Compared to previous matches, against Pisa the Rossoneri appeared to have evolved in various aspects which up until now had been Allegri’s strong points
Excellent against Udinese, winning against Napoli, at least solid against Juve, decisive comeback against Fiorentina. Milan recovered a point against Pisa but took a step back, after a month in which it had imposed its candidacy for the Scudetto on Italy. More than a step, a backward somersault. Let’s see how Milan has worsened compared to previous matches.
attitude
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“I saw signs in the first half,” Allegri said at the end of the match. The other 72,615 people sitting at San Siro also saw them. Milan entered softly, scored immediately and perhaps subconsciously thought they would win easily. He wasn’t bad, he never tried to close the game, even when it seemed like there was space. It is no coincidence that at the beginning of the second half it was clear that the atmosphere at San Siro was different. Pisa came back much better, Milan, after a first half with 72% ball possession, gave up the ball and the game changed. Milan’s cynicism, however, remained nowhere to be found.
rhythm
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Anyone who saw the match on TV before leaving risked canceling Friday night: Milan-Pisa, before the finale with fireworks, was a natural sleeping pill. Milan kept the pace low, never managed to accelerate and surprise the Pisa defense. “We needed to be more lucid and faster,” said Allegri and obviously he is right. Most of all, we missed Christian Pulisic, who knows how to raise the pace of the game with a dribble, a play, a drum solo with the ball at his feet.
Attention
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Milan, often perfect in their area, has returned to the blackouts of the past. Before going to sleep, Allegri will have thought above all about the 2-2: according to his principles, with the game in balance, it is not acceptable for the team to be surprised by a throw from Akinsanmiro. Aside from the foul-non-foul on Gabbia, the defense was too exposed. And in other moments, throughout the match, Milan were less precise than usual, lighter, never ruthless. De Winter’s wide arm is also a game-changing detail. And Allegri builds the seasons on those details.
maignan
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One detail, to close. Mike Maignan in his first AC Milan life was a goalkeeper who saved many penalties: Salah, Berardi, Depay, Kvara in the Champions League semi-final. A specialist even against the champions. For some time now, this has no longer been the case. Cuadrado surprised him and is okay with it, even if Allegri said at the end: “I knew he would cross.” However, the last penalty saved by Maignan for the Rossoneri was Kean’s, in Fiorentina-Milan over a year ago. That feeling of a goalkeeper saving penalties, vanished into the air.
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