AC Milan 3-1 Club Brugge: Five things we learned – returns to form and instant impacts

SempreMilan

·23. Oktober 2024

AC Milan 3-1 Club Brugge: Five things we learned – returns to form and instant impacts

After two consecutive losses to open their Champions League campaign, AC Milan had no room for error against Club Brugge as wins against the weaker sides are required to boost qualification hopes.

The Belgian champions started the game off as the better side, however, and created a couple of chances early on that Mike Maignan was required to thwart. Christian Pulisic added to his tally scoring directly from a corner in the 34th minute though to calm the home crowd.

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Brugge were then awarded a red card a few minutes later as Raphael Onyedika stamped on Tijjani Reijnders, and the expectations were that Milan would have no trouble seeing the game out. However, the visitors equalised in the 51st minute, and probably deserved it.

Things improved after Paulo Fonseca made changes, with Noah Okafor and Samuel Chukwueze both setting up Reijnders not long after coming on. Finally, Francesco Camarda came on for a record-breaking debut and VAR denied him a historic goal. Below are five observations from the game itself.

1. The eagle swoops

As we mentioned above, the Belgian champions actually started the game better and created some good chances particularly through the summer signing Tzolis, but Maignan once again proved his worth and denied everything that came his way.

The Frenchman delivered yet another brilliant performance where he kept his team in the game when it mattered and led the backline well, as well as contributing in easing the pressure in the build-up phase with good foot work as he did against Udinese.

Maignan seems to have found the continuity he didn’t quite find last season and is a game changer in between the sticks for the Rossoneri. According to Sofascore he made four saves, one high claim, completed 30 out of 30 passes, plus four out of four long balls attempted.

2. Unparalleled form

Pulisic was again impactful as he scored the first goal of the game, albeit with a bit of luck, and then continued to work hard in both phases of the game. That being said, there is arguably an element of reward for consistently putting set pieces into good areas, and it came with the Olimpico goal.

On the second goal his movement opened up just enough space for Reijnders who gave Milan the lead, and with the American shifting towards the middle after Chukwueze was subbed on we saw him being even more effective as he is more direct than Ruben Loftus-Cheek and makes better runs.

Pulisic being played in a more central role also did wonders for Chukwueze who thrived down that right flank and opposite to the American is more direct in terms of taking on his man with pace and bursting into the box.

Overall it was a great game by the American, who continues to get his name on the scoresheet no matter what role he plays in, and the changes made will certainly give the coach some food for thought moving forward.

3. Left side story

Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez have already had quite a few ups and downs during the 2024-25 season, and it’s only October. Against Brugge the expectations were that goals were going to be coming from the left flank but the reality was more frustrating.

It must be said that Leao had far from a bad performance, and Seys on Brugge’s right side really struggled to deal with him. The Portuguese completed nine dribbles in the game, and yet when asked to pick his head up to make sure some end product game from good positions, it never did.

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

In contrast to Leao, Theo did his job well defensively – barring for the equaliser where he looked a little bit at sea – and he covered the flank well in terms of his work rate. Again, though, the impression is that he just is not out of first gear yet and that he can do much more, especially after sitting out against Udinese.

Whether it is a symptom of Milan becoming less reliant on the left side in general – something that could be seen as a positive – is open to debate, but ‘Theao’ remain the two best players in the side and they need to show it more often. At present, they are in the headlines for the wrong reasons.

4. Super subs

Fonseca, to his credit, is proving time and time again that he’s not afraid of taking off his stars and he did so again as he subbed off Leao after the equaliser in favour of Okafor, whilst he also brought Chukwueze on for Loftus-Cheek.

The initial reaction from the fans was probably to question that decision since Leao, after all, had some nice runs in the first half, but all the question were answered within a minute of the substitution when Okafor burst past his man and provided an assist.

The Swiss forward brought the intensity that was lacking but also the directness and above all the composure to pick his head up and find a man inside the box. That resulted in a goal in no time, so kudos have to go to Fonseca for the timely change.

If that change was good, Chukwueze’s was even better with the Nigerian providing a near-identical assist for Reijnders from the opposite flank after an even better run. The temptation has to be there to try Chukwueze-Pulisic-Okafor.

5. The glove fits

Reijnders started off a bit slow but then grew into the game. He was mostly on defensive duties during the first half but after the red card he involved himself more and more in the attacking phase, something we’ve seen him do time and time again for both Milan and the Dutch national team.

As expected he found himself in very good positions, grabbing two goals and helping his side win the game. It begs the question regarding why Loftus-Cheek wasn’t moved back into the double pivot with Youssouf Fofana to allow the former AZ Alkmaar man to go forward with more freedom.

The two goals against Club Brugge already represent half of the tally achieved last season, which was four goals. It should also be noted that last year in situations very similar to those of yesterday’s two goals, Reijnders wasted opportunities either due to a lack of conviction or precision.

Given that he has become nearly the complete package and an undroppable player for both Stefano Pioli and now Fonseca, adding more goals to his armoury would be that final step needed.