What’s Wrong With AC Milan? In two words Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Football is meant to be a team game, but every so often one player does almost become the team and that is a huge part of the problem at AC Milan.

Massimiliano Allegri has to take his portion of the blame after securing just seven points from Milan’s opening eight Serie A games, which already includes three home defeats.

Calls have obviously come for his head, but with financial restraints already largely responsible for the demise of one of Europe’s elite, he is far too expensive to fire.

Meanwhile, the debate remains whether anybody could achieve any more with the resources at Allegri’s disposal this season.

Milan may have been paid well by PSG for Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s services, but Allegri has not been able to invest even a quarter of this sum on a suitable replacement.

Ibrahimovic scored 28 league goals last season, almost treble the number of any of his teammates, and just as importantly, had the individual quality to turn a game on his own.

Sometimes no amount of money can replace a player and this is what Milan are discovering.

The return of Alexandre Pato should help Milan from an attacking perspective and the partnership he forms with Ibra’s replacement Giampaolo Pazzini will be critical in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Allegri must pick teams to play to the strengths of his new-look line-up, which will largely revolve around getting the ball wide to provide service to Pazzini.

This was not happening in the early stages of the season, but Allegri appears to have noted the error of his ways.

Allegri has also been dumped on slightly at the other end of the pitch, with both first-choice central defenders leaving in the summer.

Thiago Silva is arguably the best defender in the world so he was also going to be a big miss, while the ageing Alessandro Nesta opted for the bright lights of Canada.

With the remainder of the defence arguably all as bad as each other, Allegri may be wise to put his faith in the longer term by playing Christian Zapata and Francesca Acerbi, but picking Daniele Bonera as captain in the defeat to Lazio may just show how far Milan have fallen in months.

Stephan El-Shaarawy is the lone star in a dark season and Allegri’s big hope now is that Pato can return to provide a bright spark and repeat the individual heroics of Ibrahimovic.

Milan are already out to 50/1 to win Serie A this season and they only have 15 points to make up on Juventus.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.