AC Milan's Inability to Kill off Match vs. Verona Could Mean Inzaghi Exit

AC Milan have lost points from winning positions many times before this season. These two probably hurt a little more.

A last-minute equalizer from substitute Nico Lopez secured a 2-2 draw for Hellas Verona against Milan on Saturday, and it was all too predictable.

Most likely out of fear of losing, with 13 minutes left in a game the Rossoneri were winning, Milan coach Filippo Inzaghi took off striker Giampaolo Pazzini for defender Salvatore Bocchetti. It was precisely Bocchetti who slipped up in the 95th minute and allowed Lopez to streak in and score the goal—a classic example of playing it too safe.

That was just one of the several poor decisions Inzaghi made in what could be his final match as Milan coach, according to Gianluca Di Marzio.

The game began with some surprising choices. Injuries to Nigel de Jong, Riccardo Montolivo and Alex forced a reshuffle.

Philippe Mexes returned from a lengthy suspension, and Sulley Muntari made his first appearance since the loss to Juventus, in which he committed two crucial errors. Ignazio Abate was healthy enough to make the bench, but still perennial punchline and natural centre-back Daniele Bonera deputized as a full-back.

Of course, nothing really changed for Muntari.

The 30-year-old lunged into one reckless tackle in the middle of the field before conceding a needless penalty. It was so unnecessary, the kind of avoidable foul that Muntari does so well. Verona’s Artur Ionita had the ball at the far edge of the box, and Milan’s Luca Antonelli had him covered. In stepped Muntari anyway, and he took down Ionita with a late kick.

Luca Toni dispatched the spot-kick with a Panenka. It was pure confidence against a team with none of it.

Luca Bruno/Associated Press

Mexes then put in a performance that only made the rest of his teammates look worse by comparison. Mexes had missed the last month-and-a-half of action thanks to a four-match ban for choking Lazio’s Stefano Mauri, and he was at times the best attacker on the team. He shot from long range and pushed forward, doing enough to earn Milan their own penalty.

In the second half, Mexes was poking at the ball in a mad scramble inside Verona’s box and willing it into the net. It was an own goal in the end, but it was another that the Frenchman had set up.

It’s never a good thing when a defender is the most offensive player on the pitch. Giampaolo Pazzini was not effective at all, and Jeremy Menez, despite scoring Milan's spot-kick, was just as disappointing, returning to his old habit of keeping the ball until he loses it. 

The decision to leave Mattia Destro on the bench was curious. Here was a player whom Inzaghi wanted specifically to help his team, to give them a solid presence at the tip of the attack, out of the team for no particular reason. Destro only ran on the field for a few minutes in garbage time, which is something Inzaghi did to Alessio Cerci before the winger started complaining about it.

Inzaghi apparently caved into Cerci's demands. The 27-year-old played from the beginning against Verona, and the most notable thing about his performance was his diving. 

In moments like these, Inzaghi looks like he has no control over the squad. And even when he does have some control, he doesn't know what to do with it.

Taking off Pazzini for Bocchetti—a striker for a defender, at home, in a crucial game—was proof of panic. Inzaghi had resorted to these negative tactics before against Torino. He coaches as if he is afraid of losing. ESPN FC's James Horncastle notes Inzaghi's coaching pattern:

"

Similar sub to Torino game. Milan were down to 10 but Pazzini for Bocchetti like Menez for Alex

— James Horncastle (@JamesHorncastle) March 7, 2015"

The team collapsed, as expected, giving up a goal with 10 seconds left. Inzaghi asked for it. The team does not exude any confidence because their coach does not show any.

“Obviously if the game had ended 10 seconds earlier,” Inzaghi told Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia), “the comments would be different right now.”

The problem is that Milan don’t know how to kill off games. That’s why they only have 35 points from 26 games. They have lost 12 points from winning positions in 2015 alone.

Milan’s problems are not just down to a lack of quality. A lot of it is mental. There is a reason why they have (for years) conceded a large chunk of goals off set pieces and headers, and there is a reason why they cannot play with a lead. Inzaghi has only invited more doubts into an already-weak camp. 

The status quo, the culture of mediocrity, still goes strong. Muntari continues to play ahead of younger prospects such as Alessandro Mastalli and Suso; Inzaghi continues to show that he is not ready to coach at this level; and Milan as a whole continue to drop points against clubs below them in the Serie A standings. 

Nothing will change unless something happens. Firing Inzaghi may be the start.