AC Milan were on the end of another defeat at the weekend, falling at the Olimpico again, though this time at the hands of AS Roma.
Still wounded from Wednesday’s defeat, Milan needed a win this weekend to stay in Europe. However, the performance was not that of a team that wanted to be in any other competitions outside of Italy next season.
Within three minutes, the Giallorossi were ahead, and things only got worse when Santiago Gimenez was sent off after 21 minutes. The Rossoneri equalised on the stroke of the 40th minute, but it would mean little in the grand scheme of things as Paredes and Cristante scored in the second half.
A game needing little more context, let’s just dive into what we learned from this fixture.
1. Steady decline
Fikayo Tomori was the weakest link the Milan defence on the night as he was outmuscled by Mancini on the opener and on the 3rd goal he was completely out of position.
Truth be told, he did have some good interceptions, but the lack of certainty summarises his past couple of seasons where he has been steadily declining and is now not a guarantee at all.
Given the expected big changes in the summer, it’s probably safe to say that if the management were looking to raise funds, then Tomori is a player that can sold. Matteo Gabbia has been really solid, whilst Strahinja Pavlovic and Malick Thiaw are still young and can grow into better players.
All have arguably been better than Tomori throughout the season.
2. Pulisic stepped up at last
The American has been pivotal for the Rossoneri, especially at the beginning of the season, but as of late, he has faded a bit. However, this is probably normal given that all of his teammates were not on the needed level either.
Against Roma, though, he started the game with the right mindset and brought a lot of creativity down that right flank, finding the empty spaces and complemented with his passing abilities. Obviously, this resulted in a lovely assist for Alex Jimenez to make it level.
Unfortunately, the game was at a delicate moment at that stage, with Milan a man down. The positive display by Christian Pulisic was not enough to salvage anything from the game, but it did prove how good the attacker can be and that he can take on the responsibility.
3. Tough decisions await
Milan have been heavily reliant on Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao in the last few seasons, but the duo have been underwhelming this season, to say the least. So, tough choices will have to be made by the management regarding their future and if it’s time for a farewell.
Whilst Theo missed this game, Leao was on the bench but after being involved failed to make an impact. In honesty, he really should’ve as he was 1v1 against the keeper when the score was 2-1 and he missed that chance, which would’ve brought his side level and put a lot of pressure on Roma.
The Portuguese has hit double figures in terms of goals and assists yet again this season. Yet, the reality is that more often than not, he is not there in the big games where Milan need him. These goals and assists are not impactful enough and a bit deceitful quite frankly.
The feeling is that Milan are keen on keeping the winger, but a world without him seems not that bad at the moment, especially if a club were to offer a large and compelling sum.
Then, Theo is another question mark as he’s been very poor too, but it’s really the first season where he has had such a dip in form, and the players around him and the whole environment didn’t help either.
The issue with the Frenchman is that his contract expires in 2026, so the management are forced to either renew him or sell him. Whilst the left-back has proven how good he can be, the issue now is timing, as Milan don’t want to lose him on a fre,e especially given they will receive no money from the Champions League or any European competition.
4. Management’s incompetence
Milan brought quite a few players in on loan, and unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out in their favour with most players struggling to have any impact during their spell in red and black.
The most useful player has to be Tammy Abraham, and he too has disappointed in crucial times, but at least the Englishman managed to redeem himself with some impressive performances in the Coppa Italia.
However, it doesn’t seem likely that he has earned his stay beyond the summer so he will most likely be headed back to Roma.
Then we have Kyle Walker and Joao Felix, both coming in January. The start was actually decent from the duo, with Walker bringing some stability at the bac,k and compared to Emerson, he was a breath of fresh air.
Unfortunately, as the season progressed, it was evident that Walker offers zero to nothing going forward, and he started struggling at the back too. Overall, it makes the management’s decision easy as they are certainly not going to trigger his option to buy.
