Milan, defense and problems: he conceded goals in 13 out of 17 games

It’s not enough to flip back through the calendar to the Dubai retreat to hear the crunches. It is necessary to rewind the tape even to the summer, to those summer tests that are often delegitimized: “Both the football in July and August doesn’t count”. In short, up to a certain point, because it had been evident since then that Milan’s defensive phase was not that of the previous year. It wasn’t the one the Devil had relied on to take the Scudetto to Milanello. Yes, the secret had been defense, far more than offense.

Dirty conscience

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Now, however, it seems that in order to win matches, Milan often have to hope that the attack scores more goals than those conceded. Matches without suffering are starting to get dangerously sporadic. The infamous clean sheet, matches with clean sheets as they used to say. Last championship there were 18 (with a fantastic six in the spring). In these first 17 games there were only 4 (Bologna, Sassuolo, Juve, Cremonese). The change of gear is evident and it takes effect because the central couple is always the same: Kalulu and Tomori, who both have a guilty conscience in this draw with Roma. English, in particular, does not seem to be at the – sublime – level of last year. Of course, the goalkeeper chapter has a considerable specific weight. Maignan is not only Tarzan from one post to another, but also – and perhaps above all – a practical guide that allows his defenders not to get lost. And also the long absence of Calabria was a very heavy pledge in terms of tactical balance, because it forced Pioli to break up the central tandem, widening Kalulu.

Complications

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On a par with Roma, however, the images of a defense lined up on both occasions remain. Also because they were set pieces. Yet first Ibanez and then Matic and Abraham enjoyed the chance to strike in total solitude. Bad markings, wrong tempo choices. Basic feeling? Loss of concentration, because if twelve months ago the movements were coordinated and correct, and the interpreters are the same, there is no other explanation. It’s a Milan that tends to complicate its own life in the final, and this too appears to be a clear indication of a certain superficiality in the management of matches. The same ferocity that the Rossoneri use to rebuke their opponents until the last minute of added time is the same that they allow in the defensive phase. In the last eight outings in the league, the Diavolo has protected his goal well only once, in Cremona. And now he finds himself with the sixth defense of the tournament, a placement that clashes with second place in the standings.