It had to be the game of consolidation, it had to be the game to make it clear that Milan could fight for the Scudetto.
Milan, none of this happened...
The only certainty is Leao's return to the important matches. The Portuguese, with two goals and great defensive work, showed that he was back at the high level and also that he had improved.
Otherwise, defensively, it was a horrendous game, which once again reflects the wrong market. A central defender was needed and Milan went for Pavlovic. The club invested 20 million on him, but so far the performance, between a few highs and more lows, has not been decent.
Yesterday another insufficiency. Pavlovic appeared uncertain and unbalanced. His teammate, Malick Thiaw, was slightly better, however.
In Milan's defence, nobody is spared from criticism regarding last night's match against Cagliari
Even Emerson Royal, another Rossoneri purchase, delivered another poor performance. many crosses passed from his side that put the defence in trouble. The former Barcelona man was often out of position. Theo Hernandez, meanwhile, had an uncharacteristically rough night; one that allowed Cagliari’s Gabriele Zappa to look more like Roberto Carlos than a full-back striving for consistency in Serie A...
Milan could have done a lot better even in the market choices...
It is precisely from the market that the Rossoneri could have obtained much more and improved defensively. For example, Napoli also needed a defender and spent 35 million euros for Buongiorno, one of the best defenders in our league. A year earlier, Juventus had spent over 40 million for Bremer, one of the best defenders in Serie A.
Milan spent 20 million euros for Pavlovic, who certainly wouldn't be a starter for Juve, Napoli or Inter currently. That makes all the difference. But doing the maths, adding the expenditure for Emerson Royal, around 15 million euros, the Rossoneri club could have bought Buongiorno.
It is pointless trying to find extenuating circumstances: Emerson Royal is a defender with physicality, nothing more. Milan needed to reinforce their defence, but instead they acquired two defenders who do not improve the team, on the contrary, they are making it worse.
Milan, Why not spend 35 million euros on Buongiorno and keep Pierre Kalulu?
Is this Emerson worth more than Kalulu? Obviously not. The Frenchman had already shown his qualities in the Scudetto year and beyond, both as a central defender and as a right-back
Milan has its own modus operandi that cannot coincide with ambitions to win Serie A.
In fact, if you cannot spend more than 20 or 25 million euros on a player, then it means that you are not in a position to buy a top player. Therefore, it is unrealistic to think of competing with the likes of Juventus and Napoli who signed the best in the defensive department: Gleison Bremer and Alessandro Buongiorno respectively.
Milan, what could have been...
In this case the damage is double: you could afford Buongiorno and keep Kalulu. Think of a defence with Maignan, Kalulu, Buongiorno, Tomori and Hernandez. Perhaps you would have started with less uncertainty and fewer defensive problems. Instead, the Rossoneri have added more problems to an already fragile team that changes its central defenders often.
