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.
