AC Milan 3-2 Atalanta: Five things we learned – the ceiling and the floor perfectly demonstrated
AC Milan made it back-to-back wins against Atalanta at San Siro on Sunday, but it ended up being far more nervy than it should have been.
After 60 minutes, the question was how many Milan could win by, not whether the result was in question. Goncalo Ramos scored a penalty and Adrien Rabiot doubled the lead in the first half before Mario Gila scored early in the second to open up a three-goal lead.
Rather than see the game out with comfort or even try to avenge the 5-0 of a few years ago, the Rossoneri instead retreated into a shell. Gianluca Gaetano’s goal gave the away side hope, and Nikola Krstovic reduced the deficit to one nine minutes from time.
Milan eventually hung on for the three points after a match that showed both the immense potential of Ruben Amorim’s side but some of the obvious limitations too. Ivan Stoev has picked out the five main talking points from the win.
1. Paving the way
It was such an emotional rollercoaster of a game, so let’s start off on a positive note. The pivotal players in attack for Milan by far were Diego Moreira and Adrien Rabiot, with the Frenchman continuing to be in red hot form and racking up a goal and an assist on the night.
On top of that he tracked back a lot and was as cool as you like in posession. The former PSG man was the best player on the pitch by far and a personification of the box-to-box role.
Moreira was also very lively, and whilst he only picked up one assist it was a very good ball fed into Rabiot that gave Milan their second goal. In addition to the assist the Belgian was very energetic from start to finish and you can just see how rapid and skilful the ex-Strasbourg man is.
Atalanta had little answer for his explosive movement. He definitely has the talent and hopefully he can become more clinical in the future, but he was a joy to watch as you expected him to burst forward and take on his man every time he got the ball.
2. Shaken and stirred
Milan’s defence up until the 60th minute was really solid and it all started from the fact that the Rossoneri dominated possession and allowed little space to their opponents.
After the hour mark it all came crashing down, with Gaetano getting a goal back in the 66th minute. It was well-worked with a lovely lay-off from Zalewski, but Milan could’ve done better to prevent the feed into the box being so easy.
Then, in the 81st minute Atalanta got a second goal back, putting Milan in an uncomfortable position. This goal was really preventable with Koni De Winter being the culprit after Ardon Jashari had been beaten, switching off for the centre-forward’s obvious run.
This downfall was a combination of lack of concentration after going 3-0 up plus some fatigue, which is natural given the squad is not as deep as Ruben Amorim would like. Mike Maignan made a huge save towards the made sure of the win, but that’s how fine the margins were.
A broader point is that Milan currently seem quite far off being able to put in anything more than a 60-minute performance due to the aforementioned factors. This is worrying considering the amount of games that will be played in the next couple of months.
3. The new pivot?
Continuing on from the last point, Yunus Musah and Luka Modric’s performance are perhaps emblematic of the potential and the limitations as they waned towards the end. The Croatian who could’ve done more to cover the space on the first goal, although it was a collective mistake overall.
Before the chaotic ending to the game the duo did really well with Musah impressing a lot, picking up the ball deep in his half and driving it forward with pace. He also did well in some situations where Atalanta were pressing high but he kept his cool and turned well to beat the press and launch an attack.
One of his shots also resulted in the penalty that Ramos converted. You can’t really ask a lot more of the American with the only note being that he could’ve maybe done a tad better on Atalanta’s first goal as he lost his man.
Modric also did well as he got the hockey assist for the third goal and was sharp overall. With Milan dominating the game he had the space he needed to dictate the tempo and combine with his team-mates. His energy levels did drop towards the end, but this is to be expected.
4. Work bearing fruit
That first hour was the best football Milan have played under their new coach, as Amorim himself admitted. The Diavolo looked fluid positionally, they suffocated Atalanta with their press and they created space that they then attacked.
The collapse that happened will be addressed in the final point, but what ultimately allowed Milan to build the lead that earned them the win was that they played like a team with identity and purpose. Everyone seemed to know their role, and carried it out with conviction.
If that doesn’t get you excited about Amorim’s Milan can be, we’re not sure what will. This is also coming of the 4-0 win against RB Salzburg where Milan also played some very good football, so Amorim deserves his praise. His selections were also justified, after the heavy rotation and reversion back.
5. Biggest issue exposed
For all the good work Amorim has done, it was evident why the team crumbled after the hour mark and it is something that needs to be addressed, because it will end up costing points.
Firstly, the coach requires great intensity to carry out his style. This means that the players – some of whom have had 10 weeks or less working with Amorim – are not maybe at their peak physical level to keep up the pace for 90 minutes. This is fine, assuming you have enough depth of the bench to replenish the energy levels.
Alas, depth has been and still is the biggest weakness of this Milan side, and especially this year when they have European football. Amorim’s substitutions sadly showed it: Ardon Jashari, Omari Hutchinson and Pervis Estupinan looked not up to the task of game management, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek had more moments but is simply not effective in possession.
Some of the players mentioned are young and can develop further but this team is in dire need of at least two or three more top quality players that are of starter quality. Only then can this become a team that competes on multiple fronts.
