After a disappointing showing against Carpi, not just from the in-form M’Baye Niang but the Rossoneri as a whole, it felt as if recent progress was halted for AC Milan but the upcoming fixtures could be the perfect remedy says George Rinaldi.
It clearly just was not meant to be for Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side on Sunday night, failing to even test Ved Belec in the Biancorossi goal until the 85th minute with a couple of late efforts from Alex and Giacomo Bonaventura. The failure to gobble up the chances summed up the match as a whole, as did Mihajlovic’s comments following the game that simply stated “We dropped two points today.”
It was true. Milan had been given the perfect opportunity to leapfrog both Atalanta and Sassuolo back into sixth place in the standings. They would have been just a point behind Juventus in fifth and just two behind Roma. But, if we all lived by ifs and buts the entire time, every single team in the league would believe they should not be where they currently reside in the table.
There is little to really get our teeth into this week in terms of players, tactics and performances. Sunday’s match just did not click. Every team has those sort of matches each season, it comes with the joy of the sport. Napoli were handed a 3-2 loss to lowly Bologna on the same day, illustrating how results just come and go.
What Mihajlovic and Milan do have is a tasty looking run-in before the winter break commences.
The Rossoneri have had their bad performance, and yet still managed to grab a point from it. As Mihajlovic repeatedly states during his post match press conferences, they will simply look to the next game and that is all they can do.
Two more matches are coming in Milan’s direction over the coming weeks: Hellas Verona and Frosinone. Arguably, Milan could not have hoped for a better time to face these two sides. Both the aforementioned teams are down in the dumps and already have their eye on a mince pie or two to soften their woes.
On the other hand, Milan have the perfect chance to earn those festive treats with six points and that is exactly what the club will be aiming for. Of course, all coaches want three points, it is a silly statement to make otherwise, but Mihajlovic will be fully aware just how valuable those points could be in May.
As mentioned previously, Milan are only a whisker away from at least some form of European football next season.
Taking on two of the lower ranked sides this season, in fact, all three including Carpi currently inhabit the relegation zone, Milan could be unwrapping their Christmas presents early. Verona, who are rock bottom of the league, have only picked up six points all season. The return of Luca Toni is a big one, but even their World Cup winner is unlikely to salvage anything on Sunday.
Frosinone sit in 18th and are realistically only fairing a little better. Their victories, of which there are four, have come against all the sides around them bar Empoli. Aside from the shock draw to a then depleted Juventus, the stats, as little as they may reflect what can happen in 90 minutes, suggest that Milan will also win this game.
This may all read as a little optimistic, and also rather statistical. There will be cries of stating the obvious and it is. There is little evidence against the Rossoneri grabbing six points from six in the upcoming games, they will win them. The mentality of the side will be significantly increased with some straightforward performances that turn into wins, because with those points they could be in joint fourth for a European place going into the winter break.
With wins expected to arrive against both Verona and Frosinone, it is hard not to see a the six points being the early gift Milan hand to the Milanisti. It may all sound far-fetched and clutching at straws, but come next week we will have a clearer outlook on the above. Let us hope for a rejuvenated Milan to rock up against Verona and leave the Rossoneri breathing down their rivals’ neck. As long as Mihajlovic doesn’t alter too much, as many coaches would be tempted to do after a goalless draw to a relegation threatened side, but all the components are already in place. It is unlikely he’ll alter the attacking line-up after the aforementioned performance against Sampdoria, but wins will surely head back to Milano.
Or Toni could bag a brace and give Verona their first win of the season of Mihajlovic’s side. If it is the former, we will be going through a lot come next week, or so Inter fans hope.
