Lucas Paqueta was handed an immediate debut by Gennaro Gattuso as he started in Milan’s win over Sampdoria in the Coppa Italia on Saturday.
Given the 21-year-old was only officially presented by the club earlier this week, he hasn’t had a great deal of time to settle and adjust to his new teammates, despite also visiting Milanello last month.
Nevertheless, he was able to make a positive first impression against Sampdoria, as he looked composed and comfortable in possession in brief moments on the ball, while he also tracked back and worked hard to recover possession and showed both sides of his game.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of his performance though was his movement off the ball, as he was constantly making runs off Hakan Calhanoglu on the left, finding space and making himself available to receive the ball.
He even came close to finding a goal on his debut on two occasions, and so putting it into context, it was an impressive first outing for the Rossoneri. It’s hoped that he can take confidence from it and continue to grow in belief as well as building chemistry with his teammates to have a greater influence moving forward.
As far as first looks go though, it’s fair to say Paqueta put in a very good display, as seen in the highlights video below.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.