves, putting him in the right tactical system to burn the last heat is what Milan needs right now.
Ibrahimovic's leadership temperament and finishing ability are irreplaceable, but they are "luxuries" that need to be strongly supported; the impact of the Special Olympics is pleasing to the eye, but it will also frequently lead to big mistakes; Messias is grassroots, Florenzi has passed the golden age, and their positioning is "occasional flash" - frankly speaking, there is no world-class star in the current Milan squad who is in the current year of play, which is doomed to the red and black soldiers in parallel, and can not guarantee perfection for a long time.
After all, you can't ask a team with an average value of 20 million to play 50 million, and it's the coach's job to train a team with equally obvious strengths and weaknesses into an army that can handle multiple situations. Although the match against Empoli was not perfect, the Milan career debut of the "Roma III" and the icing on the cake of Theo were still gratifying, as for Bakayoko, who never found the rhythm... Don't mention it.
4-2, Milan won their 17th Serie A victory of 2021 and also managed to secure a runner-up position in the half. Whether from the perspective of competing for the fourth place or rushing to the championship, this is a very valuable three-pointer.
(Milan's post-match data against Empoli, the possession is not dominant, the offensive end is efficient, is the daily situation of Milan's away wins)
Halfway through the season, how many points do you give?
The match against Empoli is Milan's final match in 2021, after which Serie A will enter a two-week winter break, with the injured and exhausted Rossoneri finally having a rare respite. The return to the league halfway from the international matchday in late November can be seen as a phased battle, with Milan reaching the goal of "first win" in the Champions League, with 7 wins, 3 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses in the league, which did not reach the level expected.
But combined with the overall performance of half a season, Milan's results are satisfactory enough. In Serie A, the Rossoneri had 42 points after 13 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses after half-time, only 1 point lower than the same period last year, equaling the second-best half-way record in the league in the history of the team, compared with The 5th Juve with an 8-point advantage, and the top Inter Milan 4 points difference, whether it is up or down, the point difference is a controllable range, which shows how important it is to beat Empoli.
(Serie A Half Standings)
With a blood-soaked start, a squad struggling slightly, Milan's story is similar to last season. For such a growing team, the second half is the real start of the test, fortunately this time, Pioli does not have to be distracted by the two-line battle, and Maldini's operation in the winter window will directly reflect the club's ambition to just lock in the Champions League place or have the ambition to attack the title. The 2021 schedule is over, let's keep shouting in 2022 – Forza Milan!