As if the problems with Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez were not enough, Paulo Fonseca’s Milan have another thing to deal with: the defensive disaster so far in 2024-25.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport write, the two goals per game conceded in the first three league games is worrying in itself and absolutely not good enough for a team that considers themselves as competitors with Inter and Juventus for the Scudetto.
Digging even deeper, the major issue with the Milan defence is that it always lets itself be penetrated in the same way: a cross from the left – be it high or on the ground – to meet a runner in the middle who is unmarked.
The Torino, Parma and Lazio games all featured a film that repeated itself in a disturbing way. In the first game a cross from Zapata from the left met a header from Bellanova at the far post started the sequence, with Zapata, Man, Cancellieri, Castellanos and Dia turning it into an obvious trend.
The right side naturally is put under scrutiny, which was Davide Calabria and Ismael Bennacer against Toro, Calabria and Yunus Musah in Parma then Emerson Royal and Youssouf Fofana in Rome against Lazio.
Then the scorer often appears from the opposite side, the one governed by Theo Hernandez and the left-sided centre-back (Malick Thiaw or Strahinja Pavlovic). The marking is slack, the positioning is wrong and nobody is stopping the supply.
“It’s impossible to win when we defend like this,” said Fonseca after Parma. It is more difficult if you are always beaten in the same way.
So tired of this kind of articles like ,, thing to fix” ,,5 things we learned “ it’s all useless.
This management is lacking any vision and ambitions, sign mediocre coach with mediocre players and act like we are on the same level like Inter and Juventus.
Osimhen is going 1 year on loan to Galatasaray why Furlani and Moncada didn’t tried to get him even 1 year on loan?
Say whatever you want but Maldini was right, the club owner doesn’t have big ambitions, and I don’t say this because I m a Maldini fan, he did his mistakes too like paying Origi 5 mil per year or Ballo but this is the reality, if you take out Leao, Theo and Mike we are a midtable team.
It has to do more about the communication between the winger and the fullback.
Milan wingers are loosing the other teams fullbacks and then Milan fullbacks are stuck in between sticking with their own man (the winger) or following the incoming unmarked fullback.
On Parma’s 1st goal, Pulisic losses the fullback, Calabria reacts and switches but Parma player was already in full sprint and outrun him.
Vs Lazio Nuno Tavares assisted on both goals. He is their fullback who Chukwueze lost twice in 4 minutes.
Even though Emerson got blamed for the goals, he actually was playing good defense prior to that. He kept Zacagni in check, a player that usually runs circles around Calabria.
There was progress defensively in the 1st 60 minutes vs Lazio but the players dropped their focus and got punished in 4 minutes.
Everyone has to do their job defensively. The defenders usually get blamed for someone else’s mistakes. Although, Pavlovic got absolutely bullied on the 2nd goal.
I think the whole team got caught on the back foot from that Parma switch of field to the Parma forward. Pulisic actually stayed even with the midfielder or fullback that was making that run, had he kept running with him that cross probably doesn’t get through. When him and Calabria switch players it is what caused like what you said Calabria gets a player running full speed at him. Actually, I gotta hand it to Parma that was a good goal, that switch of play caught the whole team off guard Theo had more time to react to the play then puli and Calabria since it was his man that scored the goal and he didn’t seem to be running hard. It was a good bursting of pace attack from Parma and yes the Milan right side could have done better, but so could’ve the whole back line. I guess my point is Pulisic never really loses that player, but the change of marking with Calabria allowed that extra step for the Parma players. Maybe Pulisic did lose him, I watched it again and it doesn’t so much look like he did. Oh well, it’s subjective at this point I guess. Sucks, need to start winning before this spirals out of control. All Milan players are not playing good enough this season, especially the midfield. Idk what is going on, maybe the whole team is struggling because the midfield is struggling, idk, regardless it’s not good enough from any of them.
Agreed with the general comment but when has Zacagni run circles around Calabria!
yes correct i dont get the meaning to sign fonseca and why the heck was ac milan in love with emerson royal bro this isnt cafu yes he is a brazilian (cant belive it) and eweryone that watches spurs games know that he is trash fofana isnt a real dm and if it is that type of player we wanted we could have gone for rabiot morata brings experience and scored 21 goals last season so i dont mind that transfer
Emerson sucks, why were we obsessed with him? We couldn’t have signed a top RB or even Bellanova (a former youth player)?
We have a top right back in Calabria.
People like you deserve Emerson for your total lack of respect.
Calabria is a top rb??? Listen I like the guy but he was awful first 2 games.
Top RB haha dude wake up
How was he ‘awful’?
He was outnumbered in the right hand side.
It’s very hard to take these views seriously when people are fawning over Pavlovic who was equally if not more responsible for the goals.
Then there’s the bizarre acceptance of Reijnders who has done very little for Milan.
Calabria has outperformed every RB that has been signed to replace him from Conti to Florenzi to Kalulu. He has marked the best wingers out of games including Mbappé and Kvaratskhelia. And, despite the accepted narrative, he has actually provided goals and assists.
Again, you deserve Emerson. You asked for a new RB and you got a new RB.
Our right backs are bad… that’s the reality. At this point just bring Jimenez and play him as RB he has shown that he can play at the top level before, Jimenez is a fast fullback that can play on both wings.
we just send our best solution out on loan to our direct rivals (Kalulu & Salad) yep.. they better than our new Cafu, Kalulu better in defence & Salad at least he’ll track-back just like headless chicken they said
A club that does not respect its captain (and now seemingly vice captain) is going nowhere.
What other top club has attempted to freeze out its captain, or have fans regularly mocking and dismissing the club captain?
This isn’t even a team anymore. And the main people to blame are the fans.
You created this situation by calling for Pioki to be second for finishing 2nd, by calling for Calabria to be sacked despite years of top performances which saw him mark some of the best players in the world out of games.
All because you have this idea in your heads about what you want. Ideas that no two people can agree on.
You create the conditions where the club’s owners get to launder money through the club because you don’t think it’s strange that there’s this constant turnover.
You question what is being turned over but you don’t question the turnover. You demand it.
Fonseca does realize it’s literally HIS JOB to organize the defense, right? What exactly is he doing in training? It’s very concerning he pushed this hard for a RB as bad as Emerson. He makes Calabria look like Lahm by comparison, and I support Calabria unlike the other plastics here, but I genuinley think some youth players could defend better than Royal…
Who the f approved that emerson is better than kalulu?! Juventus once again showed us a mercato masterclass