It is almost time to fully draw the curtain on AC Milan’s 2022-23 season, but while the memory is still fresh some reflections are important.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
The campaign can fairly and accurately be described as a mixed bag for Stefano Pioli’s team, who struggled domestically. In the league the Scudetto defence bid fell apart in January and a top four finish was only secured by virtue of Juventus’ points deduction.
Not only that, but Milan lost to a 10-man Torino side in the last 16 of the Coppa Italia and were then beaten 3-0 by Inter in the Supercoppa final which took place in Doha.
However, in Europe things went much better as the Rossoneri went all the way to the semi-finals of the Champions League beating Spurs and Napoli in the knockout rounds, before again losing 3-0 to Inter.
You can look back at the predictions Oliver, Anthony, Isak, Madison, Stefano, Lorenzo, Ahmed, Maxi, Fred, Ivan, Rohit, Rajath, Nikita and Euan made for 2022-23, while below are the end of season awards…
Player of the season
Oli: It is absolutely Rafael Leao. With 16 goals and 15 assists making 31 goal contributions in 48 games across all competitions, the Portuguese winger was repeatedly decisive on each front, even improving in the Champions League. Thank goodness his renewal got over the line before the chaos of the past two weeks.
Isak: Rafael Leao. It’s hard to argue against the numbers and the renewal was the icing on the cake.
Anthony: The obvious choice here really is Leao. Countless times he has bailed us out this season and the drop off when not playing was palpable.
Ahmed: Leao.
Lorenzo: Tonali (he always always always gave 1000% in every game, has grown exponentially, when comparing to his first season and was the only player during our ‘slump’ that could hold his head up high. On consistency throughout the whole season, it is him.
Ivan: Leao. He has had his ups and downs but proved decisive in key momenta and was the main man up front, unsurprisingly. Also improved on his previous season in terms of numbers.
Stefano: Leao.
Max: Rafael Leão. 16G+15A is pretty much enough to say, but he’s been the x-factor for Milan in the big games. When he hasn’t played it’s been a much less dangerous Milan, too. Which, of course, also speaks volumes about the lack of depth, but also of Leão’s importance. Maignan is the big contender for me, but he hasn’t played enough to edge out Leão.
Madison: Leao. Without him Milan have slim chances of winning games.
Flop of the season
Oli: Unfortunately it is De Ketelaere, purely for the price tag. He had 28 goal contributions with Club Brugge before arriving for €35m and he managed just one with us. Not counting summer signings, I’d put forward the name of Pierre Kalulu who sadly dropped off sharply from the level he set in the Scudetto season.
Isak: Charles De Ketelaere. No explanation needed.
Anthony: CDK was the big money move. A flop so bad even Maldini was punished.
Ahmed: CDK.
Lorenzo: Pioli, (yes CDK easy answer here) but for me Pioli showed his limitations this year and was the reason our ‘slump’ lasted for so long – but of course really it is clearly CDK.
Ivan: Has to be CDK when we take into consideration the expectations: zero goals, zero impact, zero impressive performances overall and has to be the worst signing in the Maldini era.
Stefano: CDK.
Max: Charles De Ketelaere. It’s hard not to say someone else. In general, I like CDK and think he’s shown glimpses of what he can do. It’s a big step going from Belgian Jupiler Pro League to Serie A and Milan. But with the price and expectations in mind, you expected more than one assist.
Madison: Paolo Maldini. Him and Pioli needed to be on the same page. He brought in players who did not even play.
Most improved
Oli: This is probably the one most open to debate, but I will say Sandro Tonali. He was great in the 2021-22 campaign yet there were times where when backs were against the wall he vanished a bit. Not this season. Even in the darkest moments he was giving everything and his performances matured as the season went on.
Isak: Brahim Diaz. Compared to his first two seasons at the club, he stepped up and proved to be important on more than one occasion.
Anthony: Nobody really made leaps and bounds this season however I do feel most players regressed so for that reason the only guy who improved in my eyes is Leao. It may not be a massive breakout but he definitely is getting better every year and nobody else really made a jump in class outside of a small run of form.
Ahmed: Tonali.
