After succumbing to a 1-1 draw to Torino last week, Siniša Mihajlović’s can at least be relieved it was not a loss and may feel as though he has been granted some breathing space.
The roller-coaster season that Milan has encountered has mostly been spent in a downward trajectory, occasionally showing glimpses of what the team is capable of. They had their chance last week to turn things around and they made a bold attempt to, only to come up short in the vital stages.
This time out they take on Sassuolo, where the I Neroverdi have the favourable record with three wins out of five matches played together, Milan taking the other 2 games. The last match saw Sassuolo win 3-2 and two men from Milan sent-off with red cards. Giacomo Bonaventura picked up yellows on either side of the half, while Suso was given a straight dismissal in the 90th minute. Domenico Berardi scored all three goals for the less-favoured team.
Defensively Milan are shambolic this season, struggling to contain attackers and the backline has not kept a clean sheet all season. The match against Torino was their chance to prove that they were still contenders this year, with the firepower and mental strength to turn their horrid start around. Instead they gave away a goal and limped away from the game with a point instead of the desired crucial victory.
Mario Balotelli is still reportedly training separately from the team. This would suggest that he will not be starting the game against Sassuolo. The fiery hitman is a much needed injection into the struggling team, however, the lack of many goal-scoring opportunities is only half the problem.
Mihajlovic made a formation change for the outing against Torino, yet it did not pay off as well as he had hoped. It looked like the team was switched on for 15 or 20 minutes of the entire game. While the Rossoneri have worked on their mental strength since last season, they struggle to stay focused when most needed, showing defensive lapses and providing an inability to control the midfield at times.
Carlos Bacca appears to be close to hitting form again, the obvious issue that he and the rest of the forwards have is limited goal scoring opportunities, this is through the lack of creativity and spark in the midfield. Match-to-match the midfield are struggling to combine and link-up with the forwards, missing that crucial through ball or pin-point pass to the front-line that would enable the forwards to put through many more goals.
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Over the last eight matches, AC Milan has conceded 14 goals and there are rumours that the coach is looking to use 16-year-old backup goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma instead of Diego Lopez. Although Lopez has had a pretty shocking season so far, he is not solely to blame, Milan as a team are letting eachother down and not putting in the hard yards, easily giving up possession and not back-tracking quick enough to defend the counter-attack. Putting an untested 16 year old in his place will surely end in disaster. If Mihajlovic is quite seriously considering this, then it shows he has almost all but given up on the season, which makes no sense just eight games in.
Sassuolo are currently sitting in fifth spot on the Serie A table with four wins, three draws and one loss, three points off first placed Fiorentina who suffered a second loss of the season to Napoli last match.
AC Milan and Sassuolo have met on five occasions since the 2013-2014 Serie A season and out of these five matches, there has been five red cards. Clearly these are hostile, edgy affairs played with aggression and passion. The last match saw Sassuolo topple Milan with a 3-2 victory, Bonaventura and Suso sent-off during the proceedings. Bonaventura was on the end of two yellow cards and Suso was given his marching orders with a straight red in the 90th minute.
Berardi enjoyed their last match so much that he snagged a hat-trick, so he will be one to look out for this weekend and given the current defensive state of Milan, he is in prime position for a few goals. This is especially so if Mihajlovic uses the young backup goalkeeper. Enduring a loss would heap even more pressure on the manager.
AC Milan will be looking to end their current losing streak, while Sussuolo are coming off a 2-1 vicotry against Lazio. If the Rossoneri coach goes out with an untested young goalkeeper and the team continues their defensive woes, then it could be a blowout.
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