There have been many downgrades in the squad in the second part of the season. It has now become fashionable to say that up until December Milan had, as they say, overperformed, that is, they collected more than they deserved, and that players like Pulisic, Leao and so on were playing above their actual level. This is how the Rossoneri’s free fall at the end of the season is explained; yet, even if that were partly true, it is certainly superficial and unfair to accuse Allegri’s team in this way. "They were poor even before, but everything just went their way," and many similar phrases risk throwing dust in the eyes of the fans and failing to recognise the abilities of certain players.
Saelemaekers is needed too
Often, in fact, almost always, the finger is pointed at the attack: there is no need to say how much criticism Leao is receiving, Pulisic has not scored since 28 December, a very long drought, Gimenez has never fully fitted into the team’s system, just like Fullkrug and Nkunku. While it is true that goals must be scored by the forwards, it is also true that, whether because of the way matches are set up or for a thousand other reasons, those who are supposed to supply the two strikers up front have also been lacking. But do you remember how much Saelemaekers influenced things in the first half of the season? Alexis has never been a player who frequently got his name on the scoresheet, he has never scored many goals or recorded huge numbers of assists, but he has always had one fundamental quality: quantity combined with quality. Defensive phase, attacking phase, ball recoveries, counter-attacks, the Belgian was everywhere and often, in tandem with Pulisic on the right flank, created imbalances and danger for opposing defences. In the first 15 matches, almost all played in full, he provided 4 assists and scored 2 goals. That was up to December. From January? Just one assist, for Fullkrug in Milan–Lecce.
What has changed?
We know that Alexis is a very temperamental player, often carried along by the flow of the match, for better or worse. You will remember in Rome, even if only half-fit, he delivered perhaps his worst performance in a Milan shirt, so much so that he was substituted at half-time. Or in Cremona, a tough away trip where the Belgian was certainly among the worst performers after an off day. What does this mean? It means that in a period of low confidence, of heavy negative pressure, where everything that can go wrong does go wrong and little or nothing comes off on the pitch, number 56 suffers this situation more than others. But this is where a great player shows himself, when he turns events around rather than letting them overwhelm him. So yes, it would certainly be crucial to see the real Rafa Leao again; it would certainly be crucial to rediscover Pulisic’s sharpness and his goals; it would certainly be crucial to regain defensive stability (completely absent against Sassuolo); but it is just as crucial to rediscover the best Saelemaekers. Hopefully, starting from Sunday, after manager Allegri’s talk, he (like the whole team) can help the fans sleep more peacefully in the race for Champions League qualification.
