Tomori-Milan, what happened? That’s why he doesn’t play anymore

Two minutes. Not entered. Not entered. Not entered. Nine minutes. Not entered. Not entered. Not entered. Not entered. Two minutes. In two lines – let’s hurry – Fikayo Tomori’s last two and a half months in the league: a lethargy with a few minutes of football to break the boredom. Now Juventus’ attempt, which under the right conditions would take him as early as January. Yes, but how did it happen? How did we get here?

reason 1: Florence

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We can’t help but start with Fiorentina-Milan, 6 October. Fikayo Tomori was a regular for Milan until the beginning of October. Shaky, but a starter. Then something broke with Fonseca and that match explains a lot. Tomori is the man who in Florence passes the ball to Abraham to kick the second penalty (wrong, like the first), a penalty that would have fallen to Pulisic. Looking back at that video makes it clear: Tomori takes the ball and finds Abraham half a meter away from him, he doesn’t make a thoughtful choice and it’s rather Tammy who keeps Pulisic away as if to say “I’ll kick”. In contributory negligence, a terrible outcome. In the same match, Tomori missed De Gea’s relaunch which sent Gudmundsson through on goal to make it 2-1 for Fiorentina. A bad evening but it’s a long step from here to never playing again. Another piece of explanation is needed.

pattern 2: cage and thiaw

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Matteo Gabbia and Malick Thiaw are part of the answer. Gabbia is playing an almost perfect season and Thiaw, alongside him, is convincing. An unexpected couple, but a productive one. In theory, they have similar characteristics: they are good with the ball and in the air but can suffer from fast attackers. In the field, however, they work. In the last five games they have conceded only two goals, in Bergamo against Atalanta where almost everyone is in difficulty. Also look at the opponents’ expected goals, i.e. the opportunities created in the Maignan area: Verona 0.65, Genoa 0.20, Atalanta 2.63, Empoli 0.40, Juventus 0.81. Not bad.

reason 3: its performance

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Tomori, on the other hand, has had ups and downs. He struggled a lot in setting up against Liverpool and with Boniface against Bayer Leverkusen. Evidently, Fonseca is not convinced: he preferred other defenders to him and always kept him out in important matches. One statistic, more than the others, condemns him. Tomori has played 1087 minutes this season and in those 18 hours Milan conceded 19 goals: on average, one every 57 minutes. Pavlovic conceded a goal every 62 minutes – similar figure – but Thiaw in that statistic reaches 99 minutes and Gabbia rises to 132. Nobody is surprised if they play.