Santiago Gimenez... This is what a center forward is for, to resolve complicated matches, to appear at the right moment in front of goal, to turn a chance into a goal.
'Santi' is the center forward Milan needed, and he confirmed it yesterday against Verona, even though much of the credit for the decisive goal belongs to Rafa Leao. The Portuguese winger, who came on at the start of the second half after a dreadful first half, combined with Jimenez (another substitute who brought a burst of energy onto the pitch) and chipped the ball over Montipò, delivering Gimenez the easiest of assists. A simple goal, sure, but to score it, you have to be in the right place—just like Pippo Inzaghi used to be. Are we certain Morata would have positioned himself the same way? Before scoring, you have to "feel" the goal, and that’s why, in the decisive moment, Gimenez managed to shake off Verona’s tightly focused defense. As a true center forward, he read the play before it unfolded. And maybe Milan should also start understanding a few things because the victory over Verona leaves a valuable lesson.
For large stretches of the match, Conceição’s team played as if Morata were still leading the attack rather than the Mexican, who provides a strong presence in the box and needs to be activated differently—especially since he knows how to hurt opponents when given the right service. Yesterday, Gimenez had two chances and scored twice, though the first goal was disallowed for offside. He needs vertical passes that allow him to attack the space or crosses where he can exploit his aerial ability and sharp anticipation of defenders. At Feyenoord, the wingers played for him, and even the full-backs looked for him with crosses when they pushed forward. Milan, on the other hand, never managed to serve him with proper timing—or didn’t even try.
Conceição rotated his attacking midfielders three times, but none of the setups convinced: he started with Musah-Joao-Sottil, switched to Jimenez-Joao-Leao, and finished with Pulisic-Joao-Leao. The "4-2-Fantasy" formation was deployed at the end of the game without fear, given Verona’s passive approach, yet Milan still created little. The full-backs contributed too little from deep: Walker never pushed forward and was subbed off partly because of it, while Theo seemed apathetic—something that has happened often this season. Only Jimenez, very enterprising and excellent in the delicate chip that sent Leao through for the assist, managed to unlock Verona’s defense.
Conceição made a lot of changes, resting Pavlovic, Pulisic, and Leao, but was ultimately forced to bring on the American and the Portuguese. Sottil still looks lost and was taken off at halftime. Musah covered three roles (right winger, full-back, and central midfielder), proving that his best quality is his tireless work rate. Joao Felix was the liveliest of the starters, but he never truly turned on the creative spark.
It was surprising how difficult Milan found it to create chances against one of the five worst defenses in Europe. Among the top European leagues, only Leicester and Southampton in the Premier League, Holstein Kiel in the Bundesliga, and Saint-Étienne in Ligue 1 have conceded more than Verona. And yet, at one point, it seemed like Milan was heading for a frustrating 0-0 draw. Now that they have a true center forward, they need to adjust their approach to make better use of him.
The match
In the first half, Milan created very little: a disallowed goal for Gimenez due to offside, a long-range shot from Reijnders, and most notably, a comfortable chance wasted by Musah, who sent the ball into the stands. Zanetti set up Verona in a 3-5-1-1 shape that, without the ball, almost always became a 5-4-1. Sarr acted as the target man for long balls, while Suslov floated just ahead of the midfielders, who focused almost exclusively on defensive duties. Niasse tracked Reijnders, while Duda dropped deep to mark Joao Felix in front of the defenders. The positional interchanges between the Dutchman and the Portuguese were one of the few positive aspects of a first half that lacked speed, combinations, and bold attacking moves. Even Maignan continued his worrying trend of handling errors, letting a harmless shot from Duda slip through his hands—fortunately for him, it only resulted in a corner.
The substitutions livened up the game, and Verona retreated too deep, abandoning any attempts to counterattack. Musah took two shots from distance but failed to hit the target. In fact, Milan only managed one shot on target in the second half (Gimenez’s goal) and three overall—a poor return considering they had 73.8% possession. This is something Conceição will need to reflect on, not just for the crucial clash against Feyenoord but also for the final stretch of the league season. The race for fourth place is tight, and a draw yesterday would have made it even harder.
In the second half, Verona practically surrendered, allowing Milan to push forward without fear of being caught out on the counterattack—but that won’t always be the case. Gimenez needs proper service to make his mark.
Source: La Gazzetta dello Sport
