AC Milan Starting to Take Shape After Win Against Chievo

Keisuke Honda says he hopes his best goal is the one he scores next. Not any that came before. There is something to that.

It was another free-kick, this time against Chievo Verona, and there was some confusion over the strike. Jeremy Menez could have taken it. Even Alex. They huddled, but it was always meant for Honda. 

They must have known. If nothing else, Honda is a man of effort. He is early to training, he was first for the team picture and he is always chugging and running up and down the pitch. Honda is determined to play better and better each game.

So here was another moment to prove it. Honda curled the ball and Chievo goalkeeper Francesco Bardi could not reach it. He gave a rare smile. He is always happy when he scores. It was his fourth goal of this early season. He also leads Serie A alongside four others. 

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Inzaghi: "Many people labelled Honda as a bad signing. I'm happy that he is now taking revenge on those who criticized him."

— AC Milan News (@Milanello) October 4, 2014"

"I said in America this summer that Honda had an incredible desire to prove himself," coach Pippo Inzaghi told Sky Sport Italia after the game (h/t Football Italia). 

AC Milan beat Chievo Verona 2-0 on Saturday, but it was not easy. Before that free-kick, Sulley Muntari had struck a thunderous volley into the net. That goal was random, scored by a random player: Muntari had spent most of the game giving away the ball, and there he was, on the end of one of the great goals. And even then, it was a fortunate sequence: Muntari drove the ball into the ground and it so happened to bounce the right way, up and over the goalkeeper and under the post.

Everywhere else on the field, Muntari made some really bad decisions. Once, he conceded possession after playing around and it led to a three-on-one. So often does Muntari go for glory, and so often does he miss. He certainly thinks he can score a golazo every game, and the odd time he does.

Antonio Calanni/Associated Press

Fernando Torres could use some of that self-belief. He failed to influence the game in any way, and his substitute Stephan El Shaarawy seemed to show more life with only a few minutes. In fact, it was El Shaarawy’s run that forced the foul that led to Honda’s free-kick. Torres missed two good chances in close, hitting the ball high and wide, and he could not really join the flow of the match. Torres, remember, did join the team late in August, and he will need more time to understand the system and the way Inzaghi wants this team to play.

Chievo, to their credit, were tough to break down, and they offered a good resistance to the 22 shots that Milan took. The Flying Donkeys even struck several times on the counter-attack and won back balls quickly. This is a much better side than the one Milan thrashed 5-0 last season, and it almost looked like they could have nicked a winner.

Antonio Calanni/Associated Press

But Milan did not allow a goal. Alex returned to the lineup, and he cleared almost every threat. He was strong in the air, he anticipated attacks, and when he did lose the ball he chased it down like a hyena. He is the nucleus of this defence. Without him, there is no balance. Alex is still very quick for a 32-year-old, and sometimes, from afar, he looks like Nigel de Jong, both bald but both the type of player to send a long pass and start a play.

De Jong has the ability to switch the play so well and at exactly the right time. Milan will feel his loss on Oct. 19, as he picked up a yellow card on Saturday that will keep him out of the next game. Because De Jong keeps Milan in rhythm and keeps them moving. He made 61 passes and completed 98 percent of them, according to WhoScored.com.

Those weren’t even the best statistics. Ignazio Abate continues to play the best football of his life. He had 95 touches—more than any other player on the pitch—and the ball always seemed to find him. Play goes through Abate now. Perhaps for a good reason: When Abate has the ball, something happens. He waits for the run and sets up teammates and delivers the killer pass.

Abate is among the protagonists of this very strange team. So is Honda, the outcast for so long last season. De Jong and Alex make up the spine. Menez and Giacomo Bonaventura do some good work, too. Maybe a real body is taking shape here.