Tactical Review of Milan's Slim 1-0 Victory Over Fiorentina On The Road

AC Milan pulled off a slim victory over Fiorentina to keep their Champions League hopes alive going into the final two match days. Here's a review of the game:

Romagnoli Leading from the Back

The game against Fiorentina was a huge landmark for Alessio Romagnoli. He racked up his 150th Game wearing a Rossoneri shirt and kept a valuable clean sheet to win us all three points and hold onto the slimmest chance to make it into the Champions League. Romagnoli showed his leadership and quality directing Milan’s defensive form. Romagnoli made an incredible last ditch tackle that maintained Milan’s clean sheet and played a major role bringing some ferocity back into the team following his absence. Romagnoli must play a inspiring role in the team to ensure Milan grab the next 6 available points to ensure competition for the UCL places.

Kessie a Bottler

Despite being a huge Franck Kessie fan, I am beginning to get absolutely frustrated with his efforts in the final third. He is a professional footballer who can’t seem to hit the target to save his life. During the game, he seemed to be taking a positive turn with some threatening square balls but his decision making and his wayward shots overshadowed any positives he may have displayed. The more Kessie under performs, the unlikelier it is for him to hold onto his place with Milan in the coming transfer windows. He has to rediscover his form from Atalanta where he managed to score some incredible goals and create opportunities for his teammates.

Hakan Scores a Lovely Header

Milan are having a rediscovery of results from their wingers over the past few weeks. Hakan Calhanoglu and Suso combined brilliantly to net the winning goal against Fiorentina to secure a crucial three points. The winger duo are rediscovering their productivity and finally converting assists and goals. Calhanoglu seems to have a favourite opponent against Fiorentina where he has netted thrice and assisted three times in four games. Calhanoglu scored only his second Serie A goal of the season but it was an important one, Suso on the other hand has now directly contributed to a goal for two consecutive games for the first time since late 2018.

Donnarumma Showing Maturity

Gigio Donnarumma is solid as ever and still making exceptional game-winning saves week on week. He has matured and grown so much this season, it is truly unbelievable considering his terrible start to the season. Gigio played a key role keeping Fiorentina at bay and made a crucial save on Muriel early on in the game to ensure Milan did not concede. Donnarumma has become an increasingly commanding figure on the pitch, both Donnarumma and Romagnoli look like leaders commanding the backline - this will be a key relationship going forward and one that can demonstrate Milan’s power. Also, he showed sacrifice for the team putting his body on the line to clear the corners and he picked up a booking for time wasting to run down the clock.

Suso Breaks His Rut

Suso provided a intelligent and smooth cross that led to Calhanoglu’s sublime header to give Milan the win. Suso has received lots of criticism for the bulk of the season for not transforming his skill into tangible results in the form of assists and goals but the tide seems to have shifted in his favour for the final few games. Suso got a goal last week, an assist this week and could be major-ly useful to ensure Milan find the back of the net and score against Frosinone and SPAL in the coming two weeks. Despite his lack of consistency this season, Suso has bagged himself 10 assists and is the first player since Cassano (10) and Ibrahimovic (10) in the 2011-12 season to hit double digits in assists.