Milan rebounded from a 2-2 draw against SPAL in a brilliant way, winning 3-0 against Lazio in Rome. It was a great win for Rossoneri that gave Lazio their first home loss of the season.
Pioli made some changes to the starting eleven with Kjaer, Saelemaekers, Bonaventura and Ibrahimovic returning. After the disappointing result against SPAL, the Rossoneri wanted to get all three points and they surely played in a surprising way, dominating Lazio for most of the game, hitting their title ambitions hard.
Hakan Calhanoglu opened the scoring with a blow to the edge of the area, followed by a penalty from Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Ante Rebic, who replaced the Swede at halftime, scored the third to secure victory. Below are five things we learned.
1. Healthy competition
Ante Antebic had a rather disappointing performance against SPAL, Pioli chose to start the game with Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swede, in return, scored the second goal through a penalty, but it seemed that he only had 45 minutes on foot.
The Croatian, on the other hand, seemed determined to score a goal for himself, as he was constantly pushing since he came out onto the field, even if his team was already winning 2-0.
By adding a goal to his account in the end, it seems like Rebic is taking on the challenge of competing against Zlatan for the starting point and it’s only good news for Pioli as his forwards will strive to do more to play more.
2. Solid rock duo
Another game, another brilliant performance by the Bennacer-Kessie duo. The two have gelled well completing each other. The Algerian had an incredible game in which he dictated the rhythm of the game and made few mistakes.
His pass was also on point and he showed off his dribbling skills throughout the game. The Ivorian, on the other hand, managed to contain Lazio’s midfield with ease and, in particular, did not allow Sergej Milinkovic Savic to do much.
The performance of Kessie, quite a warrior, who helped her defense a lot and was carried away by the dirty work. We can see that her pass has also improved and she tries to play with a single touch, which is going very well.
3. Kjaer’s return made the difference
After the minor injury, Kjaer returned in the opening XI against Lazio. And what game he had, without giving space to the attackers of Lazio. The Danish has been associated well with Romagnoli and with his physical presence, he has become a crucial part of Milan’s bottom line. The duo, overall, made little or no mistake, by not allowing Correa and Luis Alberto to do much.
Kjaer was also interested in participating in the build-up, throwing long balls forward when the option was there to try to pace his team’s attack. The Danish international has surely won a contract beyond his loan and it is a no-brainer for Milan to sign it.
4. positive signs
Saelemaekers received his first outing for Milan after arriving in January and the youngster performed positively. While thrown against a team vying for the title, he managed to showcase his raw talent.
His desire and will to chase all the balls that were heading towards him helped his team a lot, as he was running all over the field throughout the game. While he was calm in the first half, although he won the penalty kick with his cross, it is fair to say that he did a lot of defensive work to help his teammates.
In the second half, he had a bit more free space and showed some rhythm and skill, but as we mentioned earlier, he looks crude and doesn’t have enough confidence to play his game. But for such a low price, Milan decided to stay with him and seems to be taking advantage of his recent good performances.
5. Any appreciation
It is only fair to give Pioli a little credit for the work he has done. While we miss some results, we can see that the team is moving in the right direction and it is only the bad start to the season that keeps us so low on the table.
The Rossoneri finally see themselves as a team and, above all, they play as a team, which makes them quite pleasant to watch today, something that we could not have said at the beginning of the season.
Pioli has done a great job individually and many players have improved in recent months, including Bennacer, who had a shaky start with Giampaolo and then Kessie, Calhanoglu, Samu, Rebic, etc.
Milan have had two great victories against two great teams in just one week, and we all know how much the Rossoneri have fought against the best teams. Therefore, not praising Pioli would be a shame as he has really tried hard to correct him.
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