Lorenzo: Thiaw. He went from an unknown quantity to our best partner with Tomori, you KNOW he had to be good if ‘Mr. Anti Youth’ in Pioli relied on him so much near the end of the season. Technically, not ‘improved’ as he just joined, but his integration from new signing to first on the team sheet is impressive.
Ivan: A really tough one as they key figures were pretty much the same and nobody stepped up… probably Thiaw deserves this as he stood on the bench for the first half of the season and then proved himself when he got the chance and looked great overall.
Stefano: Saelemaekers.
Max: Rade Krunic. This isn’t to say I think he’s not been a good player before, but I think he’s gotten more responsibility this year and rose to the occasion. Became a player the team would rely and lean on in big games, and rarely played a bad game. Not a player who’s the most aesthetically pleasing but does so much important work for the team.
Madison: I am going to be honest, no one improved. We stayed stagnant or dropped. The only consistent player was Leao.
Most underrated
Oli: Fikayo Tomori. He did have some bad games during the season which is in large part down to a constantly changing partner and lack of faith in Maignan, but his ceiling is so high that it is almost match-winning in its own right and he drew far too much heat for what was still a good season.
Isak: Rade Krunic. He’s not as underrated anymore, one must admit, but he still doesn’t get enough credit for all of the hard work he puts in.
Anthony: Fode Ballo-Toure. We (Stefano) have given him plenty of grief for his time but he never really looked like a liability when playing this season and even showed he could do an acceptable job at LW. He isn’t going to be a starter anytime soon but he is far from the worst player on the team.
Ahmed: Tomori, I don’t think he was nearly as bad as advertised and he was still our best CB.
Lorenzo: Saelemakers. I think he is clearly the best RW we currently have and although he may not be starting Milan quality, he does give a lot to this team especially in intangibles – even if ultimately more tangibles such as goals & assists are needed.
Ivan: Calabria. Yes I know he’s had his bad games but in many of those the overall team performance was dreadful. He did very well in multiple big games especially against Napoli on several occasions and is really underrated by the fans.
Stefano: Krunic.
Max: Rade Krunic. Same reasons as described above.
Madison: Krunic. The man comes on and plays his role perfectly. He will be a bench player or starter.
Best summer signing
Oli: Malick Thiaw, of course. The scouting team seem to have found another modern young gem of a centre-back who could quickly develop into the perfect defender.
Isak: Malick Thiaw and it’s not even close. He was the only summer signing that actually was of use.
Anthony: I guess the only real answer here is Thiaw.
Ahmed: Thiaw.
Lorenzo: Thiaw. Literally only one answer here.
Ivan: Thiaw.
Stefano: Thiaw.
Max: Malick Thiaw. Not only has he shown his quality in a short period of time, from January to the end of the season, but there’s a lot of room and time to grow. It’s not a coincidence Hansi Flick has called him up to Germany’s past two national team camps. There will be a lot to look forward to with Thiaw.
Madison: Thiaw, he is the only one that did something.
Goal of the season
Oli: Many thought Theo Hernandez couldn’t replicate his solo run against Atalanta in the penultimate game of 2021-22, but he virtually did it against Lazio in what ended up being a huge win for the top four race. An incredible display of everything he is about.
Isak: I can’t decide so I will name two! Giroud’s goal against Napoli (Leao masterclass) and Theo’s solo run against Lazio.
Anthony: Others may agree but for me this is bias simply because I saw it live, Theo’s coast to coast against Lazio right after Leao went off hurt. A goal like that is so rare and to see it with your own eyes was pure magic.
Lorenzo: EASY! Theo’s against Lazio – I was there saw it live and it was insane. Regardless of the very very very little deflection.
Ivan: The Theo one against Lazio, as it was a big win for top four.
Stefano: Rafa’s against Inter to make it 3-1.
Madison: Zlatan’s final goal.
Max: Giroud’s goal against Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona after Rafael Leão’s solo run leading up to it. It’s the one I instantly think about. The lure of it isn’t “just” that it’s a mind-blowing assist but also that it was done against the – at the time – Serie A champion elect.
Ahmed: Giroud vs. Napoli.
