AS if the prospect of travelling to San Siro for a match against AC Milan was not daunting enough, this past weekend would see Serie A side Cagliari suffer a bizarre setback before even setting off on their journey to the famous old stadium. Finding themselves barricaded into their own training ground by over 100 local farmers, the players became part of an ongoing protest against milk prices in Sardinia, and three members of the squad would be filmed kicking over churns before they were allowed to leave.
The delay meant they missed their scheduled flight to Milan and, once they did finally land, the Rossoblu probably wished they hadn’t bothered. Sunday afternoon’s game was just 11 minutes old when Cagliari goalkeeper Alessio Cragno parried a Suso cross directly into team-mate Luca Ceppitelli, the defender unable to react as the ball hit his chest and rebounded into the net.
However, if the match began as merely a continuation of the frankly ludicrous series of events plaguing Rolando Maran’s men, it would soon see the quality of their opponents come to the fore instead. Less than 10 minutes after that unfortunate own goal, a superb cross from Milan full-back Davide Calabria was met at the far post by new signing Lucas Paquetá, the timing of his run only bettered by a perfect left-footed volley that went under the ‘keeper and into the back of the net.
Lucas Paqueta dedicates his first Milan goal to the victims of the fire at his former side Flamengo. pic.twitter.com/88XGQ3FQAo
— B/R Football (@brfootball) February 10, 2019
Having only arrived from Flamengo last month, it was fitting that it was the 21-year-old who had scored, Paquetá swiftly removing his black armband and kissing it before holding it above his head. It had been worn to mark the passing of ten youth team players who had died in a tragic fire at his former club’s training ground on Friday, and the new signing admitted he had been deeply affected by the news.
“It has been a very difficult time,” he told Sky Italia shortly after the Cagliari encounter came to an end. “I’m living a dream playing for Milan and scoring my first Serie A goal, but it was also a dream for me to be in the Flamengo youth academy and I can’t forget those who were experiencing the same thing.”
While he might not have been in Milan long, Paquetá has quickly adapted to life in northern Italy, looking dangerously sharp in each of his first seven outings under Gennaro Gattuso. That those appearances have come against Juventus, AS Roma and in two meetings with Napoli have not daunted the Rio native, his presence adding a much-needed injection of attacking verve to the side.
Lucas Paquetá's impressive #MilanCagliari performance: 1 shot, 1 goal, 25/36 passes, 2 chances created, 2/3 take-ons successful, 3 tackles, 1 interception (via @StatsZone) pic.twitter.com/3heFb5ZyJS
— Adam Digby (@Adz77) February 11, 2019
His creativity and skill might be the first things to catch the eye, but he also possesses a gritty determination that was fully on display a week earlier when Milan took on Roma at the Stadio Olimpico. Chasing down a lose ball outside the Giallorossi penalty area, Paquetá pressed Luca Pellegrini into giving the ball away and then used his strong physique to hold the Italy international off near the corner flag.
Not content with merely winning back possession, the Brazilian then skipped beyond Pellegrini along the touchline and fired a perfect cross to Krzysztof Piątek who smashed it into the back of the net with ease. Wheeling away in delight, the Polish striker has not scored a simpler chance this term, but – after adding another goal against Cagliari on Sunday to make that game 3-0 to Milan – he certainly has plenty to choose from.
With 19 goals in 21 appearances for Genoa and then securing a €35 million to San Siro, Piątek has shown that he is in the form of his young life by adding four more in his first four games for Milan. He is as tenacious and relentless as Paquetá, the duo becoming the first line of defence as Gattuso implores them to harass opposing defences whenever the ball is lost, but the 23-year-old is also just as skilled once possession is recovered.
Able to hold up possession and bring those behind him into play, Piątek has been everything Gonzalo Higuain was not for the Rossoneri. Averaging almost 20 passes per 90 minutes and connecting with 84% of his attempts, he is creating a clear scoring chance for a team-mate every 115 minutes, the combination of effort and ability have seen supporters soon forget the Argentinian star who left for Chelsea last month.
⚠️ Warning:
I may have to tweet this chant everytime Piatek scores for Milan
⚫ ⚫ pic.twitter.com/tHhl4xOSVG
— Luca Hodges-Ramon (@LH_Ramon25) February 3, 2019
His trademark celebration has seen him become known as Il Pistolero – “The Gunman” – among Milan fans as they sing his name, but Gattuso has another moniker in mind. “Piatek comes across like Robocop,“ the coach said at a recent press conference. “He only says four words, he doesn’t get lost in chatter and he’s also showed it in training. He’s very physical and he likes to attack space. He arrived with enthusiasm and was surprised by how that was welcomed by everyone.”
It has certainly been contagious for Milan who secured a place in the Coppa Italia semi-finals after Piątek scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Napoli, followed by a draw with Roma and that win over Cagliari which pushed them up to fourth place in the league table. With Paquetá keeping him supplied with a steady stream of bullets, the Polish hitman can fully expect to keep on finding the back of the net, which – as he explained on Sunday – is his only concern.
“Polish football is not as difficult as Serie A, but Genoa is the same league as Milan and I scored goals all the time there,” Piątek told Sky Italia shortly after his latest outing. “I just have to keep my focus and mentality because I feel very good here and I want to score in every match!”
Having done just that in every start for the club so far, he has proven to been a perfect signing for a Rossoneri side who, if they simply maintain their current position in Serie A, can finally harbour realistic ambitions of a return to the Champions League.
Much like Cagliari’s flight to Milan last weekend, that’s long overdue, but thanks to Krzysztof Piątek and Lucas Paquetá, they might just manage it.
