Well, we made it. We made it through the crazy offseason and the new season kicks off TODAY. There’s been a lot of changes, fewer than last summer but just as consequential, as 4 potential new starters were brought in and the big change – a new head coach. We’re going to dive into this some below, but first, let’s get to some of the matchday 1 details below…
MATCHDAY:
LAST FIVE
MILAN: WWWWW
TORINO: WWDLW
FORMATIONS
MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan; (C) Calabria, Tomori, Thiaw, Saelemakers; Loftus-Cheek, Bennacer; Chukwueze, Pulisic, Leão; Jovic
TORINO (3-5-2): Milinkovic-Savic; Vojvoda, Coco, Masina; Bellanova, Ricci, Linetty, Ilic, Lazaro; Sanabria, (C) Zapata
TIME/LOCATION
TIME: 2:45pm EST/7:45pm GMT
PLACE: San Siro, Milano
WHERE TO WATCH:
Paramount+ and FuboTV here in the US of Aye (Spanish broadcast on Fox Deportes in the US); FuboTV and TLN for Canada; TNT in the UK (maybe?); ESPN for Mexico; DAZN for Germany, Austria, Switzerland; a website called Galaxy Racer(?) for our friends in India; and illegal streams that support dictators and oligarchs everywhere.
*Let us know if this needs updating or if you have additional broadcasters to add*
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
Paulo Fonseca has arrived and we’re about to embark on Fonseca-Ball. What is that exactly? Well, we covered some of that when he was first announced, but in a nutshell it looks similar enough to Pioli-Ball that it’ll play to Milan’s strengths by sticking with the 4-2-3-1, which gives Milan’s two best players (Theo and Leão) the space and room to operate down the left. Additionally, Fonseca appears to like the high press as well but not quite as high was Pioli, giving the players room to run after winning the ball back. I’m really curious how this will play out, namely winning the ball back and then hitting Leão on the counter with room to run. Could be gold.
Fonseca does appear to like to keep his team a bit more narrow on defense, compact and with a strong spine. This only adds on to the importance of getting someone like Fofana. Now we won’t see him today but he should be starting next to Reijnders here soon enough. For today however, all indications are that RLC will start in the double pivot next to Reijnders, so how those two share defensive responsibilities will be an important factor in today’s match.
We can also expect to see is Morata starting and Pulisic as the CAM. These are two changes should have a major impact on things since while I like Giroud, a more mobile CF should help open up lanes, and Pulisic gives Milan the first true CAM/#10 presence since Brahim. These changes, along with Fonseca liking his fullbacks up the pitch (and wide) when in possession, should manifest itself into some tangible differences from Pioli last season, changes we’ve seen glimpses off during the preseason.
All in all, Fonseca-Ball likely won’t be hitting its stride until after the first international break, which is after matchday 3. While it’s going to be a little bit difficult to pin down what we’re going to see until we see them in meaningful games, those are my best guesses and are the things I’ll be watching for nonetheless.
For Torino, they have a new coach (I’m not familiar with him) so at least it won’t be the dentist-visit the Juric-led Torino was to play. Zapata is still there and a force to deal with and they have signed CB Saul Coco from UD Las Palmas of La Liga to sure up the back after selling Buongiorno to Napoli. I don’t know much about him either but he’s new to Serie A and I’d like to see Milan take advantage of what we know can be a steep learning curve.
So, let’s all enjoy and learn together what we have in store for the 2024-25 season. And most importantly for today, take home all 3 points!
Lisi says: Milan clean sheet. Morata goal if he starts. Pulisic TSOA. Milan win.
***Lineups updated. I DO NOT LIKE Saelemaekers at LB. Like WTF. Why keep Terracciano then? JFC. Are you telling me Kalulu isn’t the next best option there at LB or RB? Reijnders has been practicing for like 2 weeks already, are you telling me he’s not ready? I don’t get it. Stubborn and dumb, Fonseca…dumb, dumb, dumb. Sigh…
Forza Milan
gillis
* Lots of content this week so make sure you catch up, including a roster rundown, our Milan season preview, and Lisi’s Serie A Whip Around, which covers all of the round’s matchdays