AC Milan will open their 2023-24 season with a trip to face Bologna tonight, and Stefano Pioli must answer the questions that come his way.
Today’s edition of Corriere della Sera (via PianetaMilan) writes that after the game against Bologna tonight there will be an initial and partial answer to one of the main questions facing Milan after the summer they have had.
The question is whether Milan have changed a lot for the better or if they have changed too much at once. In Reggio-Emilia it will be a real crash test for Pioli’s team, revolutionised by a summer transfer campaign worth over €100m financed by the sale of a very important piece in Sandro Tonali.
Too many goals were conceded during the summer friendlies so competition will have to raise the bar. Fikayo Tomori and Pierre Kalulu have to get back to the levels of the Scudetto season, while waiting for the arrival of Marco Pellegrino.
On paper the squad is stronger as it has gained in numbers and in quality. The Rossoneri have grown both in the starting line-up and in the reserve options, but there are doubts about how a machine will run with so many modified components.
With Bologna up first followed by Torino on Saturday night, then Roma and Inter away to come, the starter to the season is anything but simple. Napoli, Inter and Juventus did not fail on their season debuts, so Milan must win too.
Three new signings should take to the field from minute one, namely Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tijjani Reijnders in the midfield and Christian Pulisic in the attacking trident. Samuel Chukwueze – the most expensive signing – should come off the bench.
Why did pioli suddenly changed from 4231 now that we have players in every angle and bench is well decorated as well
Definitely better and deeper as a team in attacking positions. Okafor, Chukwueze, and Pulisic will add a lot. I still don’t think we’re good enough to win the league. A lot will depend on the midfield which I think is too thin. We have one defensive midfielder in Krunic (Musah has been playing as mezzala) who is a dependable backup but not a starter. Reijnders and Loftus-Cheek seem promising but should one of them get injured/tired, who will fill in? Musah, Pobega, and Adli are still unknowns. Hopefully someone steps up, but relying on that is a huge risk. It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the last few days of the transfer window.
How is Musah an unknown? He is a new signing with just as much promise. He already has 120 appearance for his prior team.
Did Maldini’s Heir contribute to this article lmao? He was screeching about disruptive things lmao. We reinforced the right side of the team and where we needed to reinforce. We are qualitatively far stronger than last season.
I don’t know if the team has come together enough yet or not, but I feel like based on individual quality we should be able to overcome Bologna today.
Remember, everyone: STAY CALM.