Mike Maignan’s fresh challenges as France’s number one, Milan captain works back towards peak form | OneFootball

Mike Maignan remains France’s number one and Milan captain, edging back towards peak form. He is still shy of his 2023-2024 level, yet already ahead of the subsequent campaign, his weakest of the past five years.

Since the restart he has two clean sheets in five Serie A matches, with four conceded and no clear errors. He made key saves against Lazio in a 2-2 draw on 12 September. In the Europa League he let in two in a 0-2 defeat to Benfica on 16 September, and perhaps could have turned away Dodi Lukebakio’s strike, slightly unsighted. In a May 2023 interview with RMC Sport, Fabien Barthez praised his style but noted a near-post goal against Inter in the Champions League semi-final should not have gone in.

Within the national set-up his status is unchanged under Zinédine Zidane, as it was late in Didier Deschamps’s era. The new staff were a little disappointed by his World Cup yet renewed their confidence before the latest camp. Competition for the shirt is not intense.

A few weeks ago the new France goalkeeping coach, Barthez, met Maignan for almost five hours to discuss the role and set expectations. He urged him to rediscover the level of three years ago and said he wanted to help him get there. The Milan goalkeeper left impressed.

Ruben Amorim’s back-three in Milan demands sharper depth management, something Maignan is working on to broaden his game. The aim is to become more complete and reclaim his 2023-2024 heights.

Source: L'Équipe

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