The sight of two former Chelsea men winding up Inter supporters in celebration during Milan’s 2-1 Derby della Madonnina win this past weekend spoke for itself, especially since neither was Fikayo Tomori nor Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Roma loanee Tammy Abraham and Christian Pulisic, both with a point to prove for different reasons, hope more awaits them after some rough early season form.
Tammy timing his resurgence well
TAMMY Abraham, much like Conor Gallagher at Atletico Madrid, is a Chelsea academy graduate finding his feet abroad among new surroundings.
Having torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during their final game of the 2022-23 season last May, he missed an extended period rehabbing from surgery on the sidelines and naturally the striker’s stock dropped as Roma went without him.
Under new management with the Giallorossi and without a clear pathway for regular minutes after the £25m capture of Girona’s top goalscoring forward Artem Dovbyk, he’s reunited with former head coach Paulo Fonseca on a season-long loan deal.
Under no illusions many fans preferred other options when his name popped up on the rumour mill last month, Abraham has scored once and created two assists in his first four appearances for the Rossoneri. While unsustainable to expect his goal contribution production to stay as it is, they’re collectively benefiting from a forward keen to make up for lost time – as he told DAZN post-match.
Alexis Saelemaekers, himself an inconsistent winger, went the other way and while the Abraham – Álvaro Morata combination in attack has its faults, both are hard-working out of possession albeit not devastating with their finishing in the final third.
Abraham was impressive off the bench during their 3-1 Champions League defeat by Liverpool in midweek, rewarded with a start and played his part in what they’ll hope is a sign of things to come form-wise. Per Football Italia, he said:
“We are very happy, know Inter are a good team but played with confidence, courage, passion and must gain belief from this to continue along this path. I came off the back of last season with a big injury, so had to show everyone I’m back, here to help the team as much as possible, give belief again.”
Pulisic, himself a highly-rated youngster during his days at Borussia Dortmund, saw progression stagnate after a lucrative Chelsea switch backfired – despite a few magical moments, notably some Champions League knockout games and a purple patch of form after the coronavirus-impacted 2020 league campaign.
The American turned 26 last week and is captain of his national team, needing stability just like Abraham – as well as fortune with injuries – if he’s to realise his full potential rather than being classified as another throwback player with highlight reel compilations in years to come. Former teammate Olivier Giroud, now at LAFC, perhaps said it best:
“He’s got more trust, confidence in his game, plays with more freedom and playing every single game. He’s a very important player for Milan, at Chelsea was in competition with so many wingers. He’s settled in really well, loves the club and city, I’m not surprised he’s doing well because he surprised me last year, the way he adapted to Serie A. There’s more to come.”
Across all competitions, this marked Milan’s second win of the season after a 4-0 league victory over early strugglers Venezia. They next host another side who’ve begun the season poorly in Lecce on Friday night.
Picture source: Getty Images
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