Lazio 2-2 AC Milan: Five things we learned – subpar players and lots to learn
AC Milan and Lazio had to settle for a draw at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday evening, dominating one half each. As always, for the Rossoneri, there are some important takeaways from the game.
After the 1-1 draw against Juventus, Ruben Amorim and his men had their sights firmly set on a win in the capital. However, a high-flying Lazio side immediately made things difficult for the Rossoneri, scoring just ten minutes into the game. Then, before half-time, they got another one.
It was a tale of two halves, though, as Milan were the ones who took control of the second half. This allowed them to find the back of the net twice through Diego Moreira, but it wasn’t enough for all three points in the end.
The 2-2 result seems fair all things considered, but one can’t help but think the Rossoneri could have snatched all points, especially since the equaliser came early. Nevertheless, below are five key takeaways from the game.
1. Duo not on Milan’s level
With the risk of sounding like a broken record, we simply cannot ignore how poor Pervis Estupinan and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were in those opening 45 minutes.
The Ecuadorian was by far the worst Milan player overall, showcasing terrible defending on Lazio’s opener. It looked like he was jogging with no urgency whatsoever, despite having a very good position to intervene and prevent the goal (rather easily).
Then, on the second goal, he was beaten once again as his lunge on Noslin hit the bar, almost resulting in an own-goal, and the rebound was turned home by the Lazio man. Once again, he should have been the clear first man to the ball.
In attack, the left wing-back offered very little and one would have to imagine that Amorim will rely more on Davide Bartesaghi and, above all, Moreira between now and the end of the season.
Moving on to Loftus-Cheek, he wasn’t as bad as Estupinan purely because he wasn’t at fault for any of the goals. However, at the same time, he offered next to nothing when going forward as he was poor on the ball, failing to combine with his teammates in the way that Christian Pulisic did.
We have criticised the Englishman quite a bit, so there is no point in going too deep into the argument, but he’s another player who really has cemented his spot on the bench.
Realistically, the duo should only get minutes off the bench or against weaker sides in the Europa League and in Serie A, but the quality isn’t there for them to be starters.
2. Is the Modric dependency over?
The Croatian is without a doubt the most technical midfielder Amorim has at his disposal, but it feels like the previous dependency on him is starting to fade a little. Clearly, he’s struggling to play week in and week out in the system that the Portuguese manager wants Milan to play.
Modric should be great when Milan are in possession, allowing him to dictate the tempo of the game, but yesterday wasn’t like that. Lazio put in a high press early on and once they saw that the Rossoneri made mistakes, including Modric, they only ramped that up.
Indeed, the Croatian struggled to keep hold of possession, losing it quite a few times, and his passing was a bit off too. In the second half, Yunus Musag was introduced in his place and we saw a completely different midfield, able to press high and be aggressive, which was crucial.
This is not to say that Modric shouldn’t play much this season, because we also know that he’s very smart with his movement and thus doesn’t use up as much energy as some of his teammates. However, Milan need to think a little bit more about how to use him.
That is something for Amorim to figure out, hopefully after careful evaluations about which opponents suit the Ballon d’Or winner and which opponents don’t. On the bright side, this could lead to more playing time for Ardon Jashari and Musah, who are two players for the future.
3. Moreira responds to criticism
Milan splashed big on the Belgian in the summer, paying €50m to Strasbourg, and that price tag certainly meant that the expectations were (and are) high. He got his first game against Juventus, in which he was a bit tame as the nerves and the magnitude of the game seemed to get to him.
However, after coming on at half-time against Lazio (this time on the left), he helped turn the game around single-handedly with two lovely goals to bring Milan back level. He created a few more chances after that, although it wasn’t enough for three points.
The effort, and the way he responded to the criticism after the Juve cameo, has to be applauded. Because on top of the attacking display, Moreira covered a lot of ground and tracked back very well on a few occasions, neutralising Lazio’s right flank almost entirely.
You can’t really ask for more from someone coming off the bench: two goals, chances created, good defensive contributions, and a desire to help the team. Stellar performance by the youngster, who without a doubt will start finding himself in the starting XI more often than not moving forward.
4. Substitutes make the difference again
The first half display was incredibly poor and you can ask more from the starting eleven decision, which we will discuss in the 5th takeaway. However, Amorim reacted well at half-time by identifying the weak links and making the necessary tactical changes, as well as substitutions.
We already mentioned the effect that Moreira had on the game, but it’s also fair to praise Pulisic and Musah, who both did a fantastic job.
Musah brought a ton of intensity as he pressed high and was aggressive, recovering multiple balls allowing Milan to be on the front foot and apply pressure to Lazio’s defence. His cross was essential for the second goal, but it was his ability to escape the press and carry the ball forward that made the big difference overall.
As for Pulisic, he finally got to play under Amorim (his first minutes of the season) and he definitely impressed the coach, bringing lots of pace and creativity to the pitch. He was involved in a couple of dangerous situations to begin with, where his ability to dribble in tight spaces served him well.
The No.11 eventually got the assist for Moreira’s first goal and although the pass itself was not a perfect one, the whole sequence couldn’t have happened without his involvement, especially since Rabiot’s pass to him was far from brilliant and required some quick thinking to receive.
Last but not least, Omari Hutchinson also got his debut against Lazio. The Englishman had a couple of good moments, showcasing nice crossing and ball control as well as the needed intensity to put pressure on the opponent.
He played much less than Pulisic and Moreira, but he was also involved in some interesting sequences and has definitely earned more playing time moving forward.
5. Lots to learn for Amorim
If we had judged Amorim just on the second half, it would have been close to a 10/10, but the frustrating reality is that the 45 minutes were truly very poor by Milan.
The starting eleven didn’t make much sense beforehand and the head coach got his response almost immediately, especially from Estupinan and Loftus-Cheek (the two most disputed selections). Modric in the middle clearly wasn’t the best for this game either, which Amorim has admitted.
At the half-time break, Amorim reacted well and turned the game around, but Milan had already lost too much ground at that point. And besides, his main issue hasn’t been the changes during the game, but rather the choices for the starting eleven.
He probably has good reasoning for most decisions, seeing the players on a daily basis, but now he needs to establish a first-choice XI and drop the players that are clearly not up to par. We don’t need to mention yet another time which players those are.
Anyway, to end on a positive note, we know that Milan can play well and implement his principles when they want to (and when the right players are on the pitch). Therefore, there should be some optimism about the weeks ahead.
