Six wins in eight games [Newsletter]
AC Milan clinched three important points in the big clash against Roma at the weekend, celebrating together with a sell-out crowd at San Siro. Despite the Coppa Italia exit, therefore, things are looking up for the Rossoneri with a very positive league record in the last few weeks. It’s nothing to shout about, of course, but still nice.
The injury crisis ruined Milan’s hopes in the Champions League, there are no two ways about it, and you could also argue that this was the case in the Coppa Italia. The Rossoneri have managed to stay impressively consistent in the league, though, only really suffering in that four-game winless run in October/November. Since then, in fact, they have lost just once (6W, 1D).
In other words, while the season has been tough in many ways, Milan have showcased reliance. This is not our way of trying to justify Stefano Pioli’s position, quite the opposite, but it’s also important to praise the Rossoneri when they deserve it. The managerial role is irrelevant to this discussion even, as it’s more so a matter of team mentality than tactics.
With a rather decent run of games on the cards, taking on Udinese, Bologna and Frosinone, it will be interesting to see how Milan will react. Matteo Gabbia and Filippo Terracciano have arrived from the transfer market, with the former being crucial, and the likes of Yunus Musah, Noah Okafor and Marco Sportiello have recovered from injury. Again, things are looking up.
The big test will come when the Europa League gets back underway, at which point Milan hopefully will have better measures in place to prevent injuries. Having a healthy squad is the only way for the Rossoneri to make it far in that tournament, just as it will make the top-four race a lot easier. Speaking of the latter, the win against Roma did indeed cement Milan’s spot in third place.
Can the Rossoneri climb to second? It remains to be seen, and a lot will depend on the injury recoveries as well as potential reinforcements from the mercato. Juventus only have the league to focus on until April, when they will face Lazio in the Coppa Italia semi-final, so the Bianconeri certainly have an advantage there. But anything can happen between now and the end of the season.
News bulletin
➤ Milan’s Primavera side were forced to settle for a point at home against Torino on Sunday afternoon at home, but they did come from a goal behind to get it. Meanwhile, Vincent Ibrahimovic got his first goal of the season for the U16s while Mihajlo Rajakovac was signed for the U17s.
➤ Milan Women suffered yet another defeat at the weekend as Juventus prevailed 2-1, putting the Rossonere in eighth place (out of 10 teams) after 12 games. We provided various updates on them in our news bulletin.
➤ Gianluca Di Marzio gave an interesting update on Tuesday night, claiming Thiago Motta is more likely to end up as the next Milan boss than Antonio Conte, and that he would probably bring Joshua Zirkzee with him.
➤ In terms of potential signings in January, the management are pushing hard to get Alessandro Buongiorno from Torino and the player met his agent in Milano to discuss his future. Lorenzo Colombo could play a key role in negotiations.
➤ The match between Milan and Roma at San Siro on Sunday night is one that Yacine Adli will never forget, given that he opened the scoring in an eventual 3-1 win, and we wrote a feature on his parable.
➤ Milan management are hoping to collect around €30m from the permanent sales of three players, which will boost the available transfer budget for the summer.
In case you missed it
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