Genoa – Shooter, but also runner. Ruslan Malinovskyi played his best game in the rossoblù shirt against Torino. Excellent in the build-up phase next to Badelj and dangerous even from afar thanks to his deadly shot which after 22' forced Milinkovic-Savic to make a very difficult save with his fingertips. But compared to the other races we also saw a more lively Malinovskyi from an athletic point of view. And the statistics of the Serie A League say it: against the Granata the former Atalanta player was the player who ran the most kilometers ever. Not only among his teammates, but among everyone on the pitch. It had never happened this year.
Throughout the race Ruslan covered 11,094 kilometres, ahead of Vasquez (10.9) and Gudmundsson (10,863). The only one who came a little close to him is the granata Ilic (11.041). Of course, few would have expected it an athletic performance of this type by a player who over the years has stood out above all for his ballistic abilities. And instead against Torino we saw Malinovskyi in a bi-athlete version: a shooter but also a runner. Aim and breath, on skis it would be a biathlon performance.
Alberto Gilardino who trains him every day will not have been surprised: «Ruslan played an amazing game: when he has the right leg he is an important player. He goes to the duel, he wins it, he has oriented control and a strong ball on his feet. When these players get almost to the top, it then becomes difficult for me to make choices. It will be nice and stimulating to make choices in the future.” Against Torino, the Piedmontese coach shuffled the cards, focusing on a formation that danced between 3-5-2 and 3-4-2-1. The idea was to gain dominance of the midfield thanks to the “quality trio” formed by Badelj, Malinovskyi and Messias, with the latter alternating between the position of attacking midfielder and that of midfielder. “Having players in the middle like Badelj, Malinovskyi and Messias was important and they played a great game,” remarked Gilardino. Especially the former Atalanta player who, according to League statistics, was the rossoblù midfielder who played the most balls: 59. Even more than Badelj (52). Behind Malinovskyi's best performance of the season there is certainly an improvement in condition compared to the beginning of the year. Race after race, the former Nerazzurri player has revved up his engine and is now in top form. It is no coincidence that Gilardino has always started him from the start in the last five games, apart from against Inter when he sent him on after an hour in place of Strootman. And even at Salernitana (the FIGC federal prosecutor's office has opened a case against president Danilo Iervolino, for his statements about the “worst referees in Italian football” after the 2-1 defeat in Naples on Saturday) Ruslan is a candidate to wear a starter, despite having to deal with fierce competition from Badelj, Messias, Frendrup and Strootman.
Against Toro the last two started from the bench, not being in top shape after the problems of the last few days. But this week they will try to increase the rotations to put Gilardino in difficulty ahead of Sunday. The feeling, however, is that the coach will not easily give up the contribution of the former Nerazzurri player. Not only because at the moment he is the fittest midfielder in the team together with Badelj, but also because he is capable of covering multiple roles: midfielder, director, attacking midfielder. And compared to his teammates, Malinovskyi has another card to play: the long range shot. Against Toro he came close to scoring his third goal of the season after those scored against Frosinone and Empoli. In Salerno he will try again
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