Let's talk about Rade Krunic [Newsletter]
Four consecutive wins. AC Milan are certainly back up and running following what frankly was a disastrous start to 2023, including just one win and then seven games without one. The switch to a three-man backline has paid off and certain players have been elevated, but not just in defence.
Milan dominated the game against Atalanta and thanks to goals from Theo Hernandez and Junior Messias, they claimed the three points as well. The score could have been higher, truth be told, but it wasn’t really necessary since the Bergamo side had a whopping zero (!) shots on target (Mike Maignan thus didn’t get tested in his comeback). Well done defenders, well done. As always, if you want the news bulletin straight away, scroll down!
Pierre Kalulu was named the MOTM in our player ratings with a 7/10, but there were a few others that got that score as well. In short, it was a tremendous team display from start to finish and we saw glimpses of the team that managed to win the Scudetto last season. Part of that has to do with the players also individually doing better.
Many can be mentioned in that category, such as Malick Thiaw or even Junior Messias, but one that deserves some more spotlight is Rade Krunic, at least for his performance against Atalanta. Especially in the defensive phase, he was crucial for Milan and ensured they won the midfield battle.
The Bosnian is not what you would describe as a flashy player. He does, however, do the right things almost every single time. He had the second-highest passing success rate (after Diaz at 93%) at 91% and that is very impressive especially if you consider he had the second-most possession of all the Milan players (Kalulu had the most).
Having seen Milan and Krunic live in action on multiple occasions, it’s clear that the TV images don’t give his movements justice. Against Atalanta, his positioning was spot on and this allowed him to play the simple pass whenever he was in possession, which is a skill in itself (*cough* Diaz *cough*).
“Krunic played a game of a very high technical-tactical level”, Stefano Pioli stated after the game. And he only cost Milan €8m. It’s shame that both he and Rafael Leao will miss out on the action against Fiorentina due to suspensions. At least that will get them well-rested ahead of the Tottenham clash.
News bulletin
➤ Milan Primavera lost to Fiorentina 2-1 at the weekend, but they won their one-off UEFA Youth League last 16 game against Rukh Lviv from Ukraine 1-0 thanks to Kevin Zeroli's header inside the final few minutes. They will face either KRC Genk or Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals as the impressive run continues.
➤ The Milan Women ended the first part of the season in emphatic fashion with a 4-0 victory at Como. They are now through to the round-robin tournament known as the Poule Scudetto (‘Title Round’) to decide the champions, and the schedule for that has been confirmed.
➤ Injury news: Mike Maignan and Zlatan returned to the field after five and nine months out respectively with injuries. Ismael Bennacer, Davide Calabria and Alessandro Florenzi are all set to be back in the squad for the Fiorentina game, though Pioli is planning some careful rotation in view of the Spurs game.
➤ Kylian Mbappe to Milan?! It might just be a dream scenario for now, but the PSG forward has admitted that he would only consider moving to Italy if it was to join the Rossoneri. Why Milan? There is quite an interesting back story on his admiration.
➤ Malick Thiaw is understandably all the rage at the moment with his hugely impressive performances in the three-man defence, but things could have gone much differently in the summer. In fact, there was a sliding doors moment involving Sven Botman and the one €30m+ investment permitted.
➤ Could Mauro Icardi and Stefano Pioli be reunited again? The Argentine racked up 24 goals and 8 assists in the league when they worked together at Inter in 2016-17, and Milan are expected to hold 'exploratory talks' with his entourage over a potential return to Italy as they hunt for a new No.9.
➤ There has been a twist in the new stadium project as both Mayor Beppe Sala and Inter's Corporate CEO Alessandro Antonello have confirmed that Milan are interested in building their own state-of-the-art home on the site of La Maura hippodrome, which is less than 2km from the current San Siro. The Nerazzurri insist they too can build one alone, but there are suspicions that it is a bluff given their financial situation.
In case you missed it
Make sure to check out our tactical analysis of the dominant win against Atalanta and the five things we learned, as there is plenty of positive stuff to highlight. On Friday, we will publish a bonus article here on Substack regarding the stadium situation, breaking down all you need to know about the La Maura hypothesis (and more).