Torino 2-1 AC Milan: Five things we learned – new mistakes and lack of effort | OneFootball

After a disastrous UCL exit, Milan were hoping to bounce back with a win against Torino. However, they got yet another disappointing outcome and top four remains at serious risk, with five things to highlight.

Torino took the lead after just a few minutes as Mike Maignan booted the ball at Malick Thiaw and into the back of the net. Milan did have control after that goal, but had to wait until the 74th minute for the equaliser. Two minutes later, however, it was time for another lapse of concentration.

The home side took a quick free-kick and Milan were caught off guard, conceding the winner. The Rossoneri are now six points behind fourth place and it could be increased to eight tonight, as Juve will face Cagliari. Below are five things we learned…

1. Pavlovic only one showing grinta

The Serb continues to be one, if not the only, positive in Milan’s squad. He’s been the only consistent performer in the last couple of months, proving crucial in both phases of the game as he put in a lot of effort up front toward the end of the game against Torino (and nearly scored!).

Image: AC Milan

Unfortunately for him, he was let down by his teammates but Pavlovic has really proven his worth after a rough start under Paulo Fonseca. He has arguably been Milan’s best player in the last two months.

The management will hopefully see this and build around him. Surely, the expectations have to be that every player on the pitch should have his desire to win – unlike what we are currently seeing with some players.

2. Maignan costly again

After the howler in the Netherlands, Maignan was Milan’s weak point once again as he was responsible for Thiaw’s own-goal.

Unfortunately, the Frenchman has had plenty of bad games since the start of the season. It has cost the Rossoneri a lot both domestically and in the Champions League, which is all a bit of a shock given how good he was when he first arrived at the club.

The recent downtrend is indeed worrying and better performances will be needed for Milan to fight for a top-four finish. If he can’t make it happen, then he might be another name to keep a close eye on for the summer.

3. Trio struggle in attack

On top of the defenders lacking the attention needed, the forwards were not exactly up to par for most of the game with Rafael Leao, Santiago Gimenez and Christian Pulisic struggling. Especially the former struggled to involve themselves in the game apart from a few situations.

Photo by AC Milan

The American was a tad better, sending in some good crosses, but then failed to convert the penalty that would have been just what Milan needed. He faded a bit after that and based on recent weeks, he too has dropped a bit in form.

It’s unfortunate that both flanks were that inefficient, given that Gimenez does seem to make good runs, but the service has been limited to say the least. Conceicao might look at other options for the flanks if things continue in the same fashion.

4. Sottil does well off the bench

The winger came on with energy and unlike Leao, he was successful with his dribbles and picked up an assist of sorts on Reijnder’s goal. He also had a couple more decent moments, including a cross to Pavlovic towards the end which nearly resulted in an equaliser.

With Leao struggling to make an impact, it won’t be entirely out of the question for Conceicao to drop the Portuguese winger and give a chance to Sottil who seems up for the challenge from start.

5. Players must do better

It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions for the Milan fans since Conceicao arrived a couple of months ago.

The manager brought a lot of energy with him and Milan achieved two impressive comebacks in the Supercoppa Italiana against Juventus and Inter to win the trophy. However, things haven’t exactly continued on that successful path, with the Rossoneri struggling to eliminate mistakes.

In the last couple of weeks, they managed to lose against Dinamo Zagreb, Feyenoord and then drew against the Dutch side at home to get knocked out of the UCL. Three easy games on paper that were not seized.

Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images

To Conceicao’s credit, Milan are playing better than under Fonseca as there is more intensity and more chances created. Then again, even with more chances, the attackers are failing to bury easy chances which is out of the coach’s control.

Furthermore, in all three European games, Milan effectively killed themselves as they had to play with ten men against Zagreb and the reverse fixture vs Feyenoord, whilst in Rotterdam Maignan decided the give the Dutch side a gift with a howler of a performance.

The discipline has been off in other games too and you have to feel for Conceicao, since a lot of the dropped points and wasted opportunities are due to his players fumbling in the most bizarre ways.

Needless to say, Conceicao also has to take responsibility but when your opponents score goals mainly because you make unforced, ridiculous errors and not because of their quality, then you have to consider that the Milan squad is just not good enough.