AC Milan marked their fourth straight game without a win after a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Atalanta on Sunday.
Another game without a win for the underwhelming Rossoneri sent alarm bells ringing throughout the fashion capital. This time at the hands of Atalanta, away from home and after dropping a lead which was brought about through Luiz Adriano’s early spot kick.
Mauricio Pinilla’s unbelievable strike got the game back on level terms, before Alejandro Gomez sealed the three points in the second-half. There was little fight from a poor Milan side, which is on the edge of losing sixth placed to a pecky Sassuolo. With Juventus to come next week, that sinking feeling is becoming profound once again.
Balotelli a spark on a bleak day
A player who has seriously underperformed this year, Mario Balotelli was a rare spark this past weekend.
An introduction in the 58th minute with the scores still at 1-1, he put in a solid showing with a series of strong attacking moves and was a constant threat for the Milan attack in a rather sterile performance. His hold up play caused havoc and he drew free-kicks while taking them himself, his efforts testing Marco Sportiello between the posts.
His willingness to take on the game was solid and he put in a rare impressive performance, putting his hand up for selection against the Bianconeri on the weekend.
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Atalanta key players step up
Atalanta have had an up and down season with inconsistency marring their efforts to make the top 10.
This past weekend, their key individuals who have the ability to win games for them due to their individual brilliance stole the spotlight against a poor Milan outfit. Alessandro Diamanti was back at his best in a role just behind Mauricio Pinilla, whose well taken goal and constant threatening of the Milan defence was strongly admired. A strong defensive showing was also key, which was led by on-loan Milan defender Gabriel Paletta and Gugliemo Stendardo.
Performances like these will allow Atalanta to reach their goals of achieving a finish among the top of Italian football and with players like these, the results will eventually come about.
Anonymity from the Milan midfield once again
The poor performances from Milan’s struggling midfield duo was on display through a lacklustre effort from two Italian internationals.
The captain, Riccardo Montolivo, was beaten easily by Luca Cigarini and Marten De Roon. His passing was simply underwhelming and his defensive questions were heavily under scruitiny. Andrea Bertolacci cannot seem to hit the straps and once again struggled with a performance way under par. Big questions mark still linger over a Milan line which has failed to build on a base of midfielders who have potential as solid depth, but not as starters.
In turn, reinforcements must be lined up for the off-season otherwise things will keep be on the way down for the future of this great club who look primed at returning to the Europa League.
Mihajlovic at question over team selection, job on the line?
Sinisa Mihajlovic is making another interesting selection for his starting lineup with an unorthodox decision to start Mattia De Sciglio at right-midfield.
With Keisuke Honda out with an injury, De Sciglio was given a chance to start in a very odd choice from the Serbian which was extremely poor in turn. With Kevin Prince Boateng and Jeremy Menez on the bench, the decision to start the right-back was one of extreme controversy and sums up that of a poor month for the Rossoneri. A decision to also once again start the inconsistent Cristian Zapata was a heavy cost due to his underwhelming display at the back.
Therefore, the performances must be looked at by the coach as their side have fallen heavily out of Champions League contention. Also their position in the Europa League is heavily on the line and one would think with an exclusion from Europe’s second major competition, his position as Milan’s coach could be over.
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