Veni, Vidi, Vici [Newsletter]

and

Nov 06, 2024

AC Milan clinched three very important, as well as unexpected, points at Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday evening. Given the struggles of the team in recent weeks, the 1-3 result was certainly an upset even if Real Madrid themselves arrived from a bitter 0-4 defeat in the El Clasico. Just like the Derby della Madonnina against Inter, the Rossoneri got everything right on the night.

If starting Tammy Abraham alongside Alvaro Morata was what won Milan the derby, then Paulo Fonseca fielding Yunus Musah as a wing-back of sorts won them yesterday’s clash. With his back up against the wall, the manager delivered and once again extended his life expectancy on the Rossoneri bench, proving that he can get results with this squad.

Granted that the home side struggled a lot, especially in the defensive phase as none of the attacking stars wanted to track back, credit must be given to Milan as well. It’s never easy to come to the Bernabeu, especially not to score three goals, while simultaneously neutralising some of the best forwards in the world. This is also why the Rossoneri must enjoy this win as much as possible to build confidence.

The obvious next step for Fonseca is to take this ‘big-game mentality’ and normalise it, really hammering home the point that every game matters - no matter who the opponents are. That is really the only to go far across an entire season, because while it’s nice to be able to celebrate against rivals, you need to get the job done week in and week out.

Speaking of getting the job done, several players impressed last night and Rafael Leao was one of them. Amidst the great uncertainty about his relationship with the manager, he brought the ‘X-Factor’ that Milan so desperately needed and was involved in all three goals scored. Sure, he played against a winger turned emergency right-back, but it was still his best display of the season and that warrants praise.

Tijjani Reijnders was the other major standout, showcasing his excellent footballing IQ from start to finish and working incredibly hard for the team. Even past the 70th-minute mark, as we saw on the goal, he offered support in the final third regardless if it meant sprinting back to cover the defensive duties. It’s truly crazy to think Milan paid just €20m plus bonuses for his services in the summer of 2023.

Cagliari are up next and as admitted by Fonseca himself, “the matches against Monza and Cagliari are more difficult” than taking on Real Madrid. It seems like a ludicrous statement, but he’s certainly right in the sense that Milan had quite a lot of space to manoeuvre at the Bernabeu. Something they didn’t necessarily have against Monza as they play “man-to-man” football.

Fans have jokingly said that Milan already are worried about dropping points at the weekend despite the confidence boost, and to an extent that’s probably true. The important thing will be to channel the right mentality, and perhaps for Fonseca to add a third midfielder (Musah again?), but it’s clear that the Rossoneri have everything in their hands from here on.

News Bulletin

➤ Milan Futuro suffered yet another defeat and sustained yet another red card as they lost 2-0 to Pineto at home one week ago. However, over the weekend they got a 1-1 draw against Pontedera thanks to Alex Jimenez's goal and a Noah Raveyre penalty save.

➤ Milan Primavera secured three very important points against Verona over the weekend winning 3-0 at the PUMA House of Football. Bonomi, Scotti and Perin scored to put Milan temporarily top of the league. However, they were beaten 2-1 by Real Madrid in the UEFA Youth League despite Sia scoring and a late onslaught, as both teams got red cards too.

➤ The AC Milan Women took another step in the right direction with a 1-0 victory against Sassuolo at home in the league. Evelyn Ijeh got the only goal in the 81st minute and it was a deserved win after dominating.

➤ One of the funniest things from Milan's unlikely 3-1 victory over Real Madrid has been the reaction of the Spanish press. We translated the front pages of all the newspapers, which included phrases such as 'nightmare', 'knockout' and 'another humiliation'.

➤ It has emerged that Gerry Cardinale - after meeting with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and sitting next to him in the stands - went down to the dressing room at full-time. He congratulated the players and thanked them for remaining united, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave a speech and there were other jubilant scenes such as chanting and dancing.

➤ An interesting report that came out before the game spoke of possible future deals between Milan and Real Madrid, who are on good terms when it comes to the mercato after the Theo Hernandez and Brahim Diaz deals. A possible return for Theo got a mention, while there are a couple of players that the Rossoneri have an eye on that Los Blancos still have control over.

➤ Our features over the past week include a statistical comparison of the start under Paulo Fonseca versus the beginning of last season under Stefano Pioli, a deep-dive on exactly why Milan didn't hire Antonio Conte beyond doubts about his character, and five things we learned from the Monza win.