AC Milan 1-2 Lazio: Five things we learned – disappointment from old and new

SempreMilan

·3 marzo 2025

AC Milan 1-2 Lazio: Five things we learned – disappointment from old and new

AC Milan disappointed in their last two games against Torino and Bologna, and unfortunately, it was no different against Lazio where the Rossoneri were again beaten.

Lazio started the game more convincingly and were by far the better team in the first half, creating plenty of chances and that paid off in the 28th minute when Zaccagni opened the scoring.

OneFootball Video

As has become a commodity, there was no immediate reaction from Milan and eventually things just got worse and worse with Strahinja Pavlovic earning himself a red card in the 67th minute.

It was looking very bad for the Rossoneri until the 85th minute when, out of nothing, Samuel Chukwueze managed to score a great header to bring his side level after he was left unmarked at the far post.

That gave the side some momentum and they had a couple of chances, where they should’ve done more and could’ve done more to win the game, but they failed to do so. After losing the ball easily, for the nth time, Lazio countered and won a penalty with Mike Maignan being the culprit.

1. Jimenez not ready for the first team

Alex Jimenez has been given more and more game time in recent weeks, but he keeps being disappointing in both phases of the game. As a result, it is evident now that he’s not ready to be more than a rotational player when other key players are injured.

Jimenez lost his duel with Tavares down the flank and fell asleep on the first goal whilst also offering next to nothing in attack. Disappointing performance, to say the least.

2. Pavlovic and Maignan disappoint

Well, you could argue a lot with both the red card and the penalty and if the calls were right, but unfortunately both Pavlovic and Maignan gave enough to the referee so he could make the calls.

The Serbian also made a poor clearance prior to the first goal and whilst the fault doesn’t fall solely on him, he could’ve done a bit more and been more aware of his surroundings in what was an easily preventable situation.

Photo by Marco Rosi – SS Lazio/Getty Images

Then, on the red card, there’s little to say and the fact of the matter is he did not get the ball. Unfortunately, it all started with Fofana sloppily losing the ball, but it was the centre back that paid the price in the end.

Maignan actually had an okay game as he made a crucial save early on and whilst he could’ve done better on the first goal, there were too many individual mistakes from the players in front of him to put any blame on him, really.

On the penalty though, he was a bit rash to come out as he did and make contact with his opponent when he could’ve stayed on his line. Yes, the decision may have been harsh but again, the Frenchman did enough to warrant that decision.

3. Fofana – Musah not going to cut it

The duo were practically invisible for large chunks of the game and when they managed to get on the ball they were really sloppy, unfortunately. Yunus Musah was dispossessed on a few occasions and wasteful in attack. Considering he was subbed off after just 37 minutes, enough can be taken away from it.

Youssouf Fofana was also shockingly poor in the midfield, as his passing let him down on multiple occasions whilst his inflated belief in himself made for some comic relief after he skied a couple of shots.

To top it off, one of the times he lost the ball cheaply was when Pavlovic earned himself the red card, a completely avoidable situation but the Rossoneri’s lack of ideas in the final third proved costly yet again.

Overall, really poor from Fofana who, barring a couple of good games since joining in the summer, has been disappointing as he looks like yet another mistake the management made in the summer.

4. Trio do well off the bench but not enough

Malick Thiaw, Luka Jovic and Chukwueze all came on in delicate moments, but all things considered they did rather well. Thiaw was good defensively and did the job even though his side was a man down.

Jovic had a couple of good combinations with his teammates and oddly enough, made a couple of important defensive interceptions. Despite not making much happen in the opponent’s box, it was still better than what Santiago Gimenez had to offer.

Finally, Chukwueze managed to win the man of the match in our post-game ratings, which was rather easy given all the poor performances, but the Nigerian scored a good goal and got Milan back into the game in a very tough situation – it’s unlucky that they couldn’t even manage to hold onto the draw.

5. Who’s the issue here?

After a couple of months of Sergio Conceicao, it’s time to reflect, mostly because the season seems pretty much finished for the Rossoneri, excluding a Cup run that might result in silverware, although unlikely given the current state of the club.

Conceicao has claimed fewer points per game than Paulo Fonseca did, and after a mixed start, where a lot of positives could’ve been drawn purely based on the energy he brought, it must be said that this energy is gone and Milan are playing worse compared to before he arrived.

Individual mistakes in every game, lack of discipline, and the coach throwing fits and playing the victim sure doesn’t look good.

So despite the players being poor, and they definitely have been, it’s fair to say that Conceicao has also not been the solution the management were looking for because one thing is certain. this team possesses much more quality than a 9th place team in Serie A.

At this point, it’s obvious that the issues are coming from the top. The club seems like a toxic workplace now, where nobody seems happy and motivation is understandably missing.

A situation that needs fixing desperately.