AC Milan Reserves' Struggles vs. Alessandria Highlight Lack of Depth

It was meant to be easy. Alessandria, who are currently vying for promotion to Serie B, had knocked out both Genoa and Palermo to reach the Coppa Italia semi-finals, but they weren’t supposed to compete with AC Milan. That, however, was exactly what they did on Tuesday night.

The Lega Pro outfit worked hard and flustered their more illustrious opponents on multiple occasions. It was only thanks to a Mario Balotelli penalty that Milan sealed a 1-0 win and an advantage to take with them into the second leg.

AC Milan manager Sinisa Mihajlovic was far from delighted with the display. His side had moved another step closer to the cup final, another step closer to silverware and possibly European football next season, but afterwards, he told Rai Sport (h/t Football Italia) that he was only “half-satisfied.”

Mihajlovic had sent out mixed messages regarding his treatment of the fixture. A Milan derby looms on the horizon this Sunday, and there were doubts before the game as to how strong a side the coach would send out.

He tried to erase those doubts in his pre-match press conference (h/t Football Italia), saying, “I will put my best team on the pitch.” However, he then proceeded to omit his top goalscorer in Carlos Bacca, his best and most consistent individual performer in Giacomo Bonaventura, No. 1 goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, and central midfield linkman Andrea Bertolacci.

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Instead of utilising these key players, who were presumably rested with the Inter match in mind, Mihajlovic gave chances to several reserve players. Few of them impressed. Most of them underwhelmed.

Thirty-eight-year-old goalkeeper Christian Abbiati came in for Donnarumma, but despite his vast experience, he looked nervy in his distribution from the back. Alessandria forward Michele Marconi put him under pressure several times, something that often resulted in panicked clearances.

At right-back, Mattia De Sciglio failed to impress enough to suggest he can threaten Ignazio Abate for the spot on a regular basis. He looked unsure of himself and was tentative going forward.

In central midfield, Mihajlovic opted for a pairing of Jose Mauri, a 19-year-old who has not featured in the league since signing from Parma at the start of the season, and Andrea Poli, a considerably more mature player. Mauri showed adequate promise, but Poli failed to impact the game beyond a disallowed, deflected strike in the second half.

Kevin-Prince Boateng was invisible on the left wing, while up front, Luiz Adriano looked as if he hadn’t quite gathered himself following an aborted move to China—Sky Sport Italia reported the forward's negotiations with Jiangsu Suning FC had broken down last week (h/t Football Italia). The Brazilian didn’t involve himself in any meaningful way; indeed, he had just 11 touches in the first half, per OptaPaolo.

For some of these players, such poor displays may only hasten their exits. Abbiati's and Boateng’s contracts expire this summer, and on the basis of the Alessandria game, they are unlikely to warrant extensions.

Poli’s deal has another year to go, but with Mauri overshadowing him on Tuesday night and several others ahead of him in the pecking order, he is running out of chances to prove his worth to the club. The same could be said of De Sciglio, who has recently been linked to Juventus, per Telelombardia (h/t Football Italia).

As for Adriano, he nearly left the club last week, and his disinterested latest outing hardly marked him out as a must-keep. With M’Baye Niang improving over time and Bacca Milan’s prime attacking player, he could well be back up for sale come the end of this campaign.

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Ultimately, however, beyond the futures of these individual players, Milan’s labouring to victory against Alessandria only highlighted the worrying lack of depth in Mihajlovic’s squad. For all the investment last summer, the Rossoneri remain unable to defeat clubs with far smaller budgets with any real comfort.

They may well reach the Coppa Italia final, but that progression won’t paper over the cracks in Milan’s squad, the visible result of years of mismanagement. It’s no longer feasible to blame individual players or coaches; instead, Milan must seriously investigate their overarching philosophy, including their wayward, directionless approach to the transfer market.

In short, it’s high time the Rossoneri began to meet expectations, starting by dominating teams like Alessandria.

All information regarding AC Milan players’ contracts was provided by Transfermarkt.co.uk.