AC Milan failed to score for a third consecutive game, as Fiorentina grabbed all three points at the San Siro, courtesy of a long-range strike by Chiesa. As if Gattuso wasn’t already under immense pressure, the defeat has fueled Wenger rumours.
As Lazio won their game against Cagliari last night, the Rossoneri were forced to get at least a draw in order to keep their spot in the top four. Beforehand, the stats were certainly in Milan’s favour as Fiorentina hadn’t won a single game away from home this season, while they had lost their previous three games at the San Siro.
However, in spite of this, Gattuso’s men dropped three important points, in a game which should’ve been handled better. The Rossoneri had great control defensively, though they failed to create a decent amount of chances up front. The best chance fell at the feet of Calhanoglu, whose effort was cleared off the line by Milenkovic.
Out of nowhere, after Gattuso had switched to a 4-4-2 formation, with Calabria as one of the central midfielders, Chiesa tried his luck from distance. The youngster’s effort turned out to be the guests’ first and only shot on target of the game, and unfortunately for Milan, it ended up in the back of the net.
In other words, in a defensive aspect, you could argue that Milan got unlucky. However, looking at the big picture, the Rossoneri deserved a draw at most. Fiorentina did well to shut down Milan’s only real threats, mainly Suso and Higuain, and Gattuso’s men simply failed to respond.
As a result of dropping more points, rumours have now surfaced regarding the future of Gattuso. According to TuttoMercatoWeb, should the former midfielder get sacked, then it’s very likely that Milan will bring in Wenger as the replacement. In fact, as added by Italian source Panorama, the Rossoneri’s CEO Ivan Gazidis contacted Wenger already after the Europa League exit, asking about his availability.
The next two games (Frosinone and SPAL) will be crucial for the future of Gattuso. On paper, Milan should have no issues with these teams, although with the crisis that they are in, you simply can’t tell at this point. It’s clear that we will need to see a reaction from the players, not just for the sake of keeping Gattuso safe, but also to prove their own worth as they’ve seemingly hit rock-bottom in terms of confidence.
Two wins to end the year could turn out to be very crucial ahead of the break, also because the teams above and below are starting to pick up points consistently, as wasn’t the case in the previous rounds. Many opportunities have been wasted as of late, but it’s not over yet, as hopefully will be shown by the players on Wednesday evening.
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