AC Milan lost their second game in a row in the Serie A today. The Rossoneri conceded three goals against Sassuolo at the San Siro stadium. The result was obviously not what the fans and team wanted or expected. We knew it was going to be a difficult fixture, but Milan players lacked the creativity and quality to pull off a win.
Sassuolo always like to perform well against AC Milan and the big clubs. Berardi and his teammates today were more superior and deserved the win. But what went really wrong for Stefano Pioli's team?
Three reasons are behind this loss to the Neroverdi. We start with the first one:
1- Fikayo Tomori's absence weighs heavily...
Fikayo Tomori's absence is unbearable for Milan. In the Serie A, he has already skipped today's game and the one against Fiorentina. This may be the reason behind conceding 7 goals in 2 league games. While Alessio Romagnoli proved to be solid against Atlético Madrid, he looked out of form in the defensive phase today. He did score for his team, yes. But, at the back, he made some mistakes which costed the team dearly, and eventually the AC Milan side had to play with one man down after his red card.
Now, Pioli can look to the future with more hope and optimism as Fikayo Tomori should be back for the match against Genoa on Wednesday.
(Getty Images)
2 - Ante Rebic's quality is missing...
The attack is scoring goals, 4 goals in the latest 2 games of Serie A isn't a bad statistic, but it's obviously not been enough. Rafael Leao played today and was not match fit at 100% (this was confirmed by Pioli already yesterday in the press conference). The Portuguese winger did play, but if Rebic were available, maybe he would have been able to make the difference.
3 - AC Milan coach, Pioli, may have selected the wrong lineup...
We understand that Pioli thinks he selected the best team possible while giving rest to some key players. But perhaps sometimes you just cannot change too many players against a quality side such as Sassuolo who definitely have the tools to hurt at any time. Today, for example, Alessio Florenzi was not able to perform to a very good level when Kalulu was available. Most importantly, Ismael Bennacer and Tiémoué Bakayoko played together for the first time as starters. The French midfielder did not look in his best form. Perhaps Pioli should have used Rade Krunic, Franck Kessié or Sandro Tonali from the first minute of the game instead of the Chelsea loanee.
Overall, it is a match to forget for the Rossoneri fans. Now, it is time to look forward to the coming challenge. Genoa is up next, and away from home. Three points will be needed if AC Milan want to fight for the top spot.
