AC Milan: Full Report Card for Every Position for January
It was one of the worst Januarys in Milan's history.
Per the Rossoneri Blog, it was the first time since 1941 that Milan failed to win a single Serie A game in the month. Instead, they finished with three draws and one loss.
Filippo Inzaghi even risked the sack just halfway through his first season as a senior coach.
Lazio also dumped Milan out of the Coppa Italia, which was their last hope for a first major trophy in more than three years.
The only positives came off of the pitch. Milan scrambled to find players to replace injured defender Mattia De Sciglio and forward Stephan El Shaarawy, and they brought in Luca Antonelli and Mattia Destro.
But other than that, it was a month to forget.
The following slides contain the letter grades for each position (including the coach). Those grades are assigned based on an scale from A to F, much like a school report card.
Goalkeeper
1 of 5
Diego Lopez didn't win a single game in January, but he was probably least at fault.
If anything, the 33-year-old Spaniard prevented bigger defeats. He made big saves in losing causes, and his team-mates often left him to fend for himself.
Grade: B-
Defence
2 of 5
Milan played with a different back four in every Serie A game in January, so it is no surprise that they lacked any chemistry.
But it was worse than that: The defence could not carry out fundamental tasks.
Set pieces still haunt Milan like the Ghost of Istanbul. Any ball that lands in the box is like a grenade: Milan defenders don't know what do with it.
They looked horribly inept as footballers, and they couldn't handle any pressure:
"Watching #Milan defend. pic.twitter.com/hrAHcwyoWa
— KICKTV (@KICKTV) January 24, 2015"
Philippe Mexes also earned a four-match suspension for attempting to choke Lazio's Stefano Mauri. Comical defending and even worse behaviour: This is not the Milan of old.
Grade: F
Midfield
3 of 5
When Riccardo Montolivo returned to the lineup in December, he first brought back some stability.
But he was one of the worst performers in midfield this past month.
Not only did he commit back passes at dangerous times, he also misplaced passes and made little offensive impact.
That may be partly because his partner, Nigel de Jong, missed half of January through injury.
Milan also lost Giacomo Bonaventura to a long-term injury.
The rest of the midfielders did not look any better. Sulley Muntari and Michael Essien are far too slow and error-prone. Marco van Ginkel earned a couple of starts, but he looked terribly out of place, even if he hasn't played much first-team football over the past couple of seasons.
Grade: C-
Forwards/Wingers
4 of 5
Milan scored only three goals in four Serie A games. For all of the criticism of their defence, their offence has struggled almost as much.
So far, it's been the Jeremy Menez show. The Frenchman has scored 12 goals so far. But Milan do not show up when he does not. Perhaps that is what prompted CEO Adriano Galliani to sign Mattia Destro from Roma.
The Rossoneri often scored the first goal early in the game but could not build on the lead. They sat back and allowed their opponents the chance to strike back.
Milan also lacked the creativity to score real team goals. Keisuke Honda, who left to play for Japan in the Asian Cup, should bring some back.
Grade: D-
Coach
5 of 5
Inzaghi has yet to find any consistency as coach of Milan.
Every game brings a new lineup. Part of that is down to injuries, but the players who come in never look ready.
His team has played without any apparent plan, and they are not playing with any winning mentality.
"The team is in a difficult period and there is a certain fear," he said, per Goal.com. "Individual errors have occurred because of this. We have to find serenity and key players need to lead us forward."
If there's a lack of confidence in the dressing room, that's on the coach.
Grade: C-
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