The Rossoneri picked up their second Serie A win in five days with an impressive performance against Lazio on Sunday evening. George Rinaldi asks can Milan depend on Philippe Mexes?
Alex is out unconscious and AC Milan lead Lazio 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico. Rodrigo Ely remains seated and the number five is held up on the fourth official’s board. It’s time for Philippe Mexes to make his return.
43 seconds was all it took for the Frenchman to stamp his authority on the match. The 33-year-old from Toulouse powered home a bullet header with his first touch of the ball. It was also his first touch of the season.
So far this season it has been the time for the young guns to step forward, Alessio Romagnoli and Ely have been the two dominant forces at the back, with an average age of 21. The steady reliable old head role fell to Brazilian Alex for the match against the Biancocelesti, but his unplayable state following a collision in the penalty area meant Mexes made his return.
Is this the start of one final hurrah for the French centre-half? Having joined the Rossoneri in 2011 on a free from league rivals Roma, he was supposed to be the stronghold of the Milan back four. 86 appearances later and it looked as if the time had finally come for the defender to be moved on. Sinisa Mihajlovic decide to keep the player despite Mexes’ contract running out at the end of the current Serie A season.
It is unlikely Mexes will be offered a contract extension to prolong his stay in Milan. He has slowly decreased in the amount of minutes on the pitch since 2013/14. The campaign before he had played 2,189 minutes, only for that to lower to 1,942 and then 1,668. But his showing on Sunday could change the way the coach picks his defence. Bearing in mind that the Rossoneri have kept just one clean sheet in 11 league matches this season.
Is it right though for Mihajlovic to reinstate Mexes into his team after one decent showing? This is the man who the last time he played at the Stadio Olimpico was sent off after grabbing Stefano Mauri’s throat and the same person who has three red cards and six goals to name since his move from Roma. In comparison to Thiago Silva, a centre-half who played out one less season than Mexes at Milan, who has also scored six times and was never sent off.
Realistically he is not the perfect role model to help mould Ely and Romagnoli into mature defenders. He is not Alessandro Nesta and he is not Paolo Maldini. But what Mexes can bring is some spirit. The French defender can really get his team going when needed, and could be the catalyst to some improved clean sheet stats for Gianluigi Donnarumma and Diego Lopez to get their teeth into.
He may not be the most gifted of defenders, but partnering him alongside Romagnoli for this solitary season could help the young Italian into learning the tricks of the trade. Mexes has been a professional footballer since 1999, he is well aware of how to, or at least attempt to, thwart opposition attackers.
The Rossoneri welcome Atalanta to the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Saturday in what will prove to be a telling sign on if Mihajlovic wishes for Philippe Mexes to make a surprise return to the starting XI. If he doesn’t, it is clear Sinisa knows of the future for Milan. Bringing Mexes back could be a short term solution to a bigger problem. Whatever occurs, supporters will be sitting expectantly for another piece of Mexes brilliance, or shaking their heads at another moment of Mexes madness.
