Luca Bianchin, a journalist, spoke to 'La Gazzetta dello Sport' about the performances of Milan midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek:
“But did Mike Maignan really cover more ground than Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the first five league games? The data on distance covered in Serie A is clear: Maignan 25.9 kilometres, Loftus-Cheek 25.8, in a ranking where Milan’s leader is Gonçalo Ramos with 57.3 kilometres. A goalkeeper moves around the pitch more than a midfielder. Before calling for Loftus-Cheek to be gone for just cause, consider one fact: Maignan has played 450 minutes plus stoppage time (he has never been substituted), while RLC has played 210. He has started three of the five games and has come on as a substitute in every match, whether at the start or later on. Maignan therefore covers 57 metres per minute, Loftus-Cheek 123: that is the real proportion."
"Between August and September, 'RLC' has fallen down Amorim’s pecking order and has continued to give the impression of being a soft, inconsistent player. He was a starter at the beginning of the season; today, he is a substitute. He is playing less and less, while Pulisic’s return and Diego Moreira’s development will take even more minutes away from him. Prediction: barring injuries, he and Alphadjo Cissé will play less and will be the players sacrificed most in Milan’s October. And Loftus will probably, when he does play, be deployed closer to the opposition goal, because those are the qualities that can help Amorim: his physical presence and his ability to decide a game with a goal or an assist. With 90 minutes of running up and down the pitch, that becomes less likely.”
