Kessie & AC Milan must find solace in Serie A after Europa League exit

The aftermath of AC Milan’s Europa League exit on Thursday focused on the fact Serie A has only one representative remaining in both European competitions this season—Roma.

While the Rossoneri have stuttered since the turn of the year, the disappointment in exiting narrowly to Manchester United in the last 16 ought to be channelled into meeting their pre-season target of playing Champions League football next season.

In truth, there’s an inclination to grumble over their elimination by the Red Devils, especially as the tie could have turned out differently had Franck Kessie’s well-taken finish counted at Old Trafford.

The midfielder’s 12th-minute strike was ruled out for a handball, although multiple replays didn’t particularly reveal this, and the Italian side missed out on seizing the initiative in the round.

Kessie rued the nature of the reverse fixture at San Siro but seemed intent to not stew over their continental exit in post-match media duties.

“We are very disappointed because we knew that we could’ve done it. We didn’t make the most of the advantage from the first leg, because we should at least have drawn 0-0 here and reached the quarter-finals,” the Ivory Coast international told Sky Sport Italia via Football Italia. “At this level, you pay for mistakes. We should’ve cleared the ball earlier and they made us pay straight away.”

On this season’s target, he continued: “We now have to focus on Serie A. The top four position was our objective at the start of the season, and it remains our main target. We can do it.”

While Milan’s second spot may not seem under threat to the naked eye, their performances and results since the turn of the year reveal a side that's losing its grip on a top four spot that guarantees their participation in the Champions League after a seven-year absence.

They led the way after a bright start in the opening half of the season which looked to put them in the conversation to win their first Scudetto since 2011, but the subsequent drop off has put them on the brink of dropping to third spot and looking nervously at the chasing pack—Atalanta, Napoli and Roma.

Ravaged by injuries and coronavirus to key players at various points since January, Stefano Pioli’s team have fallen to five losses in 2021 alone, with four of the defeats worryingly coming on home turf.

The confidence and gumption that characterised their ascent to Serie A contention has ebbed away and has now been replaced with mistakes at the back, a lack of control in midfield and an absence of ingenuity in the attacking third.

Having to deal with the absences while competing in Europe also looked to be taking a toll on Pioli’s troops who have seemingly looked jaded in dealing with their Sunday-Thursday-Sunday schedule in recent weeks.

For that reason alone, playing on the continent as well as dealing with the issues regarding personnel was going to pose challenges for a Milan side whose campaign began way back in mid-September.

Given the ongoing concerns within their group with form, the scheduling and player availability, the fact that all but one of the other sides chasing a top four spot only have league games to deal with till the end of the campaign was going to put a tiring Red and Blacks at a slight disadvantage.

Juventus, a point behind and with a game in hand, are throwing everything they have into ending as high as possible after an early Champions League exit against Porto last week. Atalanta may be four points behind, but they no longer have continental exertions to deal with following this week's elimination at the hands of Real Madrid.

The two sides in fifth and sixth, Napoli and Roma, are on 50 points apiece with the former to square up with the Old Lady in their game in hand where a victory for Gennaro Gattuso’s side will heap more pressure on Milan who are six points ahead of both at the moment.

Be that as it may, imminent returns for key players couldn't be timelier for Pioli, who will welcome the international break for his flagging lot. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was a second-half substitute on Thursday night and Ismael Bennacer, unused against the Manchester giants, has returned to give the team a huge boost in the middle of the park.

The Algeria star has arguably been the biggest miss for the seven-time European champions who haven’t been consistently able to count on his symbiotic partnership with Kessie in the middle of the park since mid-December.  

Neither Sandro Tonali nor Soualiho Meite have dovetailed as seamlessly with the Ivorian, so having the ex-Arsenal player back will be music to Pioli’s ears, although the manager will be wary of rushing the North African star to prevent another relapse.

Ostensibly, exiting the Europa League was a huge disappointment for Milan as they lost their last realistic chance of silverware.

However, the Rossoneri’s fragile state means the 2-1 aggregate defeat by Man United could be a blessing in disguise.

Pioli can now count on some of the previously absent defensive figures in his side, has welcomed back Zlatan and will be able to lean on Kessie and Bennacer after the break. Indeed, the experienced manager will hope that’s enough to see Milan over the line as they seek a return to Europe’s hallowed club competition.