Pioli, Leao and the moves for Milan-Tottenham-Corriere.it

At Giroud’s goal, on Friday evening, the cameras captured a scene that tells the mental state of this Milan better than a thousand words: while San Siro exploded with joy as it hasn’t happened for weeks, Pioli let himself go on the bench putting his hands on his face, demonstrating how one can be at the same time loaded and exhausted, relieved and restless, in life as in football. Rejoicing, I felt pain everywhere and I was a little worried, explained the Rossoneri coach with a smile, who defined the victory over Toro, the first after a very dark series of seven races without success, a small step forward. The concern stems from here, from the awareness that a stretched 1-0 after a scary January won’t be enough to solve all the Devil’s woes in one fell swoop, which have distant origins, which start from last summer’s transfer market and which reach Today.

The proof already around the corner, with the first leg of the eighth of the Champions League against Antonio Conte’s Tottenham who on Tuesday evening will mark the Rossoneri’s season in one way or another. The certainty that Milan will need much more than what was shown on Friday evening against the grenade, with that first hour of (non) play which left everyone with the impression of a still deep crisis. Game, legs, head. What made the difference this time was the reaction of the last half hour, with some of the protagonists finally back to their levels, after too long. The thought immediately turns to Theo Hernandez and Olivier Giroud, author of the first of the cross and the second of the winning header. After more than a month, the two Frenchmen finally seem to have returned from Qatar. The full-back admitted it himself, without any more useless beating about the bush: After the World Cup I was already in good spirits. We have noticed.

We need a leap in quality, on everyone’s part. Starting with the defence, which finally managed not to concede a goal against Toro after more than three months: the last time it happened in Cremona, on 8 November. Thiaw has convinced: he has physique and personality, who knows if with him we will not recover the lost securities. I’ll be there on Tuesday. And if he will have to deal with kane. Tottenham lost badly yesterday, 4-1 against Leicester, making up for a fool and ending up outside the Champions League area, a sign that not everything is going well up there either, but underestimating a Premier team is always a gamble. A comparison on the values ​​of the staff is enough: Milan is worth 570 million euros, Spurs 710. In addition to the aforementioned Kane, there are Son, the former Juventus player Kulusevski, the former Inter player Perisic: the London team is strong and broad.

Yesterday he lost Bentancur, stopped like goalkeeper Lloris by a knee injury. But, as mentioned, Conte doesn’t have Pioli’s problems in this sense: if he lacks a strong one, he puts in another strong one. The first leg will have an enormous weight, in terms of qualifying but also from a championship point of view, with the Champions League placement which between now and June will be the real goal that Milan cannot afford to fail. A positive performance, which would keep the question open until the return to London on 8 March, would be the ideal way to really raise one’s head for the long spring sprint in Serie A. Monza, at Berlusconi’s home. Forbidden to fail.

The head for now goes to Tottenham, with Bennacer and Tomori who should rejoin the group today in order to be eligible again for Tuesday. Their absence has been badly felt in these last few games: without them, in defense and in midfield, a lot changes. In attack, Leao will be confirmed in the new role of second striker. A tactical breakthrough that surprised even Pioli
: I’ve always thought that putting it wide facilitated it, but these days, where I’ve tried it, he said it was his favorite position. Sometimes he goes like this, a detail is enough, a spark is enough.