Last night’s match, to put it bluntly, was a disgraceful performance. Not only because of the timing — coming the day after an Inter draw that could have called into question the outcome of this league season — but because it was a defeat born out of a series of mistakes that were never truly addressed.
A Defence That Doesn’t Defend
Has anyone ever truly stopped to consider whether De Winter, Pavlovic and Tomori are reliable defenders, or were we blinded by their occasional attacking forays and sporadic goals? Has anyone ever wondered about the complications of not having a true centre-forward and, as a result, deploying two wide attackers like Pulisic and Leao as the striking pair? The answers to these questions must inevitably be no, because otherwise there is no explanation for why nothing was done during the transfer windows to provide concrete and tangible help to this squad.
The Midfield Holds, But It’s Not Enough
The only department that truly benefited from reinforcements was the midfield, whose players, even amid last night’s general disaster, held firm as best they could, both in build-up play and in a defensive capacity. But of course, with an attack unable to make the most of the few balls that come their way, and a defence that gets carved open vertically and cannot handle the constant one-on-one situations across 90 minutes, even the good work done by Fofana and Modric fades into insignificance.
Transfer Market: A Serious Discussion Is Needed
In light of all this, it is clear that the answer to these problems is only one: those responsible for footballing matters at this club need to sit down, discuss and decide what moves to make ahead of the next transfer window, because it is obvious that this squad (which is incredibly thin, by the way) is in desperate need of reinforcements. But perhaps the saddest part is precisely this: the fact that nothing can change before next June, and that the Scudetto race is effectively over.
