Substitution glory saves Pioli [Newsletter]

AC Milan headed into the clash against Newcastle with the hopes of a miracle. Although the latter never materialised, the Rossoneri at least clinched all three points and thus secured a spot in the Europa League. For Stefano Pioli, the substitutes were crucial as they helped save his job.

A majority of the Milan fans had low hopes for the game at St. James’ Park, knowing that Borussia Dortmund also needed to beat Paris Saint-Germain for everything to come together. The German side did take the lead in that clash, but at that point the Rossoneri were trailing and by the time they had turned things around, PSG had already equalised.

The lack of hope before the game thus remained rather unchanged as the game progressed, but it was still nice to end the ‘Group of Death’ with a win and knock Newcastle out on their home turf. And it wasn’t just a make-or-break game for Milan, but also for Pioli whose position was in great danger. However, he was rescued by some decisive substitutions in the second half.

Samuel Chukwueze and Noah Okafor needed less than one minute to create the winner, with the former getting the shot away. Luka Jovic, another player who came off the bench, was also heavily involved in the goal and this was most likely enough to convince the club management. A managerial change, therefore, has once again been delayed until the end of the season.

There is no getting around the fact that the result is incredibly bittersweet, though. Qualifying for the next round would have guaranteed a lot of revenue and Milan will now also miss out on the Club World Cup. Of course, the Europa League will provide some revenue but the Rossoneri will have to get far to match the Round of 16 numbers in the Champions League.

We will take a look at the exact figures in an upcoming bonus article, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, Milan will have to use the confidence boost from yesterday’s win and bounce back in the league. Monza are up next and the Rossoneri will have to send a signal to the rivals, even if it feels like the Scudetto race is no longer within reach.

News bulletin

➤ It was a mixed week in terms of results for Milan Primavera, as they engineered a dramatic late comeback to win against Genoa in the league at the weekend but lost their final UEFA Youth League group stage game 3-1 in Newcastle, though they did still go through top. 

➤ Milan Women took the lead in their game against Roma at the weekend but failed to protect the three points, conceding two goals in quick succession in the second half. The manager Davide Corti is yet to claim a point with the team, having replaced Maurizio Ganz at the end of November.

➤ Zlatan Ibrahimovic's return to Milan was confirmed earlier in the week, and some insight has been offered into the role that he will have given that he is a RedBird Capital employee first and foremost.

➤ Stefano Pioli apologised to the fans after Milan were knocked out of the Champions League in the group stages, while Rafael Leao also felt some regret but set the target of going on to win the Europa League.

➤ In transfer news, it seems that Mike Maignan remains a target for Bayern Munich, while Milan apparently have their eyes on two Lazio forwards as well as a number of centre-back and striker targets.

➤ Milan are set to release a new fourth shirt which will be a collaboration between PUMA and a fashion brand, as has happened for the past couple of seasons, and a leak of the design emerged.

In case you missed it

Make sure to check out the latest podcast episode, and our latest bonus podcast in which the lads discuss Maldini’s controversial interview. We have also published quite a few bonus articles lately, including the latest edition of Meeting the Milan Media with Andrea Longoni. Are you interested in a paid subscription? Read all about it here.