No Loftus-Cheek against Lecce – the staggering numbers with and without him

AC Milan will have to do without Ruben Loftus-Cheek in Saturday’s game against Lecce, and the numbers with and without him make for very interesting reading.

Loftus-Cheek picked up a yellow card in the win over Fiorentina last weekend which means that he reached the threshold of five and thus must serve a one-match ban, though he will return for the first leg against Roma in the Europa League.

As Sky report in a video on their website, there is a rather startling difference in Milans numbers when they have the English midfielder versus when they have had to do without him so far this season.

There is a segment of the campaign, between October and November, in which he played very few minutes, just 25 minutes in five games to be precise. Of these matches, Milan won one, drew two and lost two.

They therefore obtained five points out of 15 available. Coincidentally, the gap with Inter at the top of the table. Before and after RLC’s period of absence, Milan have practically always won.

The numbers with Loftus-Cheek tell the tale: 36 games, 25 wins, four draws and an average of 2.2 points per game. Of course, this is also helped by his 10 goals so far this season, with nine coming in 2024.