Oh boy. Not sure what to say, I mean, we’ve all been watching. Things are just about in full-on panic mode and we’ve only played 3 games.
Milan is coming up to a crossroad, however, where they may need to cut bait with Fonseca based on what happens with Venezia. But we can discuss this later. For now, let’s talk about what we saw against Lazio.
The big news going into this game was Fonseca contemplating benching Theo and Leão to start the game. I was skeptical he’d do it mostly because most new coaches who do this run the risk of being delegitimized in the eyes of the players. Drop points, or worse, lose, and you’re pretty much assured to lose the locker room.
Now Milan didn’t lose but they did need the help of said benched players and in the end it just made Fonseca look like a fool. How this plays out over the next 2 weeks during this break and then the week after is anyone’s guess. The Milan brass, for what it’s worth, has come out and gave Fonseca their blessing but they have to be starting to contemplate contingency plans should Milan drop points at home vs Venezia coming out of the break…and before the first Champions League match vs Liverpool and then the derby after that. Yikes.
There are lots of theories for what is causing Milan’s struggles, and surely it’s not 100% one thing. But the RB issue still remains and as long as Fonseca continues to play RLC as the CAM, then that’s going to continue to cause problems as well. I personally think playing RLC as the CAM is causing the biggest problem, which is breaking Milan’s shape, due to his poor positioning and inability to create going forward. This problem is then exploited when the opponent wins the ball back in the midfield and players are scrambling back to cover the spaces. Nearly every opponent goal has looked basically the same.
But the break is here now and Fonseca needs to straighten this out. Fast.
What Happened in Serie A
Well, 3 rounds in and things are still shaking out in the league. Usually things are a bit more straightforward but at least now there are the usual suspects towards the top of the table.
Inter handled Atalanta much easier than I thought they would (Lisi had this one pegged, though) and sit atop of the standings, tied on 7 points with Juventus. Juventus, after 2 wins to start the season, drew with Roma at home. Lisi had Juve winning this but I thought Roma was due and sure enough they stole points on the road. My thoughts are that Juve will continue to be what they’ve been the past 5 years or so: beat up on the minnows and everyone gets aroused but then they continue to be mediocre vs top 4 challengers. Still early, of course, but so far par for the course.
Torino and Udinese are tied on points with Inter and Juve and while Udinese seems to be doing it more with smoke and mirrors, Torino looks like they will compete for a European spot this season. Both teams, however, have some quality showings with Torino drawing (but outplaying Milan) and beating Atalanta. Udinese for their part have drawn with Bologna and beaten Lazio.
Hellas Verona, next with 6 points, got their second win of the young season and are running hot/cold to start, having beaten Napoli 3-0, lost to Juventus 3-0, then beat Genoa 2-0. Napoli got their second win of the season by stealing a late victory vs Parma at the Maradona. And they did steal it. They got the equalizer at 90+2 and then the winner at 90+6. Naturally lots of hype around this Conte-led team but I’m not buying it. They’ve already spent a ton of money and this will veer into meltdown territory once a bad stretch hits the team.
Empoli have yet to lose and sit on 5 points. Milan loan product, GK Vasquez, has looked good for Empoli so far and while I don’t think Empoli’s form will continue, points early count as much as points late and Empoli is going to need them. After this there’s a lot of teams separated by a point or two, including Milan. Milan’s poor start is somewhat being bailed out by the closeness of the league to start the season. Hopefully they can take advantage of that.
Finally, for those keeping tabs, Maldini and Colombo have both scored already and Adli had an assist on his debut for Fiorentina.
Now onto ratings.
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
Maignan 6.5 – Another couple of goals conceded but again, not sure he really could’ve done much as his defense is hanging him out to dry…as they have all season
Goal Keeping Overall 6.5
Defense
ROYAL 6 – Definitely doesn’t look like he’s much better than Calabria
TOMORI 6 – Looked ok in the first half, not so much in the second once Lazio started attacking. Seemed to not have very good situational awareness
PAVLOVIC 8 – Was solid defensively most of the game (until he appeared to gun out of gas) and banged home a nice header on a corner. Making his case to be a must-start
TERRACCIANO 6.5 – Not bad actually. He wasn’t asked to do much but was mostly solid within the gameplan
Defense Overall 6.5
Midfield
FOFANA 6.5 – Liked what I saw even though he’s still settling in. Used his pace well and recovered a lot of balls
REIJNDERS 6 – Worst game for Milan in a long time. Like his worst since his first few games wearing our colors. Was just…invisible. Likely a byproduct of it being a new pairing with Fofana and no RLC around to help relieve pressure
Midfield Overall 6.2
Forwards
CHUKWUEZE 6.5 – Miles better than that first start and yet was still just…ok. More of an indictment on how bad he was in the opener. Still, kept possession better and was more willing to go right to help free up his left
LOFTUS-CHEEK 5 – F**k off
PULISIC 8 – Loved how wide he stayed and a great corner for the first goal. Probably needs to be the corner guy for the rest of the season with Florenzi out
OKAFOR 6.5 – Loved his movement but just not enough service. Better as a winger and with Abraham here now he should be deployed as such
Forwards Overall 6.5
Subs
HERNÁNDEZ 6.5 – Much better and combined nicely with Leão and Abraham for the second goal. Love when he makes those darting runs
MUSAH 6.5 – Did Musah things (carrying the ball, make a few runs, win back a few balls)
LEÃO 7 – Instant impact. Beautiful combination for the first goal and thought he might get a second
ABRAHAM 7 – Exactly what I was hopping for. I was vocal in the comment section (and maybe in a few posts) about being ok with him coming over for the right price. I’m bummed he’s here on a dry loan but still could really help. Great link up play and may end up fighting Morata for a starting spot and not just being a relief guy
Subs Overall 6.7
Coaching
FONSECA 5 – Maybe a little better tactically but does it matter when you bench your two best outfield players? Maybe the tidied-up tactics would’ve borne more fruit with the strongest possible lineup?
Me being a Pioli-guy aside, none of us have likely been impressed with what we’ve seen so far. I’ve seen coaches do this before (benching top guys) in other sports and it hardly ever works out aside from bona fide elite coaches doing it. A midlevel coach like Fonseca does this, especially newly signed to a team and with no history and especially no successes with the team, and as I mentioned at the beginning of the post, he loses the locker room.
I think Fonseca’s time with Milan is currently on a knife’s edge. I don’t know what’s going to happen but the sooner he realizes Milan doesn’t have the quality to sit Theo and Leão (and that it’s RLC who needs to sit), the better his chances are of staying on as coach. If not, let’s all get ready for Coach Bonera!
Final Thoughts
Well, that wraps up this post match. With the two week break Lisi and I have something planned for later this week but for now, let’s discuss Milan’s current state down in the comment section. Share your thoughts below and let us know how you’re feeling about things.
Forza Milan
gillis
