He did, in fact, play well. And it looks as if he found a blunt solution to his problems contributing in the final third: Take on defenders one-v-one, beat them, and whip in a cross. Did it at least twice, even mixed in a handful of step-overs one time. Required stationing him farther outside than he plays for the USMNT, so he can find the space to dribble past defenders. But worth watching if Milan tries to replicate those conditions moving forward.
With European Cup play now underway, the theme of the week is rotation. SempreMilan provides some guesswork: "Stefano Pioli has tested a 3-4-3 formation ahead of AC Milan’s clash against Hellas Verona tomorrow. In other words, there could be some interesting choices from the manager for the game. .... According to Luca Bianchin of Gazzetta Dello Sport, Pioli tested a new variant of the usual formation in training: almost a 3-4-3 with Malick Thiaw, Simon Kjaer and Fikayo Tomori at the back. In midfield, Rade Krunic and Tijjani Reijnders kept their spots. Possible Milan XI (3-4-3): Sportiello; Thiaw, Kjaer, Tomori; Musah, Krunic, Reijnders, Florenzi; Pulisic, Okafor, Leao. The most interesting choices, however, were perhaps Yunus Musah and Alessandro Florenzi in the wing-back roles. It remains to be seen how much of this will translate into the actual XI on gameday, but it’s clear that Pioli wants to be ready for the opponents in the best way possible." https://sempremilan.com/gds-pioli-formation-musah-wingback-verona
Sounds like Musah was gonna start either way but they want to give Theo and Calabria a break and with Kalulu put Musah gets the nod. Either way he's expected to play inverted
Fantastic (full-sized) photo of Musah v Newcastle in the link, with a few Musah post-game quotes. https://sempremilan.com/musah-milan-upset-draw-newcastle
I will say I don't mind it that much with him as it would help develop his ability in the final 3rd and to be more vertical in his play.
Saw this and turned on the CBS Sports app. Game didn't start for 35 minutes so I watched Celtic vs Livingston. Awful game. But I still watched it.
Played well until he tired. Hope he isn't injured. He belongs and can play at this level if he gets his fitness up some.
Which he always does. I said in another thread this evening that the good news is that stamina continues to improve into the 30s. The bad news is that Musah's starting point is so low. But at least he toughed it out for 90 this time.
I sometimes wonder if his fitness starting point is just low, like you said, or if he just exerts too much energy in too many needless moments earlier in the match, instead of conserving it in spots. Even the best in the game sometimes are walking or light jogging in moments when they do not need to be going full steam. But yes, I hope his endurance continues to build. He has so much potential.
Milan fans very happy with Yunus: https://acmilanforum.blogfree.net/?t=6452549&st=45 "He's a little gem, still very immature but over time he will make waves." "He has to be the starter, I don't care how. Until Bennacer comes back, the starters MUST be Musah, Reijnders, and Loftus." "He seems badass and physically fit to the highest point. For me, this is someone who wouldn't look out of place even against teams with a strong midfield (Inter above all). I intend to see him again on Saturday." Etc. Sadly, the same cannot be said of Pulisic. Before they actually started playing, the fans were a lot more happy about Pulisic arriving than Musah, though.
His endurance will almost assuredly continue to build, because that's what studies on such things have shown pretty clearly. Experience will aid in making better choices, which further helps things in that respect. But I still think he's just on the low end of stamina amongst professionals in the sport. He's no dummy, nor is he an energizer bunny. Maybe he just needs to learn that he can push harder and persevere. Mind over matter, as it were.
I think he’s so confident and smooth on the ball people perceive his being a little nonchalant as having less of a work rate. It’s the opposite of most of our mids historically.