Finally! After six straight Derby della Madonnina defeats, Fonseca has broken that terrible streak and has turned Milan red and black again!
This win clearly came as a shock to most of us. I know I was definitely not optimistic heading into the game, and rightly so. Milan had not looked good and there appeared to be a mutiny brewing after just 4 matchdays (and one Champions League match). There were a few interesting developments, on and off the pitch, so let’s get started.
I’ve been waiting to post these until after the round is complete and with Atalanta-Como getting rained out yesterday and not being played until today, I ended up rewatching the game with the extra time. What did I see?
Well, if you read and/or watched any post match, and by this point you probably have, there was a lot of talk about Milan switching to a 4-4-2 formation. And they did. Not only the on-screen graphics before kickoff signaled it but you undoubtedly saw them in that formation when not in possession on top of both Morata and Abraham starting. But they also sat in a 4-2-4 formation at times. Heck, the first 15-20 minutes it looked like a 4-2-3-1 as Morata had dropped behind Abraham (in what I think was a ploy to try and confuse Inter by Fonseca).
Essentially what I saw was a dynamic attempt to overload Inter’s midfield with a lot of attack-minded players. Milan did not play a high line but they didn’t park the bus either. When Inter had the ball, Milan sat in the back half of the middle third, compact, in either a 4-4-2 or 4-2-4, the front 6 guys in a nubilous 4-2 or 2-4 but never too far from the backline. On top of not allowing Inter to counter by sitting back some, this approach also crowded out Barella, Hakan, and Mkhitaryan, rendering their highly vaunted midfield flaccid.
When Milan had the ball and wasn’t trying to hit them on the counter, Fofana split the CBs and both fullbacks played more advanced (especially Theo). Reijnders, Pulisic, and Morata rotated around a lot, filling in where the other just vacated, and there was a lot more short and quick passes than we’ve been seeing. This approach, along with Inter trying to defend in transition, rendered a lot of chances for Milan and truth be told, probably should’ve won 3-1 or even 4-1. Milan dominated for long stretches of the game and were more often the team threatening. It was the perfect approach, one I’m sure other teams will be eager to mimic, and it gave us our first Milan derby win since September 2022.
One last thing worth mentioning here was something that maybe went under the radar. I know I’ve talked about it regarding Fonseca and him taking the chances he has so far (so many different starting formations, benching Theo and Leão) and risking losing the locker room. So what exactly am I alluding to? Well apparently Fonseca organized a barbecue on Friday with the team after training and it appears it was something to try and bring the team together. A mea culpa maybe? My guess…yes. I don’t know what was said but on top of him likely taking ownership of the start of the season I think it was a team building exercise of sorts, a team bonding, as well as a motivation tool. Basically it was an attempt to circle the wagons an get everyone on board and focused and clearly it worked. We didn’t even need a Berlusconi-still-reeking-of-bunga-bunga-flying-in-on-his-helicopter to do it too!
What Happened in Serie A
Well, after 5 rounds Serie A is tighter than it was even a week ago. The top 4 teams after round 4 all dropped points in round 5.
The two big teams in the top 4 played each other, Juve and Napoli, to a very stagnant 0-0 draw. I made a comment after the game that both teams are paper tigers. They’re going to beat up on bad teams, everyone is going to drool all over themselves heaping their praises, and then they’ll drop points most games vs better teams. This doesn’t mean they’re bad teams, it means they’re good teams that a lot of pundits and fans are going to overhype.
Roma bounced back as Juric led them to their first win of the season in his first game in charge, a 3-0 whooping of top of the table Udinese. After Daniele De Rossi’s magic fairy dust wore off (i.e., after enough game footage teams figured him out), I’m tempted to crack a joke that Roma just needs to change coaches every 10-15 games as they seem to respond well to that new-coach bump. But Juric is solid and is surely going to at least keep the Roma status quo, aka a top 7 finish.
Torino is still humming along after beating Hellas Verona 3-2 and now sit at the top of the table, unbeaten in 5. I’m not buying yet but this early season success will likely have them sniffing a European spot this season, which would be great. Ultimately teams will start to figure out what Paolo Vanoli likes to do (tough to do a straight comparison with a coach who only coached in Serie B) and a Torino-regression is surely coming. Atalanta dropped a bad one to Como after their delayed game was finally played today. Hangover from their 0-0 draw vs Arsenal midweek? Probably.
As for the rest of the teams, Empoli continues to be an early-season surprise, still unbeaten after 5 with their 2-0 win over Cagliari and sitting in 5th place (and another clean sheet for Milan loanee Devis Vásquez). Fiorentina finally got their first win, a 2-1 win over Lazio, and arguably the most stunning score of the round, Venezia also got their first win, a 2-0 win over Genoa.
Serie A this season is the tightest it’s been after 5 rounds in some time and we’ve all seen the parity playing out so far. Need proof? Below are the number of teams within 3pts of the top of the table (so excluding the league leader) after 5 rounds for this and the previous 5 seasons:
2024-25: 6 teams
2023-24: 1 team
2022-23: 5 teams
2021-22: 3 teams
2020-21: 3 teams
2019-20: 1 team
This is obviously fortuitous for slow-starting Fonseca’s Milan, but it’s just a better and more fun league for everyone. I’m all for it.
