Ruben Loftus-Cheek is expected to be the man that Massimiliano Allegri entrusts against Napoli, but a strange statistic looms over him.
Milan will face Napoli in the Supercoppa Italiana semi-final tonight, with a trophy and a substantial prize pool of approximately €8m up for grabs. Allegri is pondering the best team to field, and he has a doubt in the middle of the park, according to Calciomercato.com.
Loftus-Cheek’s time at Milan has been a rollercoaster of emotions so far, with an excellent debut season in 2023-24 – in which he reached double figures in goals scored – followed by some more difficult periods and some injury problems.
When fit, the English midfielder can become an asset to the team with his physicality and his versatility. Already this season he has been used as a central midfielder, a second striker and as a wing-back.
Photos: Marco Luzzani + Yu Chun Christopher Wong/Getty Images
A strange statistic
If there’s one thing Allegri can’t stand, it’s conceding a lot of goals. Even worse when they come against the so-called lesser teams. There’s one bit of data that worries the coach: Milan concede two goals per game when they play with Loftus-Cheek as a midfielder.
This happened in the opening match of the season against Cremonese and has continued in the last two matches against Torino and Sassuolo. The summary of these signs seems to confirm that Milan are currently struggling to find a balance with the Englishman deployed in his most comfortable role.
The paradox isn’t easy to resolve: Loftus-Cheek has played well in the opposition half in the last two matches, providing an assist for Davide Bartesaghi’s first goal. What can be done? Allegri plans to work on his understanding with Saelemaekers in off-the-ball situations, for added cover.
