AC Milan suffered an embarrassing defeat to Parma on Saturday evening as they never managed to match the performance of the home side. With just one point after two games, the situation is heating up for Paulo Fonseca.
Today’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport (see photo below) has taken stock of Milan’s precarious position and what went wrong against Parma. The Rossoneri never stood a chance, as was clear to anyone watching, and the start to the season has been a disaster.
Zero cohesion and teamwork
Parma, as opposed to Milan, looked very good and managed to dominate the affair thanks to their organisation. Had it not been for some great chances missed, they would have won more convincingly. The Rossoneri, meanwhile, looked unbalanced and relied on individual quality.
Fonseca’s side remained in the game thanks to several crucial interceptions by Strahinja Pavlovic, who didn’t exactly have an easy task. The stars of the team didn’t do enough once again, as Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez displayed inconceivable errors and carelessness.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was barely seen in the No.10 role, and Noah Okafor showed that he’s more of a super-sub than anything else. Without Alvaro Morata, this team lacks a point of reference up front, also because Alvaro is tactically evolved, unlike many of his teammates.
From a tactical point of view, the performance was embarrassing. It was the perfect example of how not to do things: every ball lost, even sixty meters from Maignan’s goal, became a potential goal chance for the opponents.
There were no preventive markings, the distances between the departments were enormous and – above all – there was no mutual help. The excuse of tired legs is not valid. And then it’s not as if Parma started training in June. Pecchia’s team simply knows what to do with the ball, is prepared in both phases and plays according to clear principles.
Ibrahimovic must speak up
As a player, there is no doubt that Zlatan Ibrahimovic would have destroyed the locker room after a performance like that. It remains to be seen what his reaction as a director will be. There is certainly no time to waste, otherwise the season will become dangerously complicated.
One point and four goals conceded in two games are numbers that have set off an alarm already. Fonseca’s Milan is the same, or even uglier than Pioli’s: the coach hasn’t managed to convey anything so far and the players seem to be on vacation. It can’t get any worse, but it’s little consolation.
They need to pay Pioli, for end of the year, plus they need to pay Fonseca
They bring some new names, and put cheaper coach, instead use previous coach with stronger team and last year of contract.
Be ready, this season is Naples last season.
Truly worse than Pioli ‘s team,it like they just don’t know what they are doing on the pitch
Obviously Fonseca has been unable to transmit his ideas, and motivate his team. I am not surprised, as I was against hiring Fonseca in the first place. Yet, he should be given until christmas to prove me wrong.
Because no one saw this coming at all did they? Apart from that crook Gerry and his sidekick Zlatan. Please mind the gap …
Growing pains. Some blme on the coach for sure but the way the players individually played who are supposed to be performing (theo, rlc, leao) has been piss poor. We need to have patience
The major problem of Milan is sacked Maldini &Mascara. The mgt should think again what made a mistake. I hope that they decide to came back Maldini & Massara. Then everything will be back to the previous. They will bring us best coach & best players for fit of Milan.
What makes you think Maldini would come back to the club with this ownership?
What a surprise. The fans expressing concerns here and critics, in the academic sense of the term, are labeled negative people or Inter fans but maybe they’re right. Another lousy start of the season. 16 years that Milan didn’t get more than 1 point after two games. 4000 days that Parma didn’t win at Ennio Tardini in Serie A.
This team is dysfunctional. We went from a strong core that took a few years to develop to a circus show. Théo is playing like he’s already gone. Leao is as usual the main focus of opposing teams and can’t do much. Musah the 20M€ right winger from Valencia can’t succeed in midfield because he’s basically an athletic freak and has no football IQ. Loftus-Cheek is a backup and there’s a reason why he never gained prominence. Emerson is another waste of money. Okafor is good when he enters the pitch after one hour, when opposing players are already tired. Pulisic and Reijnders are ok, not bad, not great. And above all, Fonseca is a second tier coach as his previous spells and his salary would evidence. More concerning, his statement yesterday and the one from Musah seem to show that there is no team spirit and that the players don’t trust a coach coming from Ligue 1 4th Lille.
At least Milan is still in UCL group stages for now, so “the fans around the world can see us”. Forza ROI.
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The root of the problem for years have been on signing ‘average/below average players’ to adjust balance sheet. Last 5 yrs all the arrivals that have happened are to fair good in country league. This mindset cannot fight international leagues. Even likes guardiola / conte won’t be able to do anything with this team
That’s not the problem. Those guys should be able to beat torino and parma and play decent football.
Torino and parma have players worse than ours and they managed to play decent football.
On the international lvl there are like 4-5 clubs that win and ares strong. We are a decade from that unless he splash 500M on players and bring a wc coach..and even then it’s a longshot
When we lose from Lazio and draw with Venezia i hope theu will sacked Fonseca and put at bench Leao and Theo,and put bartesaghi and chukwueze or okafor at Leao place. We will play better and better,ofc if not sell Benancer only guy with Rainders who fight at pitch.Tomori,Pavlovic,Thiao is good at deffense but cant do anything when Leao and Theo woking at pitch and Calabria go at attack and do nothing there.
Everyone seem to blame the players for everything. Folks 70% of our problems right now is the system, the setup, the formation.
Playing an ultra attacking style of football, somewhat a 4-2-4 while also asking your Fullbacks to join the attack is a system automatically setup for failure. The midfield will always be outrun. Torino and Parma created tons and tons of overloads on our midfield. Coincidence??
I have said this before, we need an extra midfielder or else we are going nowhere. 4-3-3 is the most ideal formation we can deploy right now. Pioli saw this problem, hence he switched to a 4-3-3 formation, but he lacked the implementation and patience to understand the functionality.
Playing Bennacer as DM and Fofana and whoever alongside him brings more stability at this time.
Liverpool bamboozled the world playing this kind of ultra attacking football, however they had the base for it, they played it with a 4-3-3 system with 3 combative midfielders, Fabinho, Wijnaldum and Henderson, with this setup they allowed Robertson and Alexander Arnold to push up to join the attack, because the midfield 3 was strong enough to cover the defense, and they also had Mane who can initiate a press. No surprise they feel apart when Mane, Fabinho and Wijnaldum left.
We ain’t going nowhere without a proper no. 6, no way. It’s football 101 especially when we play ultra attacking wing football, the opposition just focuses to play centrally against us and we’re gone.
Gotta Agree. Until Fonseca figures out what he can and can not get out of this team, he has to switch to a 433 to bring more balance.
i think we have to wait till the next year yes ofcourse if he cant win against lazio inter and venezia then i agree we should sack him