When visiting AC Milan headquarters, Juventus must be careful because the home team are very skilled at getting penalties. AC Milan will host its historical rival, Juventus, in the 16th week of the Italian League top competition, Serie A 2020-2021, at the San Siro Stadium, Thursday (7/1/21).
I Rossoneri, nicknamed for AC Milan are now at the top of the standings and 10 points ahead of Juventus in fifth. This season AC Milan has often received penalties from the referee. AC Milan has recorded 10 opportunities to shoot from the spot in the 2020-2021 Serie A.
In comparison, Juventus this season has only won five penalties. Of the 10 chances AC Milan kicked the ball from distance of 12 meters, as many as seven resulted in success. Meanwhile, three other opportunities failed, including counting Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s strike in the derby against Inter Milan in mid-October 2020.
What has caused AC Milan to receive penalties so often this season?
The well-known Italian media based in the City of Milan, La Gazzetta dello Sport, float a number of reasons. The first reason is related to speed. The AC Milan squad is indeed packed with nimble runners who can make defenders dazed.
Figures such as Rafael Leao, Ante Rebic, Hakan Calhanoglu, to Theo Hernandez are equipped with good dribbling techniques. Not infrequently because of losing steps, opponents are forced to stop their progress by illegal means. Bonus for Milan if a foul takes place in the penalty area.
Theo Hernandez has become the top dribbler at AC Milan with 28 successful dribbles. The French full-back’s player is fifth in Serie A, or only lost to Rodrigo De Paul (Udinese / 47 successful dribbles), Junior Messias (Crotone / 38), Jeremie Boga (Sassuolo / 36), and Franck Ribery (Fiorentina / 30).
The second factor is the existence of a creative player in the form of Hakan Calhanoglu. Calhanoglu’s careful passes were instrumental in opening up enemy defense spaces that often accumulated players around the 16 meter area. Calhanoglu has the status of being one of the biggest odds creators on the Italian League stage this season. The Turkish midfielder created 16 goalscoring opportunities, the same as the contribution of AS Roma midfielder, Lorenzo Pellegrini.
The reason for this is the constant pressure that the Rossoneri crew are constantly exerting. Defender opponents are not given enough time to breathe, which triggers nervousness which leads to errors in the restricted area. Milan coach Stefano Pioli has indeed instructed his players to apply tight pressure since the opponent plays the ball in his own territory.
The penalty that appeared in the match against Benevento last weekend is the best example. Pressing by Franck Kessie led to an error in Perparim Hetemaj’s pass. The ball sent by Hetemaj then sparked panic and resulted in a violation of Alessandro Tuia on Ante Rebic in the penalty box.
