Why Jeremy Menez Is Under Most Pressure for AC Milan After Verona Game

The world is going to be talking about Filippo Inzaghi and his tactical decisions in the aftermath of AC Milan's 2-2 draw with Hellas Verona on Saturday.  The Rossoneri were certainly ill-served by their manager's decisions as the clock ticked down—but they shouldn't have been in that position to begin with.

At least three times after Philippe Mexes forced an own goal to put Milan ahead, the team managed dangerous-looking counterattacks.  An insurance goal would have put distance between them and the Mastiffs and crushed their opponents' spirits.  The pressure would have been infinitely less.

Unfortunately, every one of these movements was blunted by the same man.  Even more unfortunate, that man was wearing a Milan shirt.

A cursory look at Jeremy Menez's season would give one the impression that he is having quite a good year.  He's scored 13 times, including a highlight backheel against Parma in the second week of the season.  He's third top scorer in Serie A and, according to WhoScored.com, he has scored 35 percent of his team's goals.

But a closer look at those numbers tell a different story.  Menez's goal total is less impressive when it becomes clear that seven of them have come from the penalty spot.  The shine is further lost when you look at his assist total—just three in 26 total games.

Luca Bruno/Associated Press

Menez's biggest weakness is his selfishness.  He is completely in love with his own game.  The misleading goal total can only go so far to offset the number of times the Frenchman has driven the length of the field on the counter only to blaze over the bar rather than picking up his head to find a teammate in better position to score.

That was what happened time and time again on Saturday.  Menez's speed is impressive and when he combines it with his dribbling ability, he's impossible to stop with a full head of steam.  With skills like his, a team should be absolutely lethal on the counter.

"Should be" is the key phrase there, because Milan aren't producing goals out of these situations.  Most of that comes down to Menez's selfishness.  When he's the one breaking down the field, there's hardly ever a positive end product.  The Frenchman either keeps the people in row Z on their toes with a shot or, even worse, dithers around in the box so much that he is dispossessed.

Dispossessions are an issue for Menez.  By WhoScored's advanced statistics, he has been dispossessed a whopping 2.5 times per match.  He loses possession twice more on unsuccessful touches.  Not once but twice against Verona he took the ball into the box only to literally dribble himself over the goal line—once while under minimal pressure.

If Milan are to finish this season with any semblance of respect, they are going to need Menez to be more effective.  If this side are going to finish in the top half of the table, they cannot keep leaving goals on the table on the break the way they did on Saturday.  In order for that to happen, Menez needs to pull his weight and contribute as a cog in the team rather than as an individual among 10 other men.