An honest reflection [Newsletter]

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Nov 27, 2024

The excitement of Champions League football wasn’t enough to spark some life into Paulo Fonseca’s Milan. They dominated possession, but struggled to create chances and conceded far too many at the other end. For a moment there, it really felt like the Portuguese manager was hanging on by a thread, and some could rightfully argue that this should still be the case despite the 3-2 win.

It’s rather fascinating how Milan have gone from beating Real Madrid away from home, scoring three goals in the process, to struggling big-time in practically every game since - one way or another. If it’s not the goalscoring, then it’s the defence, or even both if we are really unlucky. Frankly, it’s getting incredibly tiring and the feeling is that interest is dropping by the minute.

Even the most devoted fans could have a hard time finding the joy in watching Milan’s games at the moment. Of course, at least for those of us who have been around for the last 10-15 years or so, the saying ‘through thick and thin’ has been incredibly fitting given what the Banter Era was. Nevertheless, it’s undeniable that the standard has become much higher since, and with it the expectations among the fans.

Perhaps it’s the dissonance with the current ownership, having failed to fully embrace the history and environment of the club, but it’s also hard to disregard the inconsistency on the pitch from the equation. When highs and lows are expected it’s one thing, but when you finished second in the previous season and aim to challenge for the Scudetto, it’s vastly different.

Despite the words of ambition and optimism from the management, we are yet to see this fully on the pitch. The derby win against Inter was certainly nice after such a long wait, and it didn’t hurt to beat Real Madrid either. However, the bragging rights only last for a few weeks anyway - at most a few months - and what we need to focus on instead is who gets the last laugh. At this point, it looks like anyone but Milan (in the league that is).

Billy Costacurta, the Milan legend, summarised the situation perfectly after the game in terms of where our mentality has ended up: “Milan will always have ups and downs. We thought it would be easier, they made it a little more difficult, but the three points are important and the Rossoneri have made a big leap in the standings. Let's be satisfied with that,” he stated.

Even without listening to his comments live, one has to imagine that he said it with a bit of sarcasm. If not, this is another very negative sign as Milan always must aim to do better, certainly after beating Slovan Bratislava by just three goals to two. The win is incredibly important, don’t get us wrong, but it’s a dangerous game to become too complacent - especially when the potential isn’t being fulfilled.

News Bulletin

➤ Milan Futuro’s struggles in Serie C continued as they were well beaten 4-1 by the league leaders Pescara on Thursday night, and then twice led against fellow strugglers Sestri Levante on Sunday but had to settle for a 2-2 draw. Any notion of getting out of the relegation battle early is fading fast.

➤ Milan Primavera suffered their fourth defeat of the season as Lecce prevailed 2-0 over the weekend, leaving them fifth in the table. They did claim their first UEFA Youth League win by beating Slovan Bratislava 3-2 on Tuesday, though it was not a convincing performance in truth.

➤ The AC Milan Women produced an excellent comeback against Fiorentina away from home on Sunday afternoon, scoring twice in the second half to draw 2-2 as Suzanne Bakker's changes made a big impact.

➤ Other than Juraj Kucka facing his former club, one of the sub-plots to the game in Slovakia became Marcelli. In the build-up it emerged that he is a target for Milan and that a bid had been rejected for the 19-year-old, and then he scored in the 88th minute with a rocket of a strike to ensure a nervy finish.

➤ Despite having won three Champions League games in a row to mean a top-eight finish (and an extra €30m+ in revenues) is in reach, European form might not be enough to save Paulo Fonseca. A turnaround is expected in Serie A, where the Rossoneri are 10 points off top and nine off fourth, albeit with a game in hand.

➤ Our features from the past week include: a round-up of how all the internationals got on and why they gave Fonseca reasons to smile, a column on why Milan-Juventus was a terrible advert for Italian football and a tactical analysis of how the game was allowed to settle into such a boring deadlock.