AC Milan and Paulo Fonseca could already be heading towards an early separation, but does that really come as a shock after their start to the season?
Since the start of the season, Fonseca has always seemed to be clawing back his job, rather than putting weight on it, and that already is a worrying sign of things. Therefore entering the first international break with his job on the line was no surprise.
A return win against Venezia steadied the ship somewhat – although doubts remained – but the loss against Liverpool in the Champions League began to make people feel slightly seasick once again as the ship rocked back into a state of panic.
Then, out of nowhere, Milan took three points against Inter, and they deserved to. Again, this caused a change in the waves, and some serenity was found. Belief was found in Fonseca, and the Portuguese head coach seemingly had a platform to build from.
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Following this, the Rossoneri were rampant against Lecce, recording a 3-0 win, and it seemed that the season was back on track.
That lasted eight days, less if you consider the Champions League defeat to Bayer Leverkusen – four days.
In Germany, Milan looked questionable, and whilst there were spells of a Fonseca team, they were overshadowed by the makings of a confused side. If anything, any confidence was thrown overboard, and questions began to be asked again.
Then in Florence, things got treacherous once again, as the Diavolo were on the end of a 2-1 beating which brought plenty of issues to light. Most notably, a lack of leadership at the club. On the pitch, players didn’t listen to the hierarchy, and this was evident in the first half when Theo Hernandez took the penalty.
After a half-time rollicking, the same happened again, but this time Tammy Abraham missed from 12 yards. If anything, this was the more frustrating one, given Fonseca had reprimanded his squad less than 30 minutes prior.
Now, Milan are back to asking questions about their manager, and it seems he has 21 days to save his job. In this time, his team will play seven times, and by the end of the run-in, they could be out of the Scudetto picture.
If this were the case, the Portuguese head coach would go, but even if he navigates the club into the title race, has he taken too much water on already?