Step 2: Build Momentum [Newsletter]

and

Sep 25, 2024

Despite the disappointing start to the season, it has been very nice for AC Milan fans in the last few days. We finally have the bragging rights in the city and everyone has made the most of that without really thinking about the next thing, which is Lecce at home. The game is scheduled for Friday evening and if winning the derby was step 1, then building momentum is step 2.

Most fans have been on cloud nine since Maurizio Mariani blew his whistle for full-time in the Derby della Madonnina. While it might seem strange to celebrate so heavily after such a poor start to the season, everyone knows just how important this win could be for a potential turnaround. And besides, what kind of football fans would we be if we didn’t celebrate a derby win properly?

As a result of the tight schedule, with another Champions League clash scheduled for next week (Bayer Leverkusen), we will now have to put the derby celebrations aside as Lecce will visit San Siro on Friday evening. They are unbeaten in their last three league games (1W, 2D), but they were not exactly up against the best opponents except for Torino, perhaps.

In any case, the time has come for Paulo Fonseca and his Milan to build momentum, which should be a whole lot easier thanks to the derby win. And while the Rossoneri will have a total of five days between the derby and Friday’s clash, Lecce will have just three due to their Coppa Italia encounter with the now-Serie B side Sassuolo yesterday (which they also lost 2-0, to top things off).

The favourites are clear, in other words, and the hope is that we will see a Milan that fights just as much as we saw in the derby. It’s never easy for players to have that top-fixture mentality in games like these, in truth it probably cannot be replicated, but you can get pretty close if you want to. And the latter is what Fonseca struggled with the most in the first five games of the season.

We have all seen compilations of Rafael Leao’s efforts in the derby, as well as his reaction after getting subbed off, and it stands in huge contrast to what we saw from most of his teammates. Whenever criticism of the Portuguese winger is brought up the word ‘witch-hunt’ gets thrown around, but the truth is that we all just want to see our star play to the best of his abilities.

Theo Hernandez managed to make a 180-turn attitude-wise so nothing is stopping the N0.10 from doing the same, but it has always been problematic with him. He could easily score a screamer against Lecce and hush the fans instead of thanking them for the motivation. Of course, some fans go overboard with their criticism but the rest is out of goodwill, and the winger must understand that.

On a completely unrelated note, you might have seen that we did a newsletter dedicated solely to the derby win on Monday. Given the positive response, this is something we intend to do more of in the future as long as there is something ‘extra’ to write about. The standard newsletter - published on Wednesday or Thursday - will be completely unaffected.

News Bulletin

➤ Milan Futuro's tough start to the season continued as they were the better side but lost 1-0 to Rimini on Monday night. Head coach Daniele Bonera was rather honest after the game, stating that performances have to turn into wins soon, while some worries about the team's ability to score have emerged.

➤ The AC Milan Women showed plenty of heart in the derby against Inter and they scored a late equaliser through Emelyne Laurent to cancel out Tessa Wullaert’s 77th-minute opener and draw 1-1. It gives the Rossonere their first point, but they remain third-bottom.

➤ The latest news in view of Friday's game against Lecce is that there could be some rotation due to the Champions League game against Bayer Leverkusen a few days later, while Alex Jimenez is expected to be called up given Davide Calabria's absence.

➤ Gabbia-mania continues to grow after his derby winner. A renewal and an Italy call-up could come soon for the defender, who was congratulated by Mark Hateley after a case of deja vu, while he did a meet and greet with fans on Tuesday and spoke to journalists about what Sunday meant.

➤ In transfer news, Milan are looking to explore a permanent deal for Tammy Abraham already given his impressive start, just as Juventus are leaning towards triggering Pierre Kalulu's option to buy. Ismael Bennacer's agent lifted the lid on what happened during the summer, and in the meantime the Rossoneri are looking at Como star Nico Paz.

➤ We broke down Fonseca's masterclass during the derby win against Inter in a tactical analysis piece which looked at the shape in and out of possession, the baiting of the press and how the Nerazzurri's midfield was caged.