Luka Jovic spent Sunday evening in Madrid, taking advantage of the rest granted by Pioli. However, the ideal scenario for Milan would be a journey back in time, not in space: not to the times of Real Madrid but even earlier, to Eintracht Frankfurt, when Jovic troubled defenses in Germany and the Europa League.
It was the 2018-19 season, his golden year: 17 goals in the Bundesliga, 10 in the Europa League. It was simply another life. Jovic at Milan, in the match against Genoa, specifically – seemed heavy, never brilliant. And Pioli said it without beating around the bush: "Jovic knows how to play football, especially with his back to the goal, but he can improve the intensity." Here, the physical condition in recent years has been an issue: Jovic can and must do much more. In Genoa, Pioli also said another sentence: "I believe this match will do him good mentally. Luka is working well and he will grow."
The impression is that he sent him onto the field for this reason, looking ahead. The best solution for Genoa was Giroud, but Pioli needs an involved Jovic, integrated into the group. Giroud cannot play all the time and he is unlikely to score a hat-trick: Juventus, PSG, and Napoli, three matches in seven days, all as a starter.
This way, Jovic might have a new opportunity from the first minute, perhaps in one of the two league matches because in Paris, with the qualification for the round of 16 on the line, Giroud is definitely expected in the starting lineup. And Okafor? Well, Okafor is now a winger, Leao's backup: that's the position where he performs best and he himself has also told Pioli this.
In the lead-up to Milan-Juve, Giroud and Jovic are not exactly twins. Tomorrow, France will play a friendly against Scotland and Giroud will add minutes to the 20 he played on Friday against the Netherlands. High-profile intercontinental travels. Jovic, on the other hand, stayed at Milanello, just like in the two days of the trip to Cagliari when Pioli preferred not to bring him along to let him train calmly. In short, he gave him some time first, then trust, now it's up to Luka to respond with a sign of life. He arrived at Milan in a curious way, as the fourth choice on the last day of the transfer market, when Jovic was in Milan waiting for a call. As soon as Milan let him know that yes, he was the choice, Luka rushed to Casa Milan. He is expected with the same readiness on a bouncing ball between Bremer and Rugani, in Juve's area, writes La Gazzetta dello Sport.
