AC Milan 3-0 Lecce: Five things we learned – Theao and defensive worries

AC Milan clinched their third consecutive win in the league as Lecce conceded three times at San Siro on Friday evening. There were several positives to take from the game for the Rossoneri, but some things also need to be monitored carefully. 

Paulo Fonseca’s men opened the scoring at the end of the first half and shortly after, they not just doubled but tripled their lead. In just five minutes, the game was decided and Milan were then able to see out the result.

Below are five things we learned about the game, from the return of ‘Theao’ to the defensive struggles that must be monitored.

Theoa is back?

At the start of the season, fans were crying out for Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao to raise the level and it appears this has now materialised. The derby was positive for the Frenchman, less so for the Portuguese winger, but yesterday they were both in very good form.

Leao won the free-kick that led to the first goal and then picked out Hernandez with a fantastic pass for the second goal. The two continued to combine and created many issues for Lecce throughout the game, getting close to more goals.

Hernandez admitted after the game that the two have raised the level and now work extremely hard for the manager. “Yes, it’s finally back,” he stated when asked if ‘Theao’ is back and hopefully they can continue on this path next week.

Still some defensive aspects to sort

While the Rossoneri ended up winning quite comfortably in the end, despite the late red card, there were some doubts regarding the defence as Lecce had a couple of chances. They managed seven shots on target, more than Milan, and hit the post in the second half.

None of Lecce’s chances were regarded as ‘big chances’ by the stats companies and the XG was quite low too, but there are still some things that Fonseca must figure out. The feeling is that the flanks are still a bit too exposed, which is of course a result of the compactness.

Against a side like Bayer Leverkusen, who are up next, Milan will have to do much better defensively and replicate what we saw in the derby. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to even clinch a point come Tuesday evening.

Morata is very important

Morata’s importance has been highlighted before and we will do so again. Shaving his head to show support for children who suffer from cancer, the striker entered the pitch with great motivation and broke the deadlock with a fantastic header.

It was during a period of the game that Milan struggled to take control, with Lecce playing quite well, and the goal from the Spaniard changed everything. He then continued to work incredibly hard for the team until he was subbed off in the 55th minute.

Fortunately, the latter was just a precaution and he will be back for the game against Leverkusen next week. Given just how important he has been in the last few games, he will surely play from the first minute.

Attack on fire

Fonseca has certainly been able to get the attack going as Milan have scored 14 goals this season, more than any other Serie A team. It could have been more than three goals last night and the fact that all goals arrived within five minutes showed just how lethal the Rossoneri can be.

Leao is still looking for his goal, but yesterday he was important in other phases of the game and still made a difference for the team. Tammy Abraham also missed two good chances, showing that he certainly must improve his finishing, but he too was helpful in especially the pressing.

In short, the attack is operating how Fonseca wants it to and the main focus will be to get the defence up to par as well. Of course, as we saw in the derby, this involves making sure that the attackers are committed in the first phase.

Confidence restored

All things considered, confidence has certainly been restored in the Milan squad and they will need to make the most of this next week. It’s a bit crazy that Fonseca was on the verge of getting sacked a week ago, with confidence at an all-time low, and then everything changed.

We must reiterate, however, that positive performances will be needed in the upcoming games as well to continue this trend. The players have shown that they are capable of achieving great results and hopefully the appeal of beating Leverkusen on their home turf will help as well.