Milan-Borussia Dortmund, what Pioli needs

When the Champions League arrives, they say that the previous match is a dress rehearsal. Well, in this case it must be said immediately: better not. It’s better that this isn’t the case, because if this is the false line of Milan who will face Dortmund on Tuesday, they more or less have to cross themselves. Too many individuals performed at lower standards – decidedly lower – than their own reference parameters, this victory was too “weak” to restore calm to a Rossoneri world fresh from weeks of great upheaval.

door lock

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A weak victory not only because it suffered excessively, but because it came after a first half of too low a level. Regardless of the performers who, as we know, were not the stars of the Rossoneri cast, but not even mere extras. One of the keys to the last summer transfer market was precisely this: if not filling, then at least decreasing the gap between starters and reservists. At the moment, that key is struggling to fit into the lock. So what is Milan waiting for the arrival of the yellow and black army from Dortmund? A Devil reassured by the return to the three points, of course. It seems trivial but it isn’t after those three points in the league had been missing for four games in a row. After the last two outings at San Siro had been equally defeats. Certainties fail, clarity vanishes, your head shows you a thousand ways and most of the time it makes you take the wrong one.

siege

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It’s a Milan that is strictly tied to psychology, rather than tactics at the moment. It was clear from the way the second half began, that is, with the courage and looseness of mind generated by Hernandez’s goal at the end of a horrible first half. The antithesis of what the Champions League asks for: non-existent intensity, anti-fatigue training rhythms, like a team playing with energy saving mode. Hernandez’s skids are a fleeting memory, Calabria’s application is a vanished talent, Chukwueze’s exuberance is a film from the past, Jovic’s ferocity is a parallel universe. Even Maignan started to throw a tantrum: an empty exit, a bloody pass at the opponents’ feet which narrowly missed the goal. Then, of course, Mike is a professor of the role and in the end he saved the Rossoneri shack. But this too is worth talking about: the Viola was a siege. It didn’t have a good outcome but there could have been another final at the Meazza.

perfume

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In short, the reasoning is clear: with half the team confined to the infirmary, it is legitimate to lose potential, but the attitude is another thing. Just as it is equally legitimate to imagine that, as has already happened with PSG, the scent of the European night and the music of the Champions League will change that attitude for the better. The team will also be different. Loftus-Cheek, who is a pillar of this system, will return to the starting lineup. And the same goes for Giroud, who at 37 years old continues to force himself to remain the only reliable offensive terminal for this team. We will need another evening like with PSG, for sure, also because to experience a real European Milan night in Newcastle, we first need to find one with Borussia.