We have no striker for this one. Unless I'm missing someone?

Leao!

He's not a striker.

What do you mean he's not a striker? He played as CF his entire year at Lille.

https://www.transfermarkt.com/rafael-leao/p.../spieler/357164

Anyone watching?

We are playing with some nice intensity..I like it.

The problem with Leao is that his finishing is piss poor. Haven't seen a player struggle like this in a while now.

Yes, I had the same thought today. It's not only his finishing, but he doesn't have this Inzaghi'esque instinct.

Yes. I mean Inzaghi was a monster. Leao is miles away from Piatek as well. You just have that feeling that he's gonna play for days and not score. And that makes me worry.

I'm a bit sad we wasted this Verona game. If only we've won and put even more pressure on Roma and Atalanta who seem to be out of shape currently.

Next is Inter. Martinez and Handanović out, dare I say we have a shot at them?

I'm aware, it's just patently obvious he's better running with the ball than finishing with it.

He's better as a winger - he has the pace.

We played ok in patches, but lacked direction and a focal point.

In short, we utterly missed Ibra, and look a completely different team with him around.

Even if his own form is questionable, and it is, his leadership and reputation lifts everyone else up.

We need him for psychological reasons as much as anything.

Yep, no Ibra no party.

Couldn't watch the game but it's 2 points thrown away. We could have gone into the derby fully charged and closed the gap on Roma and Atalanta, and be only 5 points from the 4th spot. Shame.

Milan this past 7 years are a constant 'if only we'd...'

The problem is we're just not good enough to take that step above 'what ifs'.

Are you saying Suso has been any good this season? There is a reason why so many have been critical. But replacing him with someone who is described as "average" in Belgium is not ideal

We're basically going to play through the rest of the season with just Samu for that right side. Suso might have been dogsh!t this season but at least we could still rotate him with Samu.

Now we're basically depending on Ibra for all the creativity in attack, which is just stupid imo. Add to that selling Piatek and not bringing in someone in that position either

Personally I think we've shot ourselves in the foot this winter.

I didn't say Suso has been good this season. Just that I've rated always rated him, and it's sad to have someone mediocre like Castillejo replace him.

I would have used Ibra to get Suso and Paqueta back on track. Instead, we decided to rely on mediocrity.

I agree with you on that point 100%. I never said Castillejo was better, I think Suso is much more naturally gifted. I just wanted Pioli to use Samu as a needle for Suso, to get him going, give him some challenge to that starting spot so he could get his @ss in gear.

I never wanted to see us let go the much more technically gifted and creative player. Especially when the only alternative is Samu and when we have very little options in creative outlets

Suso was never going to be a player we could build on if we want to be better. He's too slow and predictable which limits us, but if my choice is him or Samu, Suso would always be my pick

That's why I was not happy with this sale, we did not replace him with someone better, which is frustrating considering how much we've relied on Suso for the last few years. Even if he wasn't a world beater, he was important to the squad and to not replace him is a grave error imo

As for Paqueta, we'll see how Pioli continues to handle him, becase atm, he's being managed poorly and we'll most likely lose him if things keep going as they are. To play Krunic ahead of him has to be a slap in the face