Arriving this summer to take over from Stefano Pioli after a season punctuated by ups and downs, Paulo Fonseca set down his bags at AC Milan with the aim of bringing a breath of fresh air and renewal to the sporting project led by Gerry Cardinale and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Despite a transfer window marked by the reinforcements of Strahinja Pavlović, Youssouf Fofana, Alvaro Morata, Tammy Abraham, Emerson Royal and Álex Jiménez, the Rossoneri have not yet managed to find an effective recipe to be solid and consistent at the start of the season . If his head had quickly been put at a price by the fans, Paulo Fonseca had given himself a little air with the success during the Derby della Madonnina against Inter, despite an inconsistency which is still a stain on Milanese daily life . However, on Tuesday evening on the San Siro pitch, the truth has never been so glaring. As a symbol, against Antonio Conte’s Napoli, the Rossoneri did not exist at home, largely dominated by the Partenopei (0-2). At home against a championship leader, AC Milan understood that the troops were far, very far from the level of a title candidate. Especially since the results in the Champions League (1 victory, 2 defeats) do not even allow for a consolation prize, or at least a basis of optimism on which to build.
In a press conference after the match, the Portuguese coach insisted on shouldering the burden of blame but without really putting his finger on the problems that persist: “I am always responsible for what happens on the pitch, after which obviously it is not easy to start the match with a goal immediately after 5 minutes of play. What I saw is that they have scored two goals while we missed numerous chances. The team had a good reaction after a negative start and played a positive match against a team that goes down a lot like Napoli and against whom we cannot play. They scored two goals with two chances. We have done a lot of positive things. We failed to score from the chances we created“, he said. The weeks go by and look the same for Milan and Paulo Fonseca does not seem to see the extent of the seriousness of the situation. AC Milan had not trailed by two goals at half-time in a home match against Napoli in Serie A since April 3, 1993.
Fonseca’s very bad analysis
In sport, as in life, you have to set goals and try to be ambitious. Fonseca has been talking about the Scudetto without hiding since the first day on the Milan bench. But the truth is different today: this team is not ready to aim for the title. With or without Rafael Leão, whose management still questions, the Diavolo is fragile in defense, not very concrete in attack and still far from having a well-defined team identity: “I can’t say that we are not playing to win the Scudetto after seeing how we played and how the team reacted in a difficult moment, fighting and showing that they were united. We only played nine games and I don’t remember any team winning a championship after nine games or losing after nine games, I want to continue on my path, which seems clear to me, and get results to come back in the fight for the championship. I am more confident than ever because I see how the team is evolving and growing. It’s true that the result is not positive, but it’s still early and there are still many matches to play. I remain confident“, continued the Portuguese tactician. It’s a real cold shower on AC Milan’s ambitions, while the transfer window was looking good. The Rossoneri now find themselves at a crossroads: either they regroup or they risk having to suffer a lot even to achieve the minimum goal.
With 5 defeats in the first 12 games of the season, we have not seen such a complicated start since the 2019/20 season, which began with Marco Giampaolo and continued with Stefano Pioli. AC Milan, counting the first 9 days played, has a total of 7 points less than last year at the same period and 6 less than in 2022/23. The comparison is even more striking with the year of the title, namely 11 points less. With this average of points, the most concrete objective must be qualification for the next Champions League, taking into account the quality and quantity of the opponents: “I was expecting a few more points. I didn’t expect so much difficulty to change the way of playing, even if this change is starting to be seen. What I watch is the growth of the team. We have to improve defensively. I don’t want to go into details. I handle things with players in a different way. There is no conflict between us, it’s just the coach’s choice. We try to motivate players in different ways. Then, it’s up to the players to do their best with the right self-sacrifice: I must not take tweezers», concluded the former Lille coach. What if the ultimatum was fast approaching for Paulo Fonseca?
