This was an extremely important victory for Milan. A loss would have seen them fall seven points behind crosstown rivals and league leaders Inter Milan and left them with only a very slight chance of claiming their first Scudetto since 2011. However, as it turned out, Stefano Pioli's team registered a victory which helped them keep pace with the league leaders in what has been their best season since the 2011-12 campaign.
Of course, the question has to be asked: after so many years of mediocrity, how have Milan turned it around this season?
One major key to their improvement in 2020-21 has been their attack. Over the preceding eight seasons, Milan had averaged just 1.51 goals per league match. In addition, only once during this span did a Milan player exceed 20 goals in all competitions in a season: Carlos Bacca in 2015-16. The club's nadir up front came in the 2018-19 season, when Krzysztof Piątek was Milan's leading goalscorer - with just nine league goals to his name. This hasn't been the case at all this season, though. Milan are averaging almost two goals per league match with legendary striker Zlatan Ibrahimović on pace to score 22 in Serie A. That would be the largest haul by any Milan player since Ibrahimović himself had 28 in the 2011-12 season.
In the dugout, Pioli has begun to establish himself as a solid coach. After many underwhelming stints in charge of several different Italian clubs including Lazio and Inter, many Milan fans were apprehensive when the Parma-born coach replaced Marco Giampaolo in October 2019. Defying the critics, Pioli has shown impressive tactical flexibility and versatility at the helm of the red half of Milan. Unlike Giampaolo, Pioli clearly understands how to maximize the respective strengths of each key Milan player. Hakan Çalhanoğlu appears to be a player reborn ever since Pioli restored him to his preferred number 10 position. Kessié has thrived ever since dropping farther back in midfield, while Rebić, in spite of his decline in goals scored this season, has been playing far better than he had been under Giampaolo. Though Pioli might not be on the level of the likes of Gian Piero Gasperini or Antonio Conte, he has at last proven that he belongs in a Serie A dugout.
Milan can also be very pleased with the continued development of several of their younger players including Kessié, Davide Calabria, and Rafael Leão. As great as Ibrahimović has been since his return to the San Siro last year, the fact is that the Swede is 39. The "cliff" will come for him any day now; it's also possible that "Ibra" might retire at the end of this season. It's thus crucial that they maintain the progress they have shown to date, especially Leão who, as a striker, is likely to take over from Ibrahimović at some point. Though he might not be a pure centre-forward, he has nevertheless shown the ability to play the position at a reasonably high level.
That being said, if Milan come up short in their bid to win the Serie A title, there is one important point that should not be ignored: their lack of activity in both transfer windows. Their most expensive signing this season was midfielder Sandro Tonali, who was signed on loan from Brescia in September. Milan paid €10 million to sign the 20-year-old. To his credit, Tonali has not looked out of place in the starting line-up. However, most of the club's other signings of note were merely to turn loan deals into permanent ones. In contrast, Inter added the likes of Nicolò Barella, Arturo Vidal, and Achraf Hakimi to their roster; all three have made major impacts as Inter have claimed the driver's seat in their own bid to end a decade-long league title drought.
Nevertheless, even if Milan finish the season empty-handed, they can still look back on this season with pride - this season and last have been like night and day for them.
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