Monthly Archive: September 2024

As it turns out Milan were able to win in the derby. Inter were beaten 2-1 contrary to unanimous predictions. Pulisic, Gabbia and Reijnders came out of the win with huge credit and the pseudo 4-4-2 employed by Fonseca looked lie a triumph. Abraham worked very hard further forward and Morata supported the English to good effect. Inter’s play was disrupted by the structure and positioning set up deeper into their half. Will this be a reset or restart for the early crisis? Time will tell. Facing Lecce, a much weaker team than Inter of course, presents different challenges not to mention a meeting with Bayer Leverkusen three days later.

It wouldn’t be Milan with injuries, minor or major. Morata is set to miss this match or at least start on the bench after picking up a knock. This opens a pot for Loftus-Cheek. It is hoped that this Englishman will start to fare better than his early season form. Emerson Royal, Tomori, Gabbia and Theo will form the back line in front of Maignan. Fofana and Reijnders the pivots. The aforementioned form should favor Loftus-Cheek further back but it seems Fonseca will use the number 8 closer to Lecce’s goal with Leao and Pulisic. Abraham has impressed and will be the center forward. Leo needs to be more involved, if there is one thing that will help Milan continue the form shown in the derby is a more involved Leao. Okafor is another with a minor in jury and won’t be available from the bench.

Luca Gotti’s men can push back Milan’s season into the doom and gloom of a week earlier. Nikola Krstovic is the Lupi’s danger man up front.

Milan comfortably beat Venezia at the San Siro. The 4-0 score was as needed as it could get with Milan. The team facing a historic poor start to the 2024-2025 Serie A season provided a bit of hope that the early questions can be answered. Eyes were and shifted more to the midweek Champions League start versus Liverpool and this derby to see if the team can use the Venezia result as a springboard. The first test was a failure, Milan were outworked, outdone and outclassed by the post-Klopp era Liverpool. The 3-1 home loss piled on the pressure and all the talk on a Fonseca replacement, players and systems resumed. Ibra’s role has been questioned like never before in his career and he is probably under the kind of pressure he has never known. As a so called advisor who claims he runs many aspects of the team he had a big say in Fonseca’s hiring and may now be faced with the task of finding another coach. Many typical names have been thrown around, many are the same that were rumoured in the summer and are now still available.

The 4-2-3-1 has been a liability with the players seemingly confused at times, calls for 4-3-3 providing a more solid midfield have grown from the commentators and fans. Leading up to this game Fonseca has apparently tested a so called 4-4-2 with both Morata and Abraham up front but surely this would be evolve to a 4-3-3 as Leao can’t be considered a left midfield player. If this line up does start it will likely feature all of Pulisic, Fofana and Reijnders in midfield. The so far off form Loftus-Cheek might start in place of Reijnders. Calabria is not 100% so Emerson Royal will get another shot to impress. The Brazilian’s early form has confirmed the many questions asked about his transfer. Theo will be the left back and two of Pavlovic, Gabbia and Tomori will play in the center of the defence.

Inter have not had the most dominant of starts but the team has not lost in their first four games. On the pitch the team is far more stable than Milan. Off the pitch ownership changes and San Siro’s future clouds Inter’s future as much as Milan’s.

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Week three before the international break only served to heighten concerns about the team. The 2-2 tie showcased what was seen as Fonseca’s attempt at establishing authority. His benching of both Leao and Theo seemed surprising and possibly misguided. The team played with a bit more promise but still lacked direction and composure. Four minutes of such confusion allowed Lazio to score twice and manage a tie. Milan remained winless and Fonseca went into the history books as one of the worst starts for a new Milan coach.

As the players joined their national teams management rifts came to the fore with talk that Ibra is at odds with the team and less present. Commentators piled on the misfiring start and it has been mostly doom and gloom. Predictions hinted at more surprising lineup changes such as benching Pulisic. it likely won’t happen but with a tough schedule ahead the team and Fonseca in particular could run out of time. It must be said that if Fonseca is the chosen casualty those who made the decision to him (Ibra?) must not remain unscathed.

From the outside the consensus seems to be that Calabria can not be a starter but Emerson Royal has shown to be unconvincing as well. The Brazilian should start with Tomori, Pavlovic and Theo. Pavolvic scored the opener versus Lazio and continued to show good physicality and ball recovery but was lost and confused on both conceded goals. The midfield has divided fans and commentators just as many other. Loftus-Cheek starting in a more attacking role has been a failure up to this point and it is hoped that Reijnders will be moved further forward instead. Only when the line up is submitted we will all know if Fonseca sees what most deem obvious. Fofona should be given minutes to integrate. Leao will surely not start on the bench again. He scored within minutes of coming on versus Lazio. Abraham assisted on the same goal and also within minutes of coming on. The latter should start in place of Jovic, until Morata is ready. Jovic has been another case of the directionless start. He got an extension mere weeks ago but has been rumoured to be on the outs already.

Soon after this match the new Champions League season starts and with a tough one. Liverpool will be the visitors and the Milan derby is coming up next weekend. The season will be defined sooner rather than later.

Eusebio Di Francesco’s Venezia do not present the biggest threat but can deepen the dent on this season.