AC Milan 2-4 Bologna: Five things we learned – the fatigue factor and striker struggles
AC Milan’s unbeaten start to the Serie A season is over, and it ended in worrying circumstances after a collapse against Bologna.
Things didn’t start well for Milan when Samuel Mbangula put the away side in front early on, but Alphadjo Cisse netted a quick fire brace to turn things back in the Rossoneri’s favour, meaning they led 2-1 at the break.
Bologna got themselves level again after an own-goal from a free-kic, and then they retook the lead one minute after that as Mbangula got his second of the night. The Belgian completed his hat-trick late on to make sure of the three points, continuing to Rossoblu’s upturn under Palladino.
San Siro was half-empty at full-time after what was a miserable evening, and certainly not the ideal way to go into Saturday’s derby, one which Inter will start already six points ahead. Ivan Stoev has five things we learned from the defeat.
1. Biggest weakness highlighted
Let’s get the obvious out of the way – this Milan side lacks the depth to play a game every three days, let alone play in the way that Amorim wants his sides to play.
This was a concern last season when Milan didn’t play in Europe and this past summer the management did not do enough to strengthen the squad, given they knew that the Europa League participation meant two games per week until at least January.
The desire to not buy in bulk is understandable, and bringing players that suit Amorim’s style is a specific requirement. However, the growing list of injuries has resulted in Milan being unable to be competitive as fatigue is setting in and rotation isn’t really an option given the players on the bench.
This is a very delicate moment where the management and the fans should not overreact and start blaming the players and the coach because you can only do so much with the limited resources.
Amorim was brought in to turn this side into a modern European club that plays attacking and attractive football. This unfortunately requires a lot of energy and that in itself means that player will be more likely to pick up an injury if they are not rotated properly.
Given how Milan fumbled the end of last season, the last thing that should go through the management’s head is yet another reset. Instead Amorim should be backed and reinforcements should be brought in as early as January if the Rossoneri want to keep up with the pack.
Extra reinforcements would also mean that – if things go their way – Milan could compete for the Europa League as well. The team have played some really good games and there is a platform to be built from. Let’s see if Gerry Cardinale feels the same.
2. At fault, again
It feels like we have a dedicated point to Pervis Estupinan every time the defender is on the pitch, but when the performances are so poor we can’t overlook it. We also can’t overlook the fact he keeps being willingly selected.
On the first goal it was unclear what the left-back was doing as he missed the run Zortea was making behind him. Before the goal he also made a mistake that nearly resulted in danger, and all night he tried passes that just were not there, often into dangerous areas.
Going forward the Ecuadorian was also underwhelming, meaning it’s pretty much impossible to find positives in Estupinan’s game. To bench Sankhoun Diawara and for that to be the response is alarming.
As we said, depth is an issue and with all the injuries Amorim does need to manage energy levels carefully. Hopefully the coach is starting to learn, though, that the former Brighton man just isn’t a good fit.
3. Striker struggles
Goncalo Ramos got the nod to start up front and he looked very sluggish from start to finish. Amorim did talk about fatigue so that probably played a part given that the striker hasn’t been rested much recently.
The saving grace is that usually he combines well with his teampmates and his build-up play is quite solid, but the wasn’t the case against Bologna either as he struggled in all aspects of the game.
It doesn’t help that he drops deep all the time and whilst he’s probably doing this because of Amorim’s instructions it seems like the space he opens is not utilised by his team-mates which means he’s wasting energy for pretty much nothing.
Then if he does stay closer to goal, Milan lack the quality to provide him with any service and naturally the Portuguese struggles to take shots off.
It is not as black and white as saying Ramos does not have the quality but something needs to change in the way Amorim utilises him. He seems tired and listless, but without a proper back-up it’s difficult to see how the coach gets out of this situation.
Speaking of back-ups, Camarda also disappointed off bench. We obviously don’t want to criticise the 18-year-old too much year old a tonne as he’s not been getting a lot of minutes and it’s difficult to come on when your team are losing 3-2 and not playing well.
However, as the sample size grows we can also admit that the Italian eventually has to start taking some chances too. Camarda’s strength is supposed to be his instinct and finishing the box but he failed to convert a big chance with a header. Then his poor ball control resulted in him giving away the ball and Bologna’s fourth goal.
He obviously has talent, but this has been a tough start to the season for the teenager in which he has looked sluggish on and off the ball, has taken an age to decide whether to turn or pass upon receiving possession, and isn’t using his size.
He clearly needs the minutes but with the performances shown it’s understandable why he isn’t getting them. This needs to be addressed in January.
4. Defence crumbles
It’s hard to judge the defence when there’s so many injuries, though we did also see the impact of what can happen when players do not get a rest after a long run of games.
Koni De Winter and Strahinja Pavlovic have played a lot without being given the chance to recharge. On top of that Fikayo Tomori – who was playing really well – also came of injured at half time and then you had Yunus Musah at right-back which summarised the squad depth problem Milan has.
On the first goal it was poor defending by Davide Bartesaghi and even worse by Estupinan. The Italian continued with an own goal in the second half for Bologna’s equaliser and honestly he should’ve done much better.
He had enough time to react but he was busy watching his man instead of the trajectory of the ball which reminds us of his defensive struggles last season as Milan conceded quite a bit down his side and it was no different this time around.
Pavlovic was also sloppy on the first goal and so was De Winter with the Belgian gifting the free kick for Bologna’s equaliser early in the second half.
Diawara was also very sloppy of the bench as he failed to build upon his performance against Udinese. Tomori was the best Milan defender but he was subbed off at half time because of an injury. When it rains, it pours.
5. Saving graces
Let’s try to finish with some positives. Starting off with Ardon Jashari: this was one of the best starts by the Swiss. He ran relentlessly throughout the game and won a tonne of duels. As a result he was always open and his passing was quite accurate too.
Omari Hutchinson also had a decent game as his pressing essentially was the reason for the first goal as he forced Theate into committing an error. He also ran a lot and we saw him trying to be direct and take his man on. He maybe took a touch too many at times, but his technical quality and endavour were on display.
The third positive was obviously Cisse, who scored a brace as his positioning was his strong suit once again. He was also good on the ball although he faded a bit in the second half, but even then he should’ve gotten an assist for the great cross he delivered for Camarda.
Having just turned 20, this was his seventh goal in 10 games. He continues to improve and impress, and should absolutely play a key role in the upcoming Derby della Madonnina.
