AC Milan’s performance last night against Lazio and their recent form is more akin to the team that lost 5-0 against Atalanta rather than the one that won the league. 

MilanNews ask where the Italian champions have gone, something that everyone has been wondering since the 87th minute of the game against Roma, when goals from Ibanez and Abraham saw two points slip away.

Since then there has been one disaster after another: elimination in the Coppa Italia against a Torino side who had 10 men, a draw against Lecce after a dreadful first half, the humiliating defeat in the Super Cup against Inter and the shameful one yesterday against Lazio.

At present the team are giving vibes of the 5-0 defeat in Bergamo in 2019 as opposed to giving the impression of being champions. There is no compactness, solidity and balance which against a Lazio in form and full of energy was a recipe for disaster.

Pioli fielded an attacking team that was lacklustre, as they never really tested Provedel. At the moment Milan do not have the technical, tactical and mental quality to handle this system and these schemes as per the piece, so an extra midfielder could be added to improve balance.

There are many individual faults – on goals conceded, in possession, in positioning – but the real problem is the lack of spirit. There is no unity of purpose, no compactness and no security.

Conceding 11 goals in the last 3 games shows that there is a real problem, and while the team are still in the Champions League and are second in the table, ringing the alarm bells is only natural.

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