AC MILAN v LECCE: OPPONENT REVIEW

After the great satisfaction of reaching the Champions League semi-final, 16 years after the previous one, AC Milan return to San Siro to face a Lecce side hungry for points. Coach Pioli's side will face - in addition to the Salentini - Roma, Cremonese and Lazio in the space of two weeks, in a crunch period in Serie A. The first of these four matches sees two teams far apart in the table, with Lecce coming into this one in a bad run of form: in the last seven league games they have lost six, collected the fewest points (one) and with the worst goal difference (-8, two goals scored, 10 conceded).

The only point collected in this streak for the Giallorossi, however, came in their most recent match against Sampdoria, in which the Apulian team showed signs of improvement and looked more like the side from the first part of the season - compact, dangerous and capable of putting even the big teams in trouble. To return to that level and move away from the relegation zone (now only five points away), consistency and convincing performances, which have been absent for too long, are vital.

HIGH PRESSING AND COUNTER-ATTACKS: LECCE'S STRENGTHS
This season, Lecce have always played with great courage and determination. The data also show that the Pugliesi are a compact side, with an average distance of just 33.7 metres between defence and attack. The side coached by Marco Baroni are also third in offensive recoveries (255) this season, behind only Napoli (281) and Inter (273). The two teams with the most counter-attacks in Serie A 22/23 face off this weekend: Lecce (580) and AC Milan (567).

Lecce, however, have struggled offensively in recent times: since the beginning of March, they have scored only two goals from 18 shots - in the period, the Giallorossi are the team with the lowest conversion percentage not only in Serie A, but in the five major European leagues (2.6%).

MANY PROMISING YOUNGSTERS, COLOMBO AND CEESAY ONES TO WATCH
The 'Lecce project' reserves a central role for young players. In fact, the Apulian team has the most players born from 2000 onwards with at least 25 games played this season: as many as five - Banda, Colombo, Gallo, Gendrey and Gonzàlez. Lorenzo Colombo will be one of the most exciting players on show this weekend. The 21-year-old is a product of AC Milan's academy and made his Serie A debut with the Rossoneri (against Bologna on 18 July), making 11 appearances in all competitions and scoring in the 2020/21 Europa League qualifier against Bodø/Glimt. Colombo, who has scored four goals in the league, can become the fourth-youngest player in Lecce's history to score at least five goals in a Serie A season (21 years and 46 days on the day of the match).

The second name is that of Morten Hjulmand, who has been a mainstay of Baroni's team this season, has shown his prowess at breaking up play. In fact, he is the player who has made the most interceptions (62) and the second most tackles (75), behind Bryan Cristante (96). Finally, great attention should be paid to Assan Ceesay, who has scored five goals from just eight shots on target in this Serie A - no player has a better shots-on-target/goal ratio (1.6) among those who have scored at least five goals so far. Ceesay could also become the first Lecce player to score against AC Milan and Inter in the same Serie A season since Marco Mancosu in 2019/20.

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