Venezia 0-2 AC Milan: Five things we learned – 75% there it seems

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·28 April 2025

Venezia 0-2 AC Milan: Five things we learned – 75% there it seems

AC Milan continued their impressive run this weekend, with a 2-0 win against Venezia on Sunday morning.

Whilst Milan managed to reach the Coppa Italia final, they still need to win as much as they can until the season ends because the outcome of the final is far from certain, especially given that the opponents are a Bologna side who have done pretty well as of late.

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The first obstacle following the loss to Atalanta was Venezia away from home.

It was clear to see how the Rossoneri started the game in the best possible manner, scoring just five minutes into the game to take the lead. Venezia then were probably the more active team in the first half, but didn’t create any clear cut chances as the Diavolo’s defence handled themselves well.

In the second half, not much changed, though Milan did bring some energy off the bench to replace so tired legs, and they eventually managed to get a second goal in the dying minutes of the game through Santiago Gimenez, who finally ended his goal drought.

1. Finding stability at the back

With their new 3-4-3 formation, Milan have only conceded once in the last four games, against Atalanta, and have finally found the stability they have been missing throughout the season.

Matteo Gabbia, Fikayo Tomori and Strahinja Pavlovic have all managed to adapt well to the three-man defence, with both Tomori and Gabbia doing a pretty good job against Venezia. Pavlovic, on the other hand, lost a lot of 1v1s in the first half, but fortunately for him, that did not result in a goal. In the second half, he improved, which helped his side keep the clean sheet.

Then on the flanks, Alex Jimenez and Theo Hernandez also did well to help at the back. Though it is worth mentioning that in this particular game, Hernandez was a bit shaky, and Jimenez wasn’t as lively as against Inter.

Nevertheless, the two have been pretty solid overall since the change of formation, so overall, Sergio Conceicao can be happy with his defenders and wing-backs.

2. Back at it

Christian Pulisic has had somewhat of a bad spell as of late, but against Venezia he was, again, at his best, with the goal, showcasing his good movements on the pitch and his eye for goal.

After that, he did well with the ball as he combined with his teammates and kept the ball well. Furthermore, he was the only attacker out of the starting players who had any success up front with both the goal and being part of the more dangerous situations.

Image: AC Milan

It’s good to see him back on the scoresheet, hopefully, he can finish the season strong, especially in the Coppa Italia final.

3. Duo struggle up front

Tammy Abraham and Rafael Leao didn’t really contribute in attack as opposed to Pulisic with the duo offering next to nothing.

The Englishman wasn’t actually meant to start as Luka Jovic picked up an injury before the game, giving Abraham the chance to start. But he didn’t take it well as he was just not good enough, and on the chance he did have in the second half, he skied it, and really, he probably should’ve passed to Leao, who was in a better position.

Then speaking of Leao, he too was very poor, and it’s a vicious cycle with him as he keeps showing the fans a glimpse of his potential before fading away in the next game. In the first half, he failed to produce anything, whilst in the second, he had a good moment or two, but that was it.

4. Midfield duo impactful

Youssouf Fofana started the game very well with the assist to Pulisic, and he then continued to be good with interceptions and runs forward. However, he still struggled with his passing and lost the ball too easily at times. Fortunately, he got away with it this time, and the assist is enough to tip the scale to the positive side.

His partner, Tijjani Reijnders, was a tad better as his passing and dribbling was good, but unfortunately for him he didn’t have a lot to work with since both Leao and Abraham were having a day off.

In the end, he did find Gimenez with a lovely ball showing off his passing abilities and picking up the assist so it was an overall good game from the Dutchman.

5. The bench did their job

In the second half, Conceicao introduced Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Gimenez, Kyle Walker and Joao Felix, and the quartet did well to help Milan keep the clean sheet and extend their lead, although you could argue some of them could’ve done a tad better.

That mainly goes for Loftus-Cheek, who really should’ve done more but instead he skied a chance where he could’ve easily combined as it was 4v2. Other than that, he did good enough to help his team seal the win.

Then Walker and Felix did well with the Englishman intercepting a lot of balls and also making some good runs forward, whilst Felix was entertaining to watch as he frustrated the opposition with his technique.

Then Gimenez buried it with his goal to make it 2-0 and the goal saves him as he was very sloppy prior to it, but hopefully the goal serves as a confidence boost and he can return to scoring goals.