Il Corriere della Sera newspaper in this morning's edition explained that in the Scudetto winning season, 2021-22, Milan closed with 4 defeats and 31 goals conceded: that strong defense, the best in the tournament, was the key to lifting the famous trophy.
Today, having reached the 25th match milestone, with 13 games still to play, there have already been 5 defeats and 31 goals conceded, meaning the eleventh defense in the league, on par with Monza and behind Genoa.
It is indeed a ruthless comparison, which perfectly explains why two-thirds into the championship the Rossoneri are completely out of the title race. The league leaders, Inter, have 11 points more and one game less, having lost only once and conceded 12 goals, a whopping 19 fewer.
Numbers don't tell everything, but a lot. And now they nail Pioli and his team to their own responsibilities. Because with such a defence, you don't go far.
Malick Thiaw is not yet ready. Theo Hernandez is inconsistent. Simon Kjaer is struggling. And even Mike Maignan is not at the top levels of the championship year.
The most effective image is that of a black hole swallowing everything, destroying everything that is built. "We must try to always score one more goal than the opponent", said the Rossoneri coach a few weeks ago to explain this tendency of his team to tilt too much, but the truth is that it doesn't always work out.
The 9 consecutive positive results of the last two months (7 wins and two draws) had restored certainties and enthusiasm, but the painful slip-up in Monza brought back memories of autumn. After having gained the public trust of President Cardinale just a couple of days before, with Sunday's 2-4 Pioli returned to the fans' sights who rightly contest him for the massive turnover costing a shocking first half. The choice to preserve many starters for the Europa League playoff return leg on Thursday in Rennes, where they will start from the encouraging 3-0 of the first leg, did not pay off.
The impression is that Monza was underestimated. The rest was done by the colossal flop of the reserves, who confirmed that there is a Milan A and a Milan B: from Chukwueze to Jovic, the second choices only perform when coming off the bench, while disappointing as starters. The positive thing is that after the debacle, the Rossoneri coach did not hide, admitting his own responsibilities ("we made too many mistakes") to start turning the page.
He's right about one thing: a defeat cannot and must not ruin the two months' journey before. It is, however, necessary to immediately raise our heads to avoid dangerous setbacks. This is precisely the aspect that Ibrahimovic is working on these hours.
As soon as the match ended on Sunday night, Zlatan Ibrahimovic went down to the dressing room to motivate the players. The starters return on Thursday in Brittany against Rennes in the Europa League, then on Sunday, the direct clash with Atalanta in the league where failure is not an option.
