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Yunus Musah impresses at right back in AC Milan-Juventus showdown

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Saturday’s top-four Serie A showdown between Juventus and AC Milan didn’t exactly live up to its billing, but U.S. men’s national team star Yunus Musah left the match as one of few who did impress.

Musah started at right back in Stefano Pioli’s squad as the Old Lady and Rossoneri played out a goal-less draw in Turin. Fellow USMNT teammates Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah also started in the match while Weston McKennie played 19 minutes off the bench for Juventus.

Musah logged 82 minutes at right back, impressing in his one-on-one matchups with Filip Kostic. The 21-year-old won seven of his 10 duels, drew one foul, and made six recoveries.

Pulisic created two chances from his right midfield position, but was ineffective for most of the match. The 25-year-old watched as him and his AC Milan teammates failed to register a single shot on target in the match.

Weah, who got the nod at right wing back, won five duels and created one offensive opportunity. He was replaced by McKennie for the final 20+ minutes of the match, but even he couldn’t help Juventus find the back of the net.

Musah’s right back appearance will garner much of the attention, especially following news earlier this week of Sergino Dest’s long-term knee injury. The USMNT will face Brazil and Colombia this June before hosting the 2024 Copa America this summer.

Both AC Milan and Juventus have four matches remaining on their respective Serie A schedules.

Comments

      • People may have forgotten that Valencia had Yunus play out on the wing a fair amount.

        Gregg might find that more palatable than either Shaq or DeAndre.

      • Quite a difference between RB and RW! That’s like saying Pulisic played LW for Chelsea he could fill in for Jedi if he needs a rest.

      • “Quite a difference between RB and RW!”

        Tell that to Allegri and Timo Weah And Pioli.
        Tuchel was reported to have considered shifting Pulisic to wingback. Something about CP, like Brenden, being very coachable.

        Your CP/Chelsea comparison does not really work. Yunus is currently more familiar with being a defender, of any description, than CP11. And since Yunus is now playing RB he’s a lot more familiar with that exact position than CP would have been subbing for Jedi.

        Given the time frame , every “solution” any of us offer up for Dest, in terms of Copa America, is fucked up.

        There is no ideal replacement for Dest, further demonstration of our lack of depth.

        Like Dolo before him, Dest has long been an important part of the transition between our defense and our offense.

        Maybe that’s why Gregg thought Shaq might be useful in replacing Sergino vs. England.

      • Yunus has characteristics (work rate, tactical awareness, ball progression) that make him a possibility at RB especially if 3 of your 4 FBs are unavailable as Milan’s were Saturday. Very little of that has to do with playing as a right sided attacker at Valencia.

      • “Very little of that has to do with playing as a right sided attacker at Valencia.”

        JR,

        I disagree. Yunus’ combination of experiences at being flexible will benefit him if he sees more RB time for club and country. Besides, Dest has often looked and played more like a midfielder/winger than anyone else we have had.

        We can’t replace Dest w/o great difficulty but, outside of Timo, Yunus has the best combination of experience/skill set of anyone to deputize for Dest. Whether he’s up for the mental discipline part of it, well, we’ll see. Which makes me think Tyler might be an option, assuming Gregg is ok with Johnny.

        A lot of this depends on where Timo feels more comfortable creatively these days; nominal RB/WB or his old RW position. Wingback takes a lot out of you.

        If he gets it right, Gregg will earn his tactical salary on this one.

      • That is why Gregg gets the big bucks, I guess. We as fans seem to have it narrowed down to:
        Scally
        Adams
        Weah
        Musah
        McKennie
        Moore
        Yedlin
        Richards
        Reynolds
        Jones
        That’s not even including IV like choices of Fossey, Wingo, and Toljan.

      • JR

        “We as fans seem to have it narrowed down to:”

        Don’t forget Reggie Cannon, Duane Holmes ( 1 long range goal per game makes it worth the confusion) and Julian Green ( why not?) , and possibly switching Trusty, Paredes, Lund and Tolkin over from the left side.

      • V: forgot Cannon, you are going to get It’s Ok all upset if you switch those left footed LBs to the right side. But if you’re going to do that you might as well include Daniel Lovitz and I’m sure someone will use this opportunity to bring up Wil Trapp or Sebi Lleget.

      • “to bring up Wil Trapp or Sebi Lleget.”

        I was thinking more about switching Kellyn Acosta over from left back.
        And finally, what’s Nick Lima doing these days?

  2. Musah has been used everywhere by Milan this season. I wouldn’t put nuch in this. For me he is still a CM which is where he has garnered most of his minutes for Milan. Weah should be the guy moved to the RB role. Makes more sense.

    Reply

    • As I mentioned on the weekend thread. He had a typical Yunus mistake where he thought he could dribble thru two defenders and gave it away 25 yds from goal. Calabria and Hernandez were suspended for red cards midweek and Kalulu is injured so I think it was more a necessity than anything. Yunus is going to work hard and is sound enough from a soccer IQ factor to play almost anywhere. Over dribbling, final pass and shot accuracy are where he has to improve no matter what position he plays. I say that as someone who is a huge Musah fan.

      Reply

      • good analysis and thanks for the eyes on report, always appreciate that

        further up the field hides those mistakes better. I’m going to go watch that game now

      • Oh I don’t know it wasn’t an easy first half to watch. I missed most the second half, which the announcers said was better. Sounded like Chiesa had his way down that side once he came on. The last 10 minutes was the most lively I’ve seen Juve in months.

  4. Wes almost won it on a header in the last minutes but the keeper had to stretch and spilled it and then Juve almost knocked it home. Find you the video of Tim, CP, Yunus, and Wes after the match. USMNT shared it on Twitter.

    Reply

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