Another game, another underwhelming performance, another two points dropped. It has become a familiar occurrence for AC Milan of late after they extended their winless run to three games with a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Lazio on Sunday night.

After going behind to a Marco Parolo header inside nine minutes, the Rossoneri responded well, equalising just six minutes later through a neat Carlos Bacca finish.

However, despite dominating the vast majority of the match and having a one-man advantage following Senad Lulic’s dismissal, they were unable to secure all three points.

And in a weekend where all three of the teams directly above Milan in the race for third place—Inter Milan, Fiorentina and AS Roma—dropped points, the draw was a particularly unsatisfactory outcome.

After the match, Milan head coach Sinisa Mihajlovic admitted his frustration at the display, telling Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia):

It’s another missed opportunity, we could’ve closed up two points from Fiorentina and Inter. It’s the usual situation.

We dominated the second half and created many chances, but if we don’t put it in the net, it becomes difficult to win.

Compared to the last two games at least there was more effort and determination. We tried everything to win in any way possible, but we were unable to get the victory.

However amid the doom and gloom, Milan striker Luiz Adriano managed to put in a positive individual performance.

The 28-year-old has struggled to find frequent game time since joining the club last summer from Shakhtar Donetsk for a £5.7 million fee, though his latest outing was promising.

He won three aerial duels and made three key passes, per WhoScored.com, while causing trouble for Lazio’s defensive line with his work rate, pace and aggression. Indeed, it was his intelligent hold-up play and lay-off that led to Bacca scoring his first goal since 14 February.

The Colombian finisher, who is Milan’s top scorer this season, had gone four games without scoring. More notably, he had gone four games without having a single shot on target. It was a remarkable barren run for someone renowned for his nose for goal and clinical touch.

Thanks to Adriano’s assist, however, that run is over. And, furthermore, Mihajlovic may have stumbled upon his new first-choice strike pairing.

On 7 March, it was confirmed that M’Baye Niang would miss the rest of this season as a result of injuries suffered in a car crash. The Frenchman’s unavailability left Milan with a headache in the form of a lack of attacking options.

Behind Bacca, Milan’s top scoring strikers are Adriano (three) and Mario Balotelli, who has hit just one goal since returning to the club at the start of the campaign. Yet, with Niang out, Mihajlovic has been forced to trial both strikers in an attempt to find a workable duet.

Against Lazio, Adriano made a convincing argument that he should be the man to team up with Bacca for the remaining eight Serie A fixtures this season, even if he was on his way out of the club a matter of months ago.

In January, the Brazilian came close to joining Chinese club Jiangsu Suning, though the move eventually broke down. He told Calciomercato.it (h/t ESPN FC): “They did not want to put the right figures on the contract and that is not the way I work, and that is why I have not joined Jiangsu Suning.”

Although Adriano remained with Milan, he found himself either left out by Mihajlovic or injured. Indeed, he didn’t appear for nine consecutive games as his future with the club seemingly became less certain.

His start against Lazio was only his 10th of the campaign, but the 28-year-old showed few signs of rustiness. He played with speed, strength and hunger throughout and was integral to the Rossoneri’s equaliser. His assist was his third of the season, with all of them leading to Bacca goals.

Before the game, Adriano had expressed his desire to aid the team. “I want to assist my teammates tonight,” he told Milan Channel (h/t Football Italia). “I hope I’ll score. We always have responsibilities going forward. We’ll try to give our best, by contributing to the team effort towards victory.”

He may not have the finesse of Balotelli or the composure of Bacca, but on Sunday night, Adriano proved he still has plenty to offer to Milan. While Niang is out, he could be the ideal stand-in, at least for the rest of this season.

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