With only 5,000 seats on board, San Siro exudes a surreal atmosphere: a close-matched 0-0, ac Milan and Juventus teams have barely created any real scoring chances in the 90 minutes. The compromise between the two sides has been exchanged for 1 point each, but it may be difficult for both teams to be truly satisfied. Allegri continued his unexpected optimism after the game since his second entry into the palace: "We held the seven-point gap with Milan. The Rossoneri regret is even more concrete, the team has one more game after this battle, which is 5 points away from the city's sworn enemies, and has been equalized by Napoli, who won this round.
Can Giroud be reliable?
What's more, AC Milan is about to usher in the derby in the next round, and if there is another miss, the championship drama of Serie A this season will be completely completed. In addition, Pioli's team also folded Ibrahimovic. San Siro has just hosted the sixth game in the last 12 days, the turf on the pitch has long been "vegetable", the team has not suffered a more serious injury, and Pioli can already be thankful in his heart. The legendary showdown between Zlatan and Chiellini was supposed to be a major attraction of the game, but the confrontation lasted less than half an hour.
Ibrahimovic's problem was his Achilles tendon. As soon as the initial diagnosis came out, the prospects of the Swedes in Germany two weeks later became a question mark. At the beginning of the season, the Swede suffered inflammation in the Achilles tendon and missed six games for a month. As long as Ibrahimovic started, he played 90 minutes on the field, and now that the weather in the Apennines is so cold, it is only a matter of time before the injury problem finally breaks out. Last season, Zlatan missed 18 games of the team due to new crown and injury, and it is not easy to play for three consecutive months this season.
Olivier Giroud came off the bench. In the first half of the season, the Frenchman was a goal expert for the San Siro, scoring all five goals under the watchful eyes of home fans. A few days ago, Giroud came off the bench in a 1-1 draw against Spezia, failing to do anything in the front and continuing his mediocre performances. To be sure, Olivier Giroud found an excellent fulcrum for Milan's front-line attack after his debut, a role that Milan's "phase one" Ibrahimovic could easily complete, but the Swede is now old after all.
The tactical level of operation is not a problem for the experienced and sufficient tonnage giroud. However, the Frenchman's contribution on the offensive end of the team ends here. In recent games, the Red and Black 9s have been losing the mobility he had just joined the team, and the nimble crossover runs with Brahin Díaz have disappeared. Giroud now seems to be struggling to get into trouble for Juve's backline at his feet, threatening Szczesni's city with two strikes in the second half, both with a header. If Ibrahimovic fails to play steadily in the second half of the season, Milan will have to rely on Olivier Giroud, but the last time he scored a double-digit goal in a single season in the league dates back to the 2016-17 season.
Morata continued to sleepwalk
AC Milan have not yet gotten rid of "Ibrahimovic dependence", and the opponent Juventus on the field does not even have an Ibrahimovic of his own. In this campaign, the vast majority of the Bianconeri's threatening offensive still comes from Dybala, who has a pending contract extension issue, and McKenny, who is flexible and frequently inserted. Did genuine center Morata start? The Spaniards hid for most of the game, and were eventually replaced by Kaine.
Unlike Giroud, Morata couldn't even complete the most basic offensive strategy. Halfway through the season, the two Juve centre-forwards combined scored just eight goals in the league, and the memories of Zebra fans are pulled back to around 2010. Market rumors about Vlahović are endless, although Allegri and Alivabene have debunked it countless times before. Whether or not the Serbian can be successfully finalized early in the winter window is likely to be related to Juve's Champions League qualification at the end of the season, but vouchers such as Kulusevsky and Bentankur may not arouse much interest in Purple Lily.
Even Inter Milan, with its large number of generals and a complete squad, has been tested by the "frontal drought" in recent matches. Dzeko has long since lost his shooting boots, and even if he scored a header against Venice in this round, it was difficult to hide his embarrassing performance for most of the game. Lautaro continued to play variations between the alternation of goals and goals, and after Lukaku left, the Argentine should have raised the blue-and-black offensive flag, but he still owes some of the stability necessary for a home striker. Joaquin Correa has been unable to get out of injury and Sanchez has lost his goalscoring gene. The Blue and Black are still trying to sign another striker while trying to keep Sensi, but is Kecedo, who can't be convincing in Genoa, really the best candidate?
For the current strikers of the three teams, not to mention the competition for the top scorer, it is a more realistic goal to reach double digits in the league goals (Lautaro is the only exception). In stark contrast, Inmobile and Flahovic are in full swing over the top scorer battle, while Roma striker Tammy Abraham has continued to be hot, scoring six goals in the last six games. The hegemony of the league is still difficult to replace for the time being, but the "sharp edge" of the three northern powers has been completely covered up by the southern forces. The grand scene of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lukaku and Ibrahimovic shining together in the top three, although it has only been a year, seems to be a memory of the previous era.
This article is written by Shen Tianhao
This article was originally published in the Sports Plus app
Images are from the web