BEWARE: AC MILAN IS COMING
Even with their game in hand, AC Milan may not be looking like a side threatening to break above their 7th-place station. A million miles off the top, especially behind Inter Milan, the Rosseneri look like a mid-table club…on paper at least. In reality, they are proving to be more than that.
After a thrilling game last night against Sampdoria, AC Milan recorded another win in a league run that has seen them lose just twice after 10 games. It doesn’t really look impressive but they’ve already played AS Roma, Napoli, and Inter Milan…teams that they would usually have issues winning against. That leaves just Juventus, which means AC Milan have a golden opportunity to scrap points and catch up.
Why am I suddenly optimistic about them? Well…for many seasons, AC Milan have been shite. At a point, they became the dumping for much of Europe’s elite; having the likes of Essien and Torres (burnt-out footballers) within their ranks at some point. The new ownership has changed that, with the club now spending big to bring real talent to the club once again.
Calhanoglu sticks out for me in the group. The Turkish playmaker has proven his quality in patches since he came but I would put that down to the inconsistency of the whole squad. Once that is sorted out, I’m 100% certain that he will make himself an AC Milan great in the nearest future. His skill on the ball, especially as regards striking it with his foot, is amazing. Expect a few more worldies once he settles back into the side.
A stable backline has been key as well. The center-back pairing of Musacchio and Romagnoli has been the preferred choice of coach Gattuso. Calabria and Rodriguez have done decent jobs as full-backs so there’s a consistency about that area. It’s fair to note that while clean sheets are hard to come back (you can always bet for a goal against them) but they’ve only conceded more than once, in a league game, TWICE this season. Soon, they’ll start having clean sheets.
Adding Higuain to the line-up is a genius move. The Argentine is a proven goalscorer in Serie A and he will have Juventus on his mind everytime he takes to the pitch. How dare they let him go for Ronaldo? They thought Mandzukic was better? Bruh!
Finally, there’s Suso. That guy is a genius! If you need any confirmation of what I just said, take a look at AC Milan’s 3rd goal yesterday. Pure magic. Imagine Coutinho was left-footed…that’s Suso. The little Spaniard has been AC Milan’s bright spark for some time now and he keeps getting better and better. If he keeps this up. He could be Serie A’s best player at the end of the season (even though I’m rooting for CR7 on that one).
Credit has to go to the owners for sticking with Gattuso. The fiery Italian is the latest of a long line of Milan legends (Inzaghi, Seedorf…) that have failed to handle the Rosseneri dugout. Last season was shaky for him but it looks like he has a handle on the team now. Players are looking to perform for him and that’s good.
Watching AC Milan, you get the sense that there’s more to come and I believe that there IS more to come. With that in mind, I’m excited at what’s possible with this group of players. Let’s hop I’m not wrong.
Later.
