Six wins. One draw. Six losses. That was Milan’s record heading into today’s clash with Mihajlovic’s Torino, and despite progression in Europe, you still get the feeling that Milan boss, Vincenzo Montella is still on the hotseat.
Torino will always have an edge in any game they play, due to the presence of the world-class Andrea Belotti, who will always look to break with thunderous talent and precison finishing, which is a quality that Milan lack.
Milan’s poor forward line was on show, when Nikola Kalinic found himself through on goal, only to shoe the ball wide of the left-hand post. A quality chance which should have been finished - xG won’t look favourably on AC Milan today!
Suso tried to right Kalinic’s wrongs from a deadball situation, but his incredible free-kick was palmed away by Torinio’s Sirigu, who did well to even get to the ball.
Andre Silva would emulate Kalinic with his own miss - how many golden opportunities do Milan need to score? The problem with missing a normal shot is that you’re wasting a good chance to steal the lead, the big issues with wasting so many quality chances is that you are allowing the match to be stolen by the opposition. In future, Milan will need to bury these golden chances - because it’s a running theme now.
Speaking of Silva, the Portuguese found himself in the trenches today and took a beating, yet he still proved resilient in his play, a fine and admirable trait from the promising kid.
Milan squandered another break as Nikola Kalinic was unable to find anyone of the three surging Milan players (Bonaventura, Kessie, Silva) with a simple pass - if you’re counting, that’s golden chance THREE of the first half gone in a puff of smoke.
For once, it seemed that Vincenzo Montella had gotten everything right with the gameplan, it certainly produced the chances - but Kalinic couldn’t bury his nor could Silva.
The chances continued into the second half, with Andre Silva having his cutback frantically cleared. Milan seemed to be able to slice Torino apart at will, with Leo Bonucci especially rampant and his cross-pitch run should have ended with a cut-back and a goal, but the lionhearted defender could only fire wide into the net.
Torino woke up and were gifted a chance by the referee, who harshly punished Romganoli with a handball decision that awarded Torino a dangerous free-kick. After a long wait, Adam Llajic could only fire the ball into the Milanese wall, thankfully. Kalinic was equally unlucky, with his two shots being deflected away by Sirigu, who came up big once more with a save from Suso’s rasping shot.
Kalinic once more missed a great chance as Montolivo and Silva played him in, only for the big man to miss another one-on-one. He was called offside for it, thankfully for him - but still. Again? Hakan Calhanoglu came on for Bonventura, and once Kalinic was caught offside once more, he was taken off to massive jeers - which is a huge shame. Kalinic clapped them off and was replaced for Kalinic.
Torino came firing back after Milan’s misfire - forcing Gigo Donnarumma into a world-class double save that kept Milan in the game. Montolivo came to his rescue and cleared the ball from the line. An incredible display from Milan at the back with Gigio’s first action of the day.
DONNARUMMA con la doble salvada, espectacular. #MilanTorino pic.twitter.com/Yk03DApl3z
— World AC Milan. (@WorldACMilan) November 26, 2017
The final moments of the game drew some drama from Milan, as Silva and Calhanoglu misfired, and Patrick Cutrone’s goal was ruled offside.
Why did Milan lose? Because they didn’t make the most of some clear-cut chances, and simply increased the pressure on themselves. Kalinic must play deeper in the future, as he cannot lead the line in this form, and Milan must keep cool - because snatching at chances doesn’t help.
So, add another draw to the record. Milan fans are not happy, but this is the reality of the situation right now, as the Rossoneri were jeered off by their support.