Yahoo Sports GdS: Simplest vs. riskiest – Fonseca evaluating three ideas to replace Pulisic
AC Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca will have to do without Christian Pulisic for at least the next game, so he is studying how to replace him.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport report today, it is a ‘cruel’ development for Fonseca, who had just settled on a first choice starting line-up with Yunus Musah as a ‘balancer’ on the right, Pulisic down the middle and Rafael Leao on the left.
The American went off during the game against Atalanta with a calf issue and he will have scans today to understand the extent of the damage. He will certainly not be back against Red Star on Wednesday, with Genoa on Sunday at risk too.
The ideas to replace him
The most simple change is to play Ruben Loftus-Cheek as attacking midfielder and everyone stays in their place. It is no coincidence that Fonseca did it when Pulisic asked for a substitution during the first half of Atalanta-Milan.
Yes, but Loftus-Cheek is playing way below his level, while Pulisic and RLC are very different types of player. The American is a creative, he scores, he reads situations very well, he accelerates whenever he can.
Loftus-Cheek is more physical but does not change pace much, nor does he seem to have the same goal scoring touch. The Englishman appears to be in a crisis of confidence and now it is not so easy to trust him. He will have minutes, that is clear, but will he be a starter? Maybe not.
Samuel Chukwueze, on the bench, is raring to go. In the 0-0 against Juventus fans would have liked to see him earlier and in Bergamo he only came on in the 90th minute, after Lookman’s goal had just made it 2-1.
With him for Pulisic, Milan would effectively become a 4-3-3: Chukwueze and Leao wide, Musah-Fofana-Reijnders in the middle (with Loftus-Cheek competing for a place with Yunus). They would need to find a new balance but the team on paper would be unpredictable and physical enough.
The third idea: Milan won the derby with Alvaro Morata as an atypical attacking midfielder and Tammy Abraham as a striker. In 10 days, Fonseca will face Stella Rossa, Genoa and Verona, who will all defend deep. Why not occupy the area with a pure No.9 and play with two real strikers?
On the right, you could choose between Chukwueze and Musah, without taking into account that this plan C would give meaning to the presence of Noah Okafor, who has played less than 500 minutes this season. The issue would be the balance of the team, a common theme.