Game of the season
Oli: The 4-0 win against Napoli just edges the 1-0 win against the same opponent in the Champions League quarter-final first leg, which I hold in very high regard having been there for it. The demolition job against the champions elect at the Maradona was simply special and set the tone for the two-legged European tie.
Isak: Milan-Salzburg. Perhaps because I was there to see it live, but it was also a big win that secured our return to the UCL knockout phase.
Anthony: 4-0 victory over Napoli. A game all about our pride to say ‘we’re not dead yet’. Caught them off guard and showed the soon to be champions that they weren’t unstoppable and that we still had a fight to fight.
Lorenzo: HARD. but I’d have to say when we beat Napoli 4-0. I mean come on, smashing the champions like that – unreal.
Ivan: The 4-0 win over Napoli.
Stefano: The 4-0 away against Napoli.
Madison: The 4-0 vs. Napoli.
Max: Milan 4-0 Napoli. A great win against the best team in Italy and a sweet revenge for the loss at San Siro earlier in the season. But also because Milan was playing some of the best football we played all season. Controlled the game and had Napoli were we wanted them, and struck them hard every chance we got.
Ahmed: Milan 3-2 Inter.
Favourite moment
Oli: Zlatan’s farewell. Prior to the ceremony I didn’t foresee myself getting emotional having prepared for it all season and yet there I was with tears in my eyes watching Tonali with tears in his eyes who was watching Ibra who had tears in his eyes too. A lot of emotion, a beautiful send-off.
Isak: Could perhaps have said this above, but the 4-0 win against Napoli. That was indeed a joyful game overall.
Anthony: Likely a surprise but conceding to Udinese a minute into the start of the season. Reigning champions and we couldn’t keep a clean sheet for more than 63 seconds. You just had to laugh and it was an instant reminder that the season had well and truly started.
Lorenzo: The bundle of celebrations against Napoli in the UCL.
Ivan: The return leg against Napoli in the UCL and qualifying for the semis.
Stefano: Qualification for the CL semi-final after getting past Napoli in the quarter-final second leg.
Madison: The European run. It means nothing to us now, but to be excited about the UCL again was amazing
Max: The two wins against Napoli in April. There was so much depending on those games. It’s hard to pick one of the two, though. The 4-0 win was more spectacular, but the 2-1 win generated a spot in the Champions League semifinals. An outsider, too, is the win against Spezia at home. Not because it was a win against Spezia but because of Giroud’s spectacular goal and the win came at the death. Important points were won in a fantastic way.
Ahmed: Zlatan’s ceremony.
Rating overall
Oli: Anything more than a 6 would be unwarranted. Domestically the team failed in all three competitions and that is why it gets a four, but then the European campaign gets an 8. It would have been higher if not for the humiliating non-contest against Inter in the semis too.
Isak: 7/10. We managed to stay in the top four and the Champions League revenue from reaching the semi-final could prove to be very important.
Anthony: First half of the season was an 8/10 second half probably a 4/10 but adding in a UCL semi-final and ultimately still getting top four I am fine with a 6.5 or 7/10, but the nasty taste of January and March is still fresh.
Ahmed: 6/10.
Lorenzo: 6.5 (top 4 with a *)
Ivan: 6/10. We got UCL because of Juve’s point deduction and following a title winning season we were poor, to say the least, domestically in the league and cup. The only salvation is that CL semi-final but we went out without much of a contest there as well.
Stefano: 6.
Max: On a scale from 1-5, a 3. Milan did the bear minimum in qualifying for the Champions League – but we did not really give Napoli a run for the money all the way in our title defence.
Before the 2-2 tie to Roma in January Milan were five points behind Napoli in the table but collapsed completely after that. Probably due to many reasons; Lack of depth, mental aspects, managerial decisions.
On the other side, Milan beat all expectations and reached the Champions League semifinals. That’s the sole reason the grade is a 3 and not a 2. It gives some type of success to the season. But summing the entire season up it was underwhelming. At least from January on.
Madison: 6, we are lucky to be in UCL next year. Making the semi-finals is great, but means nothing for the following year. Pioli is lucky to have a job
