AC Milan 2-1 Como: Five things we learned – strugglers rescued again | OneFootball

After a scrappy 3-2 win against Lecce, AC Milan set their sights on the Como game, hoping to go into the international break with a bit of momentum.

The game started well for Milan and they should’ve scored in the opening minutes but Yunus Musah failed to hit the target after dribbling past the goalkeeper, which was quite the letdown by the American.

Following that chance, the Rossoneri had good opportunities to hurt Como with some good through balls down the flanks. However, the efficiency was not there – in particular from Rafael Leao, who found himself in dangerous areas but failed to create anything worth mentioning.

Then in the 33rd minute, Como opened the scoring with a low driven shot from outside the box that was too much for Mike Maignan.

In the second half, Milan were lucky with Como scoring a goal in the 49th minute just for it to be disallowed due to a slim offside, which angered Cesc Fabregas – very much the case of getting off with one.

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The Rossoneri then struck shortly after with a lovely finish by Christian Pulisic to bring it level. Then in the 75th minute Tijjani Reijnders managed to beat the keeper after a lovely ball from Tammy Abraham.

Winning the game from behind is becoming, once again, rather common for the Diavolo, and whilst three points are in the bag, there are definitely some questions to be asked about the sustainability.

Here are five things we learned:

1. Duo disappoint

It was yet another game where both Leao and Santiago Gimenez struggled, with the Mexican having very little input. Whilst the service was bad, we can’t keep using that excuse as he will have to take on more responsibility at some point and try to get himself in the game.

The Portuguese also wasn’t great down the flank and while he did manage to beat his man on multiple occasions, making it look easy, his decision making kept failing him as it has for quite a while now.

There were a couple of chances where he really should’ve done more as he beat his man and had plenty of space in front of him but rushed the pass leading to nothing.

2. Pulisic and Reijnders decisive

The American was a bit quiet in the first half, but as he managed to get his mark just at the right time when things were very delicate for Milan. Pulisic scored a great goal with his weak foot to make it level and the pass from Reijnders was not bad either.

Image: AC Milan

The Dutchman then topped off his good performance with a lovely goal to complete the comeback which also won him our MOTM award. Reijnders improved massively in the second half when he played in a more advanced role, and one has to think why Conceicao opted for Musah in the advanced role to begin with.

3. Milan’s midfield problem persists

The Rossoneri have changed coaches, reshuffled the midfielders, but the reality is that they still have a problem in that area. Being brutally honest, Reijnders is the only one deserving a spot in the Starting XI consistently, all the ones around him having questionable performances week in, week out.

Musah was very poor in the opening minutes, failing to even hit the target after beating the goalkeeper, not to mention he had options in terms of passing too.

Then Warren Bondo wasn’t bad, truth be told, but he doesn’t quite dictate the game and the Rossoneri really need someone in that role that can intercept and dictate the game well in order to allow Reijnders to go forward more.

In the second half, Fofana was no better either, committing several fouls as well as losing the ball fairly easily. As a result, he brought nothing positive onto the pitch and the Diavolo struggled to keep the ball even with a man extra.

So despite where Milan end this season, they really need to improve the quality of the midfield going into next season.

4. Crucial off the bench

With Gimenez struggling to get going, it was a logical move for Conceicao to bring on Abraham and the Englishman repaid with a lovely assist for Reijnders on the winning goal.

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The striker showcased his vision and the pass itself was perfect too. Furthermore, he linked up with his teammates straight away and he should’ve really gotten another assist, but Reijnders somehow missed the clearer chance it seemed like.

It’s going to be interesting if Abraham will get his chance to start a game given that Gimenez just can’t get going at the moment.

5. Walker and Gabbia struggle

Matteo Gabbia struggled with Diao in the first half, and although he improved in the second, he really should’ve done better throughout as we’ve seen him play much, much better and this time out he was just too rash.

Kyle Walker also struggled with Diao on that right flank and was often caught off-guard. He also tried to make something happen going forward, but his passing let him down on a few occasions and his efforts resulted in nothing.

While the Englishman is definitely an improvement to both Calabria and Emerson, at least defensively, it’s becoming clear that he can’t be a long-term solution, which isn’t a surprise given his age.

Therefore, if the management see an opportunity to improve the quality on the right flank, they should jump on it.