#mike-maignan

#mike-maignan

Mike Maignan was pivotal to the latest derby win; he made countless saves, but the biggest was from 12 yards, where he stopped former Rossonero Hakan Calhanoglu. Penalty saves are rare, but this was not a case of getting lucky. Fate not fortune Gazzetta dello Sport writes that the save was not left to chance, and he did three things to prevent the Turkish midfielder from scoring. As Calhanoglu prepared, Maignan changed his own tactics, protesting the penalty a little, rather than what he had done in the past. Calm, present and ready to face what the opposition had to give to him. Different from trying to put him off, placing the pressure on the taker.

Usually a decisive MVP-worthy performance from your captain to win a derby is only positive. For AC Milan with Mike Maignan, though, there is a bit more nuance to things. Make no mistake about it, what Maignan did on Sunday night in the 1-0 win over Inter was something that will be talked about for years to come. Wearing the armband, he produced not just one but multiple match-winning contributions, in addition to Christian Pulisic's goal of course.

Milan's goalkeeping coach is renowned for a long career at the highest level having spent 15 years at Juventus, and now he has brought his expertise to Allegri again. Filippi uses tools of the trade such as a ball-shooting machine and a hard plastic shield (designed and marketed by the coach himself) which helps manually deflect crosses and shots, as happens in matches.

Lorenzo Torriani has admitted that he dreams of one day being able to start a derby for AC Milan, while reflecting on his growth to now. Torriani's rise through the Milan youth sector has understandably made him dream about the biggest nights. He got a taste of one last season, coming on against Liverpool in the Champions League after Mike Maignan went off with an injury in an eventual 3-1 loss.

Mike Maignan perhaps believes that he could play outfield at times, and the latest video from the France camp certainly helps his cause. Maignan is no ordinary goalkeeper and in training, he consistently demonstrates the ability that he ha with the ball at his feet, just as he has done for Milan on many occasions with assists via his long-range passing.