To stay at the top of the table, a team must play as a unit and have the same high level of concentration and motivation. Pioli's AC Milan tonight showed a lot of determination and gave themselves something to hang into by escaping with a narrow win against Empoli.
The Rossoneri started off with the following lineup:
4-2-3-1: Maignan; Calabria, Kalulu, Tomori, Florenzi; Bennacer, Tonali; Messias, Kessie, Leão; Giroud
As for Empoli, their coach used this module:
4-3-2-1: Vicario; Fiamozzi, Romagnoli, Luperto, Cacace; Żurkowski, Asllani, Bandinelli; Bajrami, Henderson; Pinamonti
AC Milan began to press high at the start of the game and had a few goal scoring opportunities. The Rossoneri worked hard and the collective effort was paid off thanks to a screamer scored by Pierre Kalulu. The 21-year-old French defender continues on displaying very impressive performances. After a fixture of marking Victor Osimhen successfully. It was upon him again to deliver in a great fashion as he brought the 3 points to his coach and teammates.
The former Lyon player who signed for Milan after the club had paid a compensation fee of 480k euros only, is proving to be a high level player already at such a young age.
The Rossoneri continued to hold on well in the defence but something did not click for the attackers as Rafael Leao failed to bring his usual level of threats on the left flank. Olivier Giroud worked well in his movements without the ball, but he also was not able to score a goal.
The second half, however, was very different. We saw a different Empoli with a new style. They had nothing to lose as they were trailing behind and put the red and black faithful in difficulty many times.
The defensive duo of Pierre Kalulu and Fikayo Tomori worked well to subdue Pinamonti, Bajrami and their teammates while also covering for Davide Calabria at times who struggled a little today.
Mike Maignan also showed his great skills and despite the attempts of the Empoli side in the second part of the game, he managed to make important saves and tonight, he can finally enjoy another clean sheet for himself.
It was certainly a very tough fixture. What matters the most at this point is getting the three points. The job was done by Stefano Pioli and his boys. Now, time to recover the energy and focus on the next challenge. A game against Cagliari away from home on March 19.
Meanwhile, you can find our players ratings below. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
