Milan, definitive rejections for Loftus-Cheek and Estupinan: Amorim has found the right key with Moreira and Pulisc
Milan, Amorim rescues it against Lazio once again thanks to his substitutions: the verdicts on Estupinan and Loftus-Cheek are definitive
To err is human, but to persevere is diabolical. Mistakes are part of human weakness, but repeating them out of stubbornness or pride is no longer defensible. For different reasons, Estupinan and Loftus-Cheek have shown glaring problems that stop them performing to their potential: the Ecuadorian is only a pale imitation of the solid wide player admired in the Premier League, while with the Englishman you have to go back three years to find a player up to the job. Against Lazio, Amorim chose to start them and in doing so quite literally handed himself over to the opposition.
Gattuso had seen Estupinan’s difficulties
Gattuso did not hide it in the build-up to the game when he pointed to what could swing things Lazio's way: "We analysed it, we saw it. Many times you always see the back five, they drop deep, but we have to be good with our wide players at keeping them there." The Lazio manager and his staff had picked up well on the problems, already exposed last season against Lazio at the Olimpico, that Estupinan has when runners go in behind him, and they shaped the match around their wide players constantly looking to dart inside. The result? Cancellieri grabbed the opener by cashing in on Estupinan's lapse, with the defender turning as if he were trying to give himself an alibi in front of his team-mates. One statistic explains the former Brighton player's match even better, if read the right way. Estupinan completed 26 of his 28 passes, but only because he was simply laying the ball off to the nearest team-mate.
The criticism have not shifted Loftus-Cheek
Amorim had tried to gee up Loftus-Cheek both in the eve-of-match press conference ("he must not play only the first five minutes") but also immediately before the game: "It is essential always to be honest with the players: when I say something to the media, it is because I have already repeated it ten times to the person concerned. I know it is not a common thing to see, but I consider it important and I think the players trust me, knowing that I come out with certain statements precisely because I believe enormously in their qualities. Take a profile like Loftus-Cheek: he has everything. He has huge physical power, uses both feet, is strong in the air, but he has to learn to stay in the game for the full ninety minutes. The concept is very simple: he has to make an impact with his quality in every single moment of the match. He cannot always be in contact with the ball, but he has to be much more involved in the game. Only by taking part consistently will he be able to help the team be more creative and truly dangerous in the final thirty metres."
None of it worked, and Amorim's plan for the Englishman failed. Pioli tried first, then Fonseca, Conceicao and Allegri. Loftus-Cheek is a player of flashes, but he is also the clearest example of inconsistency, exactly what a Milan side under construction cannot afford. Paradoxically, he could be more useful as the match wears on, when the tempo drops and he can bring his physicality and technique into play. The version of the former Chelsea man seen across these first four matches is not enough to justify a regular starting place in Amorim's set-up.
Moreira and Pulisic
Moreira provided the other side of the same coin with a flawless display, scoring the first brace of his career at the Olimpico. He played on the left, his natural habitat, rather than on the opposite flank as he did in Turin against Juventus. The Belgian winger arrived from Strasbourg for almost €65 million including a fixed fee and bonuses, and he will be the first-choice option on that flank from the next match against Lecce, Amorim did not hide in the post-match press conference on the possible coexistence with another attacking winger such as Chukwueze either: "I want to play with three defenders and two wide wing-backs. So sometimes the two of them will play and Moreira played really well on the left. He has experience of playing on the left at Strasbourg. We know the players very well, so it will happen again in the future".
Milan have finally got the answer they had been anxiously waiting for: Pulisic is well, very well physically. He can operate without problems in the half-spaces Amorim wants from his attacking midfielders. The American is now set to take the place occupied so far by an underwhelming Loftus-Cheek.
