Inter and Como will face each other. Will Milan seize the opportunity? That is the significance of the Rossoneri's trip to Liguria. If they beat Genoa, they will gain points on either Inter or Como, or on both if the match in Milan ends in a draw.
As of this morning, Milan are fifth with 21 points, and if the season's objective is fourth place, the last position that qualifies for the Champions League, it is necessary to establish whom they should be chasing. The top four are Lazio (28), Roma (27, with one game more), Inter (25) and Como (23). Lazio are the wonderful outsiders; the other three were expected to be there. Milan won the derby, but the midweek round of European competitions re-established a certain distance. Inter beat Feyenoord away from home in the Champions League, while Milan lost at San Siro against Ferencvaros in the Europa League.
Not to mention Como, with their extraordinary 9-1 victory in Lens. Yesterday, Roma beat Sassuolo and spent the night in second place. Today, Milan are inferior to the teams above them in the standings because, unlike the top four, they are still searching for a strong identity. They would like to play in a certain way, to be "high" and aggressive, but they manage it only in flashes, for brief periods. If the main target is a return to the Champions League, there is no alternative: today they must win, otherwise they will miss the train. If Inter were to come out on top in Milan, a possible three points in Genoa would allow the Rossoneri to overtake Como and grab fourth place. Seize the moment or get tangled up. At Marassi, a test of truth for Milan.
After every victory, there is a relapse for Milan... A matter of mentality?
Inconsistency as a way of life... In their last six matches between Serie A and the Europa League, every victory has been followed by a defeat, as the graph above shows. According to the principle of alternation, Milan should win today because on Thursday they were beaten in the cup by Ferencvaros, but sequences are made to be broken. Milan supporters should be wary and not believe in such automatic patterns. Milan will turn the corner and become mature when they get off the seesaw.
To understand the ups and downs, one must look at the mind: the issue is mental. The team does not know how to manage victory. They experience it as a definitive cure, and the following time they fall victim to a relapse. Ruben Amorim knows the problem. His disappointment after Ferencvaros can be traced back to the attitude, the opposite of the one displayed five days earlier against Inter, and he spoke about it in the dressing room, a euphemism for saying that he got angry.
We do not know how much age plays a role. At Milan, youth and experience are well mixed. For example, on Thursday against Ferencvaros, 20-year-old Cisse and 31-year-old Rabiot were equally ineffective. Perhaps it is necessary to question whether there is a lack of figures capable of shaking up the group, of keeping it constantly alert and reactive.
Judging by what can be seen on the pitch, Mike Maignan is the player who expresses the strongest personality. It is no coincidence that they made him captain, but who knows whether, at Milanello, the goalkeeper makes himself heard by his teammates with authoritativeness, indeed with authority. Luka Modric, a world-class player laden with glory, is a professor with the ball at his feet, indeed a genius, but he does not seem to be someone who drives his teammates forward. He displays a technical and silent leadership. Modric knows how to win consistently; Milan hope he will teach the younger players how to do so.
Genoa's coach, De Rossi, aims for a positive result against AC Milan
De Rossi's Genoa arrive at the match with Milan riding the momentum of their last three consecutive victories, which have revived the Rossoblù after a difficult first part of the season. Now the coach, who two days ago celebrated his first year in charge of the Grifone ("this club will remain something important in my life"), is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, although he firmly puts the brakes on the enthusiasm surrounding the team:
"Against Milan, we will need a serious performance. We must not let it go to our heads. The ideal would be to play ninety minutes similar to those we played against Juve. We need to keep our feet on the ground; we are still the same team. Thinking differently would be a mistake. The truth, moreover, is that Milan are a great club, with a squad built to try to win the league, and they will fight to achieve that until the very end. Therefore, on our part, a courageous performance will be needed. I demand ambition from my players, not mediocrity."
He is well aware that the defeat in the Europa League will not change the opponent's attitude:
"They know it is a difficult match and they will approach it as champions do."
El Shaaraway, Messias, and Colombo... Watch out for the former players...
At Genoa, attention must be paid to the group of former Milan players. Stephan El Shaarawy, the Pharaoh, was a Rossonero for four years, between 2011 and 2015. He won only one Italian Super Cup, but he left behind good memories. Today he is expected to start. De Rossi uses him between the left flank and the attacking midfield position, and his curved movements can create danger.
Junior Messias is expected to be on the bench, but who knows whether that will really be the case. The Brazilian, who spent two seasons in Milan, was the best player in Lecce-Genoa (1-2) a week ago. Messias has muscles made of silk and gets injured all the time, but this season (Genoa supporters should keep their fingers crossed) he has set foot on the pitch in every league match. His creativity is well known. Messias is a number 10 with a tendency towards being a nine-and-a-half: he creates goals for his teammates and scores himself.
Lorenzo Colombo, who grew up in Milan's youth academy and was a favourite of Ibrahimovic, who had nicknamed him Hulk, has lost his central role in the Rossoblù attack because the starting centre-forward is the Montenegrin Osmajic. De Rossi has sometimes played them together, with excellent results. In this Serie A season, Colombo has not yet scored, but he has two assists to his name, both for Osmajic.
Robinho Junior, a talented 18-year-old Brazilian, son of the Robinho who won the 2011 league title with Milan, is not among Genoa's called-up players. A pity, it would have been evocative. We will talk about it again next time, writes Gazzetta dello Sport in this morning's print edition.
5. Gonçalo Ramos scores very little for Milan...
On Thursday, against Ferencvaros, Gonçalo Ramos touched the ball 26 times in 90 minutes plus stoppage time. Among those who were not substituted, he was the Rossonero least involved in the game. It is true that a centre-forward, because of his role, is destined to see less of the ball than a midfielder or a defender, but what matters is that he makes himself dangerous, and Gonçalo was harmless against the Hungarians. He never hit the target.
He was the Milan player who engaged in the highest number of duels (13), and this figure could confirm the impression of a Ramos disconnected from the rest of the team, searching for an individual solution, one against many. So far, Ramos has seemed like a foreign body.
In 13 matches between the league and the Europa League, he has scored just three goals, two in Serie A, including one from a penalty, and one in the Cup. Plus one assist. Little, indeed very little, for a striker who cost more than 70 million.
Gonçalo Ramos was not born a centre-forward. He became one and interprets the role in an atypical way, certainly not as a battering ram, but rather as a creator and/or opportunist. Originally, he was an attacking midfielder, and perhaps the misunderstanding lies entirely here, somewhat like the case of Juventus' Kolo Muani, more of a wide or supporting forward than an out-and-out goalscorer.
There is no doubt that Gonçalo possesses refined technique, that he knows how to exchange passes properly, and that he is willing to provide lay-offs. At Milan, he had started reasonably well. It seemed that he could combine flashes of inspiration with goals. Gradually, he faded, falling prey to a certain lack of confidence.
It is surprising that Amorim has not yet brought out his qualities, that he has not connected him properly with those around him. They are both Portuguese, so there are no linguistic misunderstandings. We would not want Ramos's time to be running out. If he wakes up and scores, fine. Otherwise, Amorim could turn to others.