Then we have Felix, who also started well with a goal against Roma, but he faded and barely produced anything for months. There were some flashy moments where he showcased his technique, but those moments rarely produce anything.
And finally, we have Riccardo Sottil, who came on loan from Fiorentina, and we’ve actually barely seen him pla,y which summarises the management’s decision-making when it comes to transfers this season.
If we include permanent transfers, then we also have Emerson Royal, Warren Bondo and Santiago Gimenez, who have all failed to make an impact and Fofana, who has been somewhat decent, at least compared to the rest of the team, but also failed to live up to the expectations.
5. Jimenez’s growth continues
If we were to try and pick up some positives, it’s probably worth noting that Alex Jimenez did quite well going forward. He struggled a bit with Soule when it came to defending, but he was a threat in the opponent’s half, and he also scored the only goal for Milan.
The youngster started getting more and more playing time after Conceicao arrived, and at first he was a bit shaky and rash, but he has grown a lot in these last couple of months, and if nothing else, the coach has actually managed to prepare him for next season.
Jimenez increasingly looks like an asset, especially given his age.
The management will surely want to resolve his contract situation are remove any buy-backs Real Madrid has or improve the conditions since the youngster has a high ceiling and is just 20 years of age.
Additional thing we learnt; Conceciao has to go ASAP
“Pulisic steps up at last”???
What a ridiculous statement. He’s carried this team this season. You know how many games and points he has saved for this club this season? They would probably be getting relegated if not for him.
” but as of late, he has faded a bit. ”
He literally assisted on 1 goal and scored the game winner against Bologna a week ago. He goes 1 game without a goal or assist and he’s faded… Ok.
Nobody on this team has been more consistently good for the last 2 seasons as Pulisic. No one.
Glad he FINALLY stepped up.
The “writers” at Sempre Milan are the biggest joke.
It is silly. The team has faded but Pulisic, even though some games he hasn’t been as impactful, has been very consistent. Basically picks up a goal or assist every other game and has many involvements that basically set up the goal like his ball to Alex yesterday. He also won Milan a cup this season, albeit a pointless one.
If Pulisic is criticized for being awful every time he won’t score or give an assist while covering most miles in every single match every single week, imagine how these guys should rate Leao then with all the defensive work HE does for the team, right? 🙂
Pulisic did have a good game. Hope we manage to keep him and Reijnders.
“Pulisic stepped up at last” -what a joke of a title.
The guy with the most big chances created in Seria.
He wasnt even bad in the Coppa final.
Cp11 is so consistent.
The biggest joke was the Watchalong with that guy saying Reinjders is World-Class.
coping hard
“Tomori was the weakest link and completely out of position.” We have almost half a team of footballing Benjamin Buttons… him, Leao, Theo, Maignan have all regressed since winning the scudetto – and it can’t just be down to the clown atmosphere created by management. Pulisic and Reijnders play in the same team and have done just fine, so what happened? If these four alone had played to their ability we’d probably be third or fourth…
Dude it’s crazy, I thought they would be hitting their primes and keep improving, so disappointing
I don’t see myself as a Pulisic apologist but since April 5th
He has two goals and 3 assists (both lead the team)
Reijnders has two goals and one assist
Leao has
Two goals and two assists
You don’t have to write flattering things about the man…just be accurate.
Um, it was Felix, not Alex Jimenez, who scored our goal.
Remember…?
Pulisic brilliant ball over the top, Santi tries to put it in, ball falls to Felix who buries it high and hard.
It was after a 10-pass sequence, probably our best of the match.
Alex Jimenez makes the run, but Felix scores the goal.
Who is the coach for 2026 season
Buy players that suit the coach.
Not a coach to suit the players
What I’ve learned is that we won’t play in Europe next season, that despite being “financially sustainable” we’re somehow in a deficit because of our poor results.
And that despite all of our current problems, we still don’t have a SD, we don’t know if we will have a SD, what is our strategy, what is going to change,…
Cardinale and Furlani should release a book titled: how NOT to manage a club.