On Sunday, A.C. Milan managed to hold off Torino 3-2 at the San Siro. While Carlos Bacca, for his “tripletta” earned the bulk of the praise, it was the work by Juraj Kucka up and down the pitch that proved vital to earning the victory on Matchday 1.
Have you collected yourself Milanisti? Is your heart-rate in good standing? Good, because after the Rossoneri managed to secure the narrow 3-2 win over Torino on Sunday, there were a few notable performers that deserve recognition.
This is where the article’s attention would be directed towards “tripletta” hero Carlos Bacca, but that is too easy. Instead, there was a certain Milan midfielder who maybe flew under the radar after the final whistle blew, a certain Slovakian.
Milan’s Juraj Kucka got the starting nod as one of the three in Vincenzo Montella’s midfield setup v Torino. Alongside Kucka was Giacomo Bonaventura and captain Riccardo Montolivo.
Bonaventura and Montolivo received polar opposite player ratings, evident in our post-match evaluation. Jack performed well inside Montella’s three-man midfield, getting forward and pitching in on defense. The Rossoneri captain, however, struggled. He surrendered possession far too often, and it nearly costed the club on several occasions.
So for Carlos Bacca to get service, and Montolivo’s errors to be nixed, it took a “workhorse” to cover all over the park, which is exactly what Juraj Kucka did for Milan.
The Slovakia international, known by Milan supporters as “The Tank,” has the reputation around Europe for being a disruptor in the midfield trenches. He is fearless going into tackles and has that “grinta” former manager Siniša Mihajlović admired last year; it’s no surprise that he wished to bring him over to Turin this summer.
For Vincenzo Montella, Kucka provides quite a bit. Every midfield needs that hard-working, bruiser to make things a bit uncomfortable for the opposition. Kucka did just that, making those marauding, downhill runs towards into the attacking phase. But, perhaps most impressive was his work done on the back end to support the defense. At times, you could find Kucka falling deep in the defense, breaking up play and pressing the likes of Joel Obi and Afriyie Acquah into the corner. Or, working tirelessly to win back possession in their own end.
As the game progressed, the defensive back four were struggling, and nearly collapsed. Gabriel Paletta and Alessio Romagnoli were leaving too much space exposed, and Torino made them pay. Baselli scored the second, strolling by the central defenders and at the end Paletta surrendered the penalty. Luckily, the three points were salvaged after the final 15 minute meltdown thanks to Gianluigi Donnarumma’s penalty save on Andrea Belotti. Kucka remained active over 90 minutes and really picked up the slack left on the pitch, especially at the end.
Juraj #Kucka v Torino
Passing: 81%
Aerials won: 4
Tackles: 3
Rating: 7.13-MS http://pic.twitter.com/t56h7AiB2b
— Milan Brothers (@ACMilanBros) August 21, 2016
Juraj Kucka did the brunt of the dirty work yesterday for Montella in the midfield. His presence was felt in all areas –and facets — of the game. Although Carlos Bacca was the clear cut favorite for Man of the Match honors, it was the Slovakian who picked up where he left off from last year, punching a nice shift into the 3-2 victory over Torino on Sunday.
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