Now, ratings…
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
Maignan 7 – No complaints. Almost got his leg stretched out in time for that Dimarco laser. Other than that, was aggressive in the box and active in distribution
Goal Keeping Overall 7.5
Defense
ROYAL 7 – Not the best 1st half as he should’ve stayed home on Dimarco and that led to the goal (although wanting to help Gabbia out who was not in the best position covering Lautaro is understandable). He really excelled in the 2nd half though and maybe it’s a sign of things to come? Fingers crossed…
GABBIA 8 – Solid again in all areas and then, I mean, come on. An absolutely GORGEOUS header to win it in the 89th minute. The Italian has earned his place in the starting 11 and working his way to becoming a folk hero in the eyes of Milanisti everywhere
TOMORI 7 – One of his better games to be honest. I don’t know that he’s been better than Pavlovic (he hasn’t been) but that Pavlovic error last game was bad. So tip of the hat for Tomori making the most of it
HERNÁNDEZ 7 – Loved how involved he was and always love him getting under Dumfries skin *chef’s kiss*
Defense Overall 7.5
Midfield
PULISIC 8 – Going to put him in the midfield (along with Leão) because the formation was technically a 4-4-2, but he was all over the place in the first half (in a good way) and had a wonderfully smart play to read the ball coming down and how Mkhitaryan was likely to receive it, undercut him, and outraced everyone for the opening goal. Serie A is learning just how good America’s best player really is
REIJNDERS 8.5 MOTM – Was really great all game. Sat back at the right time, got forward at the right time, had some beautifully threaded passes, and of course a whipped-in cross on a dead ball that was only going to find Gabbia. Continues to be one of Milan’s best players this season
FOFANA 7 – Best game so far and starting to really see that he has the right combination of strength, speed, and on the ball skills to be the DM Milan needs. He filled the gaps well in this game and I’m really looking forward to watching him settle in more and more
LEÃO 7 – Did about as well as I expected given the formation. I know he gets flack for not being more active on the defensive side of things but I keep saying this: that’s not his job. Aside from matchday 2 when he and Theo seemed disinterested in playing, I don’t expect him to expend a lot of energy doing that AND I DON’T WANT HIM TO. He’s Milan’s most dangerous talented player and I want him focusing on being that threat, directly or indirectly
Midfield Overall 8
Forwards
MORATA 7 – Fonseca had him dropping pretty deep initially, almost like a CAM, and continued to be the one between him and Abraham to come back and receive the ball. He runs and runs and runs and is always working to get himself space or free it up for others. I wasn’t keen on switching to a 4-4-2 formation…but maybe Morata can be enough of a CAM to allow Leão the space he needs to thrive
ABRAHAM 7 – Can we keep him? Please? Man, the guy is just savoring being a Rossoneri and I don’t know that I’ve seen a player come in with the impact, both on the pitch and with his energy, that he has. At least it hasn’t happened in a long time (maybe Zlatan coming back in 2020???). Big, mobile, works hard. I’m digging it
Forwards Overall 7
Subs
LOFTUS-CHEEK 6.5 – Looked better in the 4-4-2 but wasn’t missed in the starting lineup. Maybe he finds more usefulness should Fonseca roll this out more
OKAFOR 6 – My guy. You can’t miss that at the end. You just can’t
CHUKWUEZE NA – I actually liked what I saw in his limited minutes. Unselfish and maybe a sitting-back-more-Milan will suit him better
PAVLOVIC NA – He played
Subs Overall 6.3
Coaching
FONSECA 10 – A little high? Probably. Am I high still from the win? ABSOLUTELY.
Fonseca proved all of us wrong with a gem of a gameplan. Sitting back and not playing a high line was key to the whole thing in my opinion. It increased Milan’s strengths (they haven’t been a countering team but can do it well) and it decreased Inter’s strengths (sitting back and countering). Then, the extra offensive punch in a compact formation (essentially extra midfield bodies) suffocated Inter as they tried to build. As mentioned in the beginning of this post, Barella, Hakan, Mkhitaryan all got shut down and when Inzaghi pulled them to try and spark something, their lesser substitutes did even worse.
Tactical flexibility is always good as long as you can continue to play to some of your strengths. Morata and Abraham provide flexibility we haven’t seen in a long time but Fonseca’s best Milan will be one that gets Leão more involved. If Fonseca continues to run this fluid 4-4-2 then I think tweaks can be made to give Leão room to do his thing (on top of countering should Fonseca sit back some like he did this game), which I think would be the most potent version. Anyway, a tip of the hat to Fonseca. I know I had written him off and he shut me up good.
Final Thoughts
Alright! A wordy post match but a lot to say as it’s our first real chance to celebrate a quality win this season. I mentioned in the matchday post that this was a unique opportunity for Fonseca, a chance due to the magnitude of the game, for him to turn everything around. And he did.
Now let’s go whoop some more ass.
Forza Milan
gillis
