Former AC Milan midfielder Ruben Buriani has given his verdict on the Rossoneri’s defeat to Bayer Leverkusen whilst responding to claims that the defeat was Paulo Fonseca’s best game in charge of the club.
The contrast between the defeat against Leverkusen and the one against Liverpool is stark. After the San Siro loss, Fonseca effectively had one foot out of the door according to multiple reports, nevertheless, he remains in charge after two impressive victories in Serie A.
Following the Diavolo’s second defeat in the Champions League, the reaction has not been the same. It is important to take into consideration the context of the previous results, but there has been a generally more positive outlook on things, especially with the coach praising his side, believing that it was his favourite showing since he joined.
Buriani spoke to Milan News about the loss to Leverkusen, and he stated that the Rossoneri did ‘too little’.
What impressions did you get from the Leverkusen trip?
“For me, Milan did too little for an hour, I’m not saying they were succumbing to the opponent but they did little. Then, after the disadvantage, there was a reaction that was more nervous than technical-tactical but it wasn’t enough. I think what the Rossoneri did was too little in the international field. If anything, something more than in the game against Liverpool was seen.”
For Paulo Fonseca, this was the best Milan since he sat on the Rossoneri bench…
“I do not agree. I think the best performance was the derby where the team actually conceded very little to Inter. If we look at the game against Leverkusen, the opponents at least in the first hour engaged Maignan several times. In short, they conceded a lot despite the final result being 1-0. Then the reaction was good, but we can’t say it was Milan’s best game of the season.”
How do you assess Fonseca’s choices for this last away match?
“I think he made the right choices because when a coach sees the team working all week he makes the best possible choices. I don’t think he wants to shoot himself in the foot. For the rest, the players are always on the pitch, in the end, the coach has responsibility up to a certain point.”
Morata is proving to be indispensable for this team…
“With Leverkusen I liked him, but he came on in the last half hour of the match when the teams were tired. It’s clear that if you are fresh you make a difference. That’s without taking anything away from a player of absolute quality. I think overall the team did well in that last third of the match and with a little more luck they could have equalised. The problem is the previous 60 minutes.”
Fofana, meanwhile, is growing…
“A player who has good qualities of interdiction covers the position well and is physically strong. He must be helped by his teammates, because to do well the rest of the team must also be well. For the rest, it was certainly a good choice by the directors, who were able to evaluate him well during his time at Monaco.”
How do you assess these first months of Fonseca at AC Milan?
“For now I prefer to wait, it is right to give time to a new coach to work and form the team in his image. Normally, there are mishaps along the way, it went quite badly at Parma but otherwise, the team reacted. Let’s say that where he has shown he has the team in hand was in the derby against Inter, while in other situations a little less, but in any case I would wait for the medium-long term before evaluating him well.”
