Two goals from Carlos Bacca and Keisuke Honda saw Milan come away with a 2-1 win over Genoa at the San Siro overnight, keeping the Rossoneri within touching distance of the top three.
Bacca once again set the tone with an early goal to continue his impressive scoring run, before the Japanese international slammed home a 30-yard stunner to double not long after. A late lapse in concentration saw former Milan man Alessio Cerci pull one back at the death, however, the Rossoneri held onto to reduce the gap for the time being to four points off third place.
Bacca proving his worth
Each and every week we keep coming to the same conclusion, that Bacca was worth every penny spent by the AC Milan board. Chosen as a ‘Plan B’ after the Jackson Martinez deal fell through, it has proved to be an investment of a higher quality. Within five minutes at the San Siro, he had the Rossoneri ahead with a superbly taken goal and was a constant target for Milan. He almost set up Bonaventura to make it 3-0 in the second-half and was always causing torment to the Genoa defensive three.
At this present moment he is the second best striker in the competition after Gonzalo Higuain and his goal return to shot on target ratio continues to substantially improve every week. Expect him to score 20+ by the campaign’s end and be a real menace going into their crunch game against Napoli next week.
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Honda recapturing his quality
Only a few weeks ago his position in the Milan squad was up in the air, Honda was out of favour and struggling to impress the board with many lacklustre performances. Since then he has improved significantly though and finally got back onto the score sheet with a 30-yard thunder-bolt to double Milan’s lead. His first goal since October 2014 in the Serie A provides signs of his quality, which the home faithful have failed to gaze their eyes upon thus far. His hard working nature has also been a major talking point of his return to form, providing constant support to the right-fullback and also an attacking outlet going forward – something Milan have been crying for all season to take the load off Giacomo Bonaventura.
De Sciglio back with a bang
Another player struggling with form going into this game was Mattia De Sciglio. Losing his spot to Ignazio Abate and Luca Antonelli has marginalised him to a bench position, but yesterday the 23-year-old was given the chance due to Abate’s injury. He played his best game of the season, defending hard and posing a threat down the right-hand side alongside Honda. De Sciglio, has struggled to hit the straps as of late and his form of 2012-13 is almost a distant memory. He still has that in his arsenal though and this past game was an example of what he can do at his best. Hopefully continual positive showings can catapult him into the Italy squad for the Euros.
7 – AC Milan are unbeaten in 7 successive Serie A games for the first time since April 2013. Running.
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) February 14, 2016
Suso struggles to impress the employers
Suso was given his chance to shine against his parent club from the outset at the San Siro. However, his form was nothing to be excited about. He started at a solid level, but struggled with Luca Antonelli and Milan’s marauding defence which stood tall and did not allow him to make an impact. Time and time again he was closed down and therefore was replaced at halftime by former Milan man, Alessio Cerci who ended up scoring a late consolation. Suso still has a lot to prove if he wants to break into the Rossoneri side for next season.
Milan confident ahead of facing Napoli
Napoli host Milan on Monday night at the San Nicola, in what could prove to be the biggest game of their season so far for both sides. Coming off a defeat to Juventus, Maurizio Sarri’s men have lost top spot, while Siniša Mihajlović’s side are starting to gather some form and need to keep up the pace with the top three. A real chance for Milan to once again send a statement to the rest of the league and the Rossoneri will hold no fear going into this game, having now not lost in over a month and having not lost against a side above them since November. Coming off wins against Inter and Fiorentina and a draw with Roma will provide all the confidence needed to pull off a huge upset.
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