Milan have now gone three consecutive games without scoring in Serie A, and have only scored ten goals in 11 games under Stefano Pioli, suggesting a structural issue with his setup. They’ve scored just 16 goals in 18 games in the league, with the top-six all having scored more than double that tally, while only three teams have scored fewer goals. While all the blame cannot be laid at one player’s door, it is quite evident that a lot of Milan’s creativity issues can be blamed on Suso.
He has not had support from his midfield colleagues; the likes of Lucas Paqueta and Hakan Calhanoglu haven’t picked up the creative slack either. Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s arrival may ease some of the goalscoring issues, but even he needs service.
The lack of creativity means that opposing teams can sit deep safe in the knowledge that Milan will struggle to break them down. The attackers and midfielders seem disconnected from one another, and there is no cohesion or interplay between them.
Despite all these structural issues, the numbers make a damning case against Suso. He has just one goal and two assists in 15 games this season, which is extremely poor for a player supposed to be Milan’s creative spark. Despite playing him in his favoured position on the right wing, the Spaniard has failed to be a threat either as a goalscorer or a provider.
Pioli needs to take him out of the team for now, for his own good, as he is the subject of taunts and jeers from fans every time he fails at a move or a pass, which is occurring too frequently at the moment. There is too much pressure on him at the moment which is causing him to underperform even more, in a vicious cycle.
If Milan are to reclaim their place at Europe’s top table in the coming months, Suso cannot be a part of the conversation any more; he has been given too many chances and the Rossoneri can ill-afford to have passengers in the team at this moment in time.
