Reijnders record and struggles up front: All the key stats from Hellas Verona vs. AC Milan | OneFootball

AC Milan secured three very important points as they prevailed by the odd goal against Hellas Verona. While it was a poor display overall, there are a couple of positive stats to take from the game.

Tijjani Reijnders opened the scoring for Milan after 55 minutes, finding the back of the net with a fantastic strike. Before that, though, it had been a very toothless affair from both sides as they seemed more concerned about winning the physical battle.

In any case, the win was the most important thing and there are a few key stats to highlight, positive as well as negative. For example, the Rossoneri managed to keep yet another clean sheet, while the attack experienced its usual problems (as seen lately).

Possession dominance with no outcome

Aside from the goal, which was indeed a lovely through-ball and strike, Milan barely created any chances and that is evidenced by XG for the game. At 0.84, they are only just ahead of Verona and that says everything given that the home side barely created anything either.

Most of the battle clearly took place in midfield, with Youssouf Fofana doing a lot of the heavy work, but Milan arguably should have done a lot more with their possession. At the start of the season, it was the defence that struggled and the attack that blossomed, now it’s the opposite.

Fofana plays like a leader

As mentioned, there was a tough battle in midfield between both teams and Filippo Terracciano, who played from starter in the tandem, even described it as a war. Fofana was an essential player in this sense as he was fouled five times and also took a heavy beating overall.

He won 9 of the 12 duels, ground and aerial ones combined, and he also won back possession an impressive 6 times. The assist for Reijnders, absolutely stunning, was the icing on the cake and he was deservedly named MOTM by us as well as Gazzetta dello Sport.

Reijnders setting records

Tijjani Reijnders got his 4th goal of the season last night, in the league that is, and has also equalled his goalscoring record in a single season. He also managed 4 goals with AZ Alkmaar in the 2021-22 season, but that was over 33 games and he has played just 15 this campaign.

If we add the numbers from all competitions, he has 8 goals and 3 assists this season in a mere 22 appearances. In other words, he’s on track for a very good season and it remains to be seen if he will break 2022-23 (7 goals and 12 assists across all competitions with AZ Alkmaar).

Another clean sheet

In the last 5 league games, Milan have kept 4 clean sheets and that is very impressive considering how the season started. Matteo Gabbia and Malick Thiaw got high scores in the newspapers once again and Fonseca has certainly found his centre-back partnership.

That being said, the Rossoneri desperately need to improve their attack and hopefully, this will be easier with a defensive solidity now in place. With Roma and Juventus up next, good displays on both ends of the pitch will be needed.