MILAN, ITALY - JANUARY 13: AC Milan players celebrate victory at the end of the Coppa Italia match between AC Milan and Genoa CFC at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on January 13, 2022 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

The Grim Numbers Behind Milan’s Goalscoring Drought

Milan are witnessing one of their poorest goalscoring runs in recent memory after a toothless stalemate against Bologna at the San Siro. The Emilia-Romagna natives put in a brash defensive display to hold out the seven-time European champions to a draw that sets the Rossoneri two points back from extending their lead at the top of the table.

The Rossoneri have now scored just 7 goals in the last 8 matches across all competitions, with their highest scoring match being the 2-2 draw against Salernitana back February. Four of their previous eight matches have seen them muster narrow 1-0 victories against four teams (Sampdoria, Napoli, Empoli and Cagliari).

The stalemate against Bologna is their third such result since January 24, when they were held by Juventus in a bland draw. The first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final against Inter on March 2 witnessed the exact same outcome, before Bologna came calling. Astonishingly, all three stalemates have come at home, in the San Siro.

What should worry Stefano Pioli is his team’s ability to convert chances in front of goal, with the Rossoneri’s last eight matches witnessing a steady drop and rise in shots taken, but with the same outcome.

  • Milan 1-0 Sampdoria – 15 shots taken, 7 on target
  • Salernitana 2-2 Milan – 13 shots taken, 5 on target
  • Milan 1-1 Udinese – 9 shots taken, 3 on target
  • Milan 0-0 Inter – 13 shots taken, 3 on target
  • Napoli 0-1 Milan – 12 shots taken, 7 on target
  • Milan 1-0 Empoli – 15 shots taken, 5 on target
  • Cagliari 0-1 Milan – 21 shots taken, 6 on target
  • Milan 0-0 Bologna – 33 shots taken, 7 on target

The last two matches alone have seen a total of 54 shots in total, with just Ismael Bennacer’s brilliant volley against Cagliari finding the net.

They have taken an aggregate of 131 shots throughout these eight mentioned matches. However, only 43 of them have been on target. Out of those 43, only 7 have been converted into goals.

That reveals the conversion rate of total shots on target into goals at 0.16% – a number that does not suit well for a team looking to capture their first Scudetto in over a decade.

However, all is not bleak for Milan, as they have managed clean sheets in five consecutive matches now and also are unbeaten in 11 games across all competitions.