The international break is in full swing and AC Milan clinched an important win away at Hellas Verona just before it, cementing themselves in second place. Taking a look at the previous records after 29 games, Stefano Pioli can be somewhat pleased.
After what was a difficult 2022-23 campaign, just barely making a top-four finish, Milan were not exactly favourites in the betting community when predictions for the 2023-24 Scudetto were made in the summer. This despite a very positive summer with ten signings made.
It’s safe to say that the fans, as well as punters, were right given that Inter have run away with the Scudetto. On the other hand, one might look at Milan’s season and say that injuries got the better of them, and that things could have looked very different.
Nevertheless, the stats after 29 games paint an interesting contrast when compared with Pioli’s first four seasons in charge of the club. This campaign, the Rossoneri have collected 62 points, while their tally was at 52 points in 2022-23, 63 points in 2021-22 (Scudetto season) and 60 points in 2020-21.
Last season is obviously the clear outlier there but as for the rest, it seems pretty obvious that Milan have performed rather consistently during Pioli’s tenure. The problem is that this can both be seen in a positive and a negative way, as we have also covered more in-depth in a feature.
These stats will undoubtedly be an advantage for Pioli during the management’s evaluations of his future, as he can guarantee a top-four finish for the club every year. And that means guaranteed revenue, as we all know, but will Zlatan Ibrahimovic settle for second, third or even fourth place?
Gerry Cardinale, the Milan owner, has made it clear several times that he wants to win and the arrival of Ibrahimovic is a huge part of that. It seems unlikely that they would ‘settle’ for a manager like Pioli, in other words, but they might also shift some of the blame to other factors.
“Nobody wants to win more than me. I am enormously aligned with the fans in Italy, but I have a job to do. And my goal is to win consistently. And the value of the whole movement will only continue to grow if the competitiveness is always there,” he stated.
For example, do Milan have a good enough squad to compete for the Scudetto, with or without Pioli? Would things have been different without all the injuries? These are the things that certainly complicate the evaluation, and this really cannot be overstated.
