Second friendly of the new season but the first on this US Tour. Seems fitting that the game would be held at Yankee Stadium since the Yankees are partners along with Redbird in their ownership of Milan. Additionally, Manchester City owns NYCFC of the MLS and Yankee Stadium is their homefield. Finally, for extra measure, both teams are Puma brands and that only adds to the immense marketing opportunity in this friendly (did you see the awesome ad Milan had up on social media?).
The US was already one of the best and biggest Milan supporters outside of Italy before Redbird took over. Based on preseason tours and the signing of two of the US’s best players in Pulisic and Musah, good’ol Gerry is trying to make the US Milan’s home away from home. For instance, for the first time in my lifetime (that I can recall) I got to see a Milan player on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Now I don’t particularly care for Jimmy Fallon (I’m a Conan O’Brien guy) but this is the type of pop culture appearance that help generate buzz around the team. Earlier in the day both Pulisic and Zlatan showed up on CBS Mornings to discuss the US Tour as well.
To wrap up this US-lovefest I’m having, the data supports all of this as does the increase in US-based revenue. This, along with the overall fiscal restraint Gerry has shown, most times for the better but some times less so, has helped Milan become the fastest growing club in Europe. I know everyone wants trophies, and if you spend any time on social media (especially Twitter), you’ll find no shortage of idiotic takes demanding uncontrolled spending only seen in PS5 FIFA fantasies. No, to build a sustainable club that isn’t some billionaire’s plaything, this is how you do it. As someone who hasn’t been exactly enamored with Gerry Cardinale, that’s not easy to admit but credit where credit is due.
Now, onto the game!
MATCHDAY INFO
LAST FIVE
MILAN: DLDLW
MANCHESTER CITY: LLWWW
FORMATIONS
MANCHESTER CITY (4-3-3): Ederson; Susoho, Simpson-Pusey, Doyle, Lewis; Perrone, O’Reilly, McAtee; Bobb, Haaland, Grealish
MILAN (4-3-2-1): Torriani; Calabria, Tomori, Gabbia, Terracciano; Florenzi, Bennacer; Chukwueze, Loftus-Cheek, Saelemaekers; Colombo
TIME/LOCATION
TIME: 6pm EST/11pm GMT
PLACE: Yankee Stadium, New York City, USA
WHERE TO WATCH:
ESPN/ESPN+/fuboTV here in the states. Check your local listings
*Let us know if this needs updating*
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
Pulisic and Musah are back for this and they’ve had their first training with the squad since wrapping up their international duty. I’m not sure how much they’ll play but considering it’s a US Tour, I would expect to see them even if they’re running around with their heads cut off trying to learn Fonseca’s tactics.
That really is it in a nutshell, isn’t it? These games are always loose, both in intensity and crispness as players get back to it. Throw in the new coach and I would expect to see Milan concede quite a few goals as Fonseca tries to figure out who his back 4 are for the season. Hopefully Calabria continues to see dwindling minutes and we get some really good looks at Kalulu, Jimenez, and Terracciano as RB and vice-Theo as these are important things to figure out this preseason.
One thing I liked in the first friendly last week was seeing Florenzi in the double pivot. I remember we saw him in there a time or two last season for various reasons and I remembered a lot of us really liked what he brought to the position. I’m not sure what place he has in the club but I know he can play and I know we all love him. So I’ll be watching where he plays in this game.
There’s been some reporting the last couple of days that Daniel Maldini is being sold to Monza after all and that Colombo is going to Empoli on loan with an option to buy. Rumor is that both players will fly back to Italy on Monday so whether or not they play today is in question. This all reminds me when Cutrone flew with the team to the US for a preseason tour, landed, then had to turnaround and head to England after being sold to Wolverhampton. Regardless of what happens with those players, Milan also needs to figure out what to do with Saelemaekers and Adli. I think both players are playing for a spot on the team this preseason.
As for ManCity, they just lost to Celtic a few days ago and conceded 4 goals. Celtic’s season starts earlier, on August 4th, so they were further along in their preseason than ManCity and it showed. We saw something similar in the friendly last week with Rapid Wien as they start their season soon as well. ManCity is a week ahead in their season preparation than Milan so take this – like all friendlies – with a grain a salt. These things are mostly marketing efforts and stamina-building exercises. So look for positives and let’s have some fun!
Forza Milan
gillis