AC Milan return to Serie A action this weekend, and the Silvio Berlusconi trophy offered one last chance to evaluate the squad before the season truly begins.
Whether the fixture against Monza can be classed as more than a pre-season friendly is a murky area, but it is definitely a truer showing of how things could go this season than the previous pre-season fixtures that Milan have played.
Playing against a fellow Serie A team, with both managers fielding elevens with good strength, it differed from playing against Manchester City, Real Madrid and Barcelona, who all fielded weakened sides – the Rossoneri included.
Tuesday’s game seemed like a culmination of everything in pre-season, and whilst there is still work to do, there are several positives to enter the new season with. Paulo Fonseca has been in the building for just over a month, and his ideas are quickly being implemented, and whilst there will be areas to work on still, there are generally more positives than negatives.
As Corriere della Sera (via PianetaMilan) report the fixture showed ‘almost total Rossoneri domination’ – an already positive remark – and this was the case even after Fonseca switched his side almost entirely after the interval.
Additionally, the paper states that the ‘new Milan’ have ‘clear and sparkling’ ideas due to the work of the Portuguese head coach, a very positive report and a near-perfect end to pre-season.