AC Milan Struggle with Familiar Inconsistencies in Disappointing Draw at Chievo

It was another game on the road, another disappointment for AC Milan.

The Rossoneri have not won an away game in Serie A since October. It’s now a span of eight winless matches thanks to a scoreless draw against Chievo on Saturday evening.

Their performance was familiar in its deficiencies: the lack of good passing, the absence of real goal-scoring threats and the overall dearth of quality on the pitch. Milan hit the crossbar once, but that was really it. 

All season, they have had the greatest trouble breaking down provincial sides or winning back-to-back games. Every time Milan crawled their way into the final third of the pitch, they just passed or crossed the ball without a real target.

No end product, no ideas and no desire to create anything could be found: a deadly trifecta of misery that too often materializes when Milan play.

Even Chievo, which are just a few points out of the drop zone, have produced more chances than Milan this season:

"

Update on that @Squawka statistic - Milan now have created 211 chances, vs. Chievo’s 217. In today's match: Chievo created 9, Milan 7. Wow.

— Pete Acquaviva (@PDAcquaviva) February 28, 2015"

The cast was exposed for what they are: an odd collection of players. Coach Filippo Inzaghi must have changed the formation three times during the match, exposing the little control he has over this team. 

Jeremy Menez, their deepest well of inspiration this season, ran dry. Mattia Destro was so starved for the ball that he went back to defend (rather well, too) just to get a touch. Riccardo Montolivo, the club’s supposed captain and leader, limped off the field after 45 minutes of turnovers and hesitations.

The only two guys who put in decent shifts were the same ones who save the team every week: Diego Lopez and Nigel de Jong. The Spanish goalkeeper is ready for almost every shot, and he has to be. Once more, he was forced to make sprawling saves to keep Milan in the game.

The same goes for de Jong: The 30-year-old raced around the pitch to bail out his teammates, including one spectacular tackle in Milan’s own area that probably stopped a goal.

"

#Milan in the final third be like: pic.twitter.com/dWnDnd1vAq

— Stereo Serie A Radio (@StereoSerieA) February 28, 2015"

But the general malaise of this club remains. They are just terrible to watch—even worse to watch on a day when they were the main event, the lone match on a Saturday.

Teams below them in the standings keep on stumping Milan. When sides like Chievo sit back and defend, it’s a death sentence for Milan. They are far too impotent with the majority of the possession, as if suffocated by all the extra time.

“I believe we’ve improved in our possession over the last two games,” Inzaghi told Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia) after the match, “but we didn’t score and that’s the real regret.”

Dino Panato/Getty Images

Inzaghi was desperate at the end. De Jong left the game injured, and the coach threw on Alessio Cerci. At this point, they were playing with four attackers, and it was all too hopeful.

It has to be said that Milan’s only two Serie A wins in 2015 have come against the two clubs at the bottom of the table. The 2-0 win over Cesena last Sunday was encouraging. They showed some resolve in midfield, and they were not so scatterbrained in defence.

So much for that.

The Rossoneri look different almost every weekend, and this one was no different.