Call it an excuse if you want, if he was carrying an injury or they felt he was tired then it seems a pretty legitimate reason to leave him out. It is purely guessing from me, I have no idea why they rested him but he does fade after around 55mins, so it isn't crazy to think that he might need a rest.
It was home v Empoli, Milik and Vlahovic should have been fine. The red card changed the game and I don't think anyone would have predicted a red for Milik 15 mins in.
Milik and Vlahovic play quite differently. Milik drops really deep to link up and it could let Vlahovic stay further up. The idea should be Milik drops deep and plays it to Miretti/Kostic/Cambiaso to get forward. With Chiesa out and Kean away there aren't really many other options than Milik if you replace Yildiz without completely changing your system to play Illing or Weah off the striker and neither have shown much to suggest it is worth trying that.Other option would be Miretti as a 10 but Rabiot was out too. I'm not sure who else you'd go for.
It was home v Empoli, Milik and Vlahovic should have been fine. The red card changed the game and I don't think anyone would have predicted a red for Milik 15 mins in.
Milik and Vlahovic play quite differently. Milik drops really deep to link up and it could let Vlahovic stay further up. The idea should be Milik drops deep and plays it to Miretti/Kostic/Cambiaso to get forward. With Chiesa out and Kean away there aren't really many other options than Milik if you replace Yildiz without completely changing your system to play Illing or Weah off the striker and neither have shown much to suggest it is worth trying that.Other option would be Miretti as a 10 but Rabiot was out too. I'm not sure who else you'd go for.
