Matchday! 125 year anniversary! Can Milan bring home all 3 points on this special day in Milan’s history? With some guys out injured, and others…not starting, Fonseca is surely going to make it interesting!
MATCHDAY:
LAST FIVE
MILAN: WLWWW
GENOA: DWDDW
FORMATIONS
MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan (C); Royal, Gabbia, Thiaw, Jimenez; Fofana, Reijnders; Chukwueze, Liberali, Leão; Abraham
GENOA (4-2-3-1): Leali; Vogliacco, Bani, Vásquez, Caricol; Badelj (C), Frendrup; Zanoli, Thorsby, Pinamonti; Miretti
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 GXR 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:
Before we talk the about the game, a moment to recognize what an amazing day it is for our club.
Today our club turns 125 years old. They have been the most decorated club in history up until the last 10-15 years but still rank second only to Real Madrid. I know we all long for the days when Milan will be back to being one of the world’s best and fighting year in and year out for Europe’s biggest trophy. I encourage you to maybe get lost on Google this weekend looking up Milan’s history. I did and it was blast seeing all the old photographs and reading about all the achievements. We have a lot to be proud of as fans.
For as exciting as this all is, it is also bittersweet as there has been little indication Paolo Maldini has been invited to the event today. Truth be told, who knows if he would’ve attended if invited. Rumors are that Gerry Cardinale won’t be in attendance either, which would be odd to say the least. Other Milan greats will be there, and I’m excited to see them all, but Maldini is Milan and I know I’ll be thinking about the greatest defender to ever play.
Finally, the kits the team will be wearing today are wonderfully conceived throwbacks to Milan’s earliest days, excellently done by Puma with the fan’s input. I got one (yes!) but it’s not getting here until tomorrow (no!). Of course I got the #3 on the back. The kits themselves (pictured above) are without sponsors and look like true throwbacks and I can’t wait to see them on the field. I should’ve grown out an old-timey mustache for the occasion…
As for this game, Milan are without some players due to injury and Theo is…not starting (so benched?), which I’m sure pleases some of you out there who’ve been unhappy with him this season. I’m excited to see Jimenez in his place but I think him coming on as a sub for Theo would’ve been my preference.
Another youngster I’m excited to see is Liberali. I mentioned in the comments over the last few posts that I was bummed about the Pulisic injury but happy what with RLC going down it should open up the door for Liberali to start and sure enough here he is, ready to make his debut in no other than the 125th anniversary game. No pressure, right?
Thankfully for Liberali and Milan for that matter, Fonseca is starting Chukwueze and Leão on wings and Abraham up top. I really like this attack and I think it sets up Liberali to succeed with talented scorers all around him. Seize the moment, kid, and make your mark. I’d love to see him get regular minutes from this point forward.
The rest of the team is default for the most part and I expect a strong showing today. No excuses, even with the injuries.
Genoa is sitting 14th in the table and have played about what everyone expected. I expect Milan to not have too much difficulty as Genoa are the 2nd worst scoring team and 13th worst defense. They do have a few former players, although Junior Messias is out but newly signed Mario Balotelli is on the bench and I’m sure he’ll enter the game at some point. Hopefully Milan is out of reach so the ex-player curse can’t come out and bite us.
Prediction time! I think Milan win 3-0 or 3-1, as it wouldn’t surprise me if Genoa get on the board. I think Liberali plays well, maybe even assists on a goal, and I think Theo comes in and looks to quell the concerns about his play.
Michael Lisi says: 3-0 win. Leão goal. Liberali shot on target. If Balotelli gets on the field you know he’s shooting.
Let’s go get those 3 points on Milan’s 125th anniversary!
Forza Milan
gillis
**Don’t forget to check out Lisi’s Weekend Whip Around: Round 16!