The five key battles that could win or lose the game for Milan against Como | OneFootball

AC Milan will face off against Como for the first time in 21 years this evening, as they make the short trip up to the lake.

Milan returned from Saudi Arabia with the Supercoppa Italiana in their luggage and many thought it would provide a jolt that would bring some consistency in the league. While the bubble wasn’t fully burst, some air was certainly let out of it.

Given the quest to get into the Champions League places, it is imperative that Sergio Conceicao’s side do not drop points against teams at the bottom end of the table. The Portuguese was understandably frustrated after Saturday’s match, a 1-1 draw against Cagliari who are 18th.

The five key battles

Como have found it tough in their return to the top flight for the first time since 2002-03, with four wins from 19 games, plus seven draws and eight defeats. They sit one point above the relegation zone at present, with Cesc Fabregas perhaps under pressure given the investment in the squad.

Looking at the key battles, Milan will be expected to attack this game from minute one given Conceicao’s hammering of the first half against Cagliari. Rafael Leão will be crucial as always, and has been involved in five goals in his last five matches against newly promoted teams in Serie A (one goal and four assists).

He provided one assist in both matches against these teams in the current league season (against Parma in August and Venezia in September). His opponent is likely to be the right-sided centre-back Edoardo Goldaniga, a veteran at 31 years of age who was born in Milano. He joined Como last year and has become a rock in their defence, while he was actually the subject of a co-ownership agreement involving Juventus 11 years ago.

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Patrick Cutrone’s first 63 appearances, featuring 13 goals, in Serie A came with the Milan shirt (including 10 goals in 2017-18, his best scoring season in the ‘top five’ European leagues). The 26-year-old has faced the Rossoneri in four Serie A matches without either scoring or assisting but he did win a penalty for Fiorentina on 22 February 2020.

The Milan academy product leads Como for goal contributions this season (seven goals, two assists in all competitions). His opponent is likely to be Malick Thiaw, who has kept his starting spot under Sergio Conceicao and is now partnered by Fikayo Tomori. Attention will have to be at a maximum given the Rossoneri are yet to keep a clean sheet under the new boss.

After a quiet game against Cagliari, Conceicao will hope that Tijjani Reijnders returns to being the creative source for Milan. The Dutchman remains the joint-top scorer for the season, and what has been intriguing so far with the coaching change is his role, fluctuating between almost being a second striker at times to then being a box-to-box link player.

Yannik Engelhardt is expected to play on the right side of Como’s midfield pairing. The 23-year-old German joined in the summer from Fortuna Dusseldorf in the 2. Bundesliga and so far has one goal to his name. He is a relatively recent fixture in Fabregas’ starting XI, given he has only played eight times from minute one.

Speaking of German players, Como’s defensive bedrock is Marc-Oliver Kempf. The centre-back – who will soon turn 30 – has been the anchorman of the three-man defence under Como with 16 starts this season. Standing at 6ft1, he is in the 98th percentile for aerial duels won per 90 among central defenders in the top five leagues, with 4.05.

Tammy Abraham is expected to lead the line for Milan, and he will no doubt feel that he has some making up to do, even despite his heroics in the Supercoppa Italiana final comeback win over Inter. The Englishman missed two big chances against Cagliari, though this will be a rare chance for him to show what he can bring from the start.

Finally, we return to the flank we started with. The Belgian wing-back Ignace van Der Brempt is another player that has become a trusted option for Fabregas, though he only has one assist to his name so has not shown himself to be too much for a forward threat. That being said, Milan suffered at the hands of Zortea again on Saturday, and have had an unfortunate knack for letting wing-backs score.

Thus, Theo Hernandez will be called upon to put in a focused and attentive performance. Given the nature of the game and the requirement to bring back three points, the Frenchman must also give his best in the attacking third, over and under-lapping to generate threat and also to pin back Como’s shape, including his opposite number.