AC Milan: 3 players that must make a difference this season after a poor 2017/18 campaign

A year ago, the Rossoneri spent almost €200milion to reinforce their squad, in one of the busiest transfer windows in their history. However, many of the newly arrived players kept on underperforming last season with the club finishing 6th.

One cause, of course, was that Milan lacked coherence due to the fact that the squad was flush with new faces who needed time to accustom themselves to the needs of the coach, or rather coaches as Gennaro Gatusso replaced Vincenzo Montella in November, and to the needs of their new teammates.

Nevertheless, this does not seem to be the only case. Milan started the new Serie A season with one defeat against Napoli and one victory over Roma and some first, yet quite premature, conclusions can be drawn regarding the players that ought to do more this season for the club. In fact, 3 starters seem to have continued putting in mediocre performances since last season and the need for them to improve is essential now more than ever.

Gianluigi Donnarumma

The Italian prodigy is not enjoying his best days at San Siro. This, of course, has been an issue since last season where Donnarumma's performance score was one of the lowest among Milan's squad and the lowest in his brief career so far.

During last season, the goalkeeper made approximately 2.12 saves per game and 1.95 saves per goal in 34 appearances. Most importantly, he succumbed to a lot of errors, with the highlight being the two goals he was at fault for during Milan's 4-0 defeat in the Coppa Italia against Juventus in May.

In fact, by January 2018, Donnarumma was the player who had made more errors directly leading to goals than any other Serie A player. Of course, it cannot be ignored that the young player was caught in the middle of a long dispute between AC Milan administration and his ferocious agent, Miro Raiola, after the talented keeper refused to sign his contract renewal in June 2017 only to accept it a month later. No one can neglect his role in this dispute and deny that that had not affected, emotionally at least, the Italian during last season.

In contrast to his stats last year, the ones of the 2016/2017 season have been the best so far in his career. Donnarumma made an average of 3.55 saves per game and an average of 3.14 for each goal he conceded.

The 19-year-old however has failed to maintain a clean sheet this season, conceding 4 goals in 2 matches. His performance against Napoli was rather poor, setting himself up in the wrong position for Napoli's second goal. As a result, almost every one of the Italian newspapers criticized Donnarumma. He added another disappointing performance against Roma after that as he was at fault for Fazio's goal even though he did not have to do much after that.

Everyone at Milan hopes that Pepe Reina's arrival will be an extra motivation for Donnarumma to improve himself. Paid €6million per year, the young star has to do much more this season and in the ones to come to justify the tag of the successor to the legendary Buffon.

Ricardo Rodriguez

Rodriguez playing against Napoli in Milan's defeat in San Paolo

The Swiss international came to San Siro from Wolfsburg for a fee of €17million last summer but his performances so far have not even come close to the ones he enjoyed at the German club. While his displays cannot be described as poor, Rodriguez has failed to make a difference for his new club so far, mainly with regards to his offensive skills.

The Swissman has been the starter at left-back since his arrival at Italy but his performances never exceed mediocrity. Even though his defensive qualities have not deserted him, Rogriguez has struggled in the creation of offensive situations for his team. In fact, during the last season where he made 47 appearances both in Italy and in Europe, the defender scored only 4 times and provided only 2 assists. In contrast, in his 184 appearances for Wolfsburg, Rodriguez found the net 22 times while setting 28 goals up for his teammates.

Moreover, the statistics show a more general decline in his contribution to Milan's attacks during last season. Rodriguez managed 0.9 shots, 0.7 key passes and a career-low 0.6 crosses per Serie A game. His shot accuracy rate was limited to 39% while he made at least 2 serious defensive errors which ended with his team conceding a goal.

The new season feels different for the 26-year-old defender. He had a decent game against Napoli and provided a fantastic assist in Kessie's goal against Roma, ending the game as the best out of the 4-man defense. In Switzerland's six-goal win against Iceland, he was exceptional as he set up one goal, made at least 4 key passes and had a 100% pass success. After Milan's win over Roma, Rodriguez seems to have finally found consistency in his game for the Rossoneri with regards to both his defensive and his attacking roles.

Manager Gatusso excepts much more from him and this season he must appear better than ever. After all, Rodriguez seems devoted to the club after rejecting the chance of leaving to PSG in the summer.

Lucas Biglia

The performances of the Argentinian for Milan have been rather poor so far

Milan signed Biglia from Lazio for a fee of €17million in July 2017. Even though he arrived at San Siro as one of the best players of the Laziali squad and one of the best in his position in Italy, the Argentinian defensive midfielder has failed to make a difference so far for the Rossoneri.

Although a regular starter since his arrival at Milan, Biglia's performances were limited to mediocrity during the whole of last season as his presence in the midfield was far from imposing and dominating. Biglia was the cornerstone in Lazio's midfield but he could not bear the same role in his first season at Milan.

The 32-year-old could not help his team with his enormous Serie A experience and as such, he was widely criticized mainly on the grounds of poor defensive positioning. In fact, according to the statistics, during last season, Biglia's successful tackles were limited to 29% while his interceptions per game were half as much in comparison to his stint in Lazio. With regard to his role in Milan's offense, the Argentinian's key passes were under 1 per game and his shot accuracy never crossed the 36% mark during last season.

Biglia started the new season with quite a poor performance against Napoli in the Serie A premiere. His crucial error led to Napoli's first goal and he was later replaced by Tiemoue Bakayoko.

However, in Milan's second game against Roma, Biglia was exceptional, guiding the Rossoneri to an important victory. Indeed, he is now second in the fans voting for the MVP, having had one of his best games since he signed for Milan. Biglia ought to continue the same way as he must, at last, make a difference for his team.