As a result of two draws and one loss in the opening three games, AC Milan are facing an uphill battle in the Champions League group stage. However, it’s far from over for the Rossoneri, who will need at least two wins from the final three games.
The draws against Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund, especially the first one, were indeed frustrating and could prove costly in the end. Losing away at PSG was more or less expected, but the return leg is now less than one week away. It remains to be seen what the response will be.
Taking a look at the standings in Group F, also labelled as the ‘group of the death’, it’s clear that Milan have some work to do in the final three rounds.
➤ Paris Saint-Germain: 6 points
➤ Borussia Dortmund: 4 points
➤ Newcastle: 4 points
➤ AC Milan: 2 points
Essentially, the Rossoneri need to win at least two of the remaining three games to have a chance of reaching the knockout stages. Three wins would see them through for sure, as they would reach 11 points while Dortmund and Newcastle only would be able to reach 10. PSG, meanwhile, would be able to reach 12.
Claiming all three wins is very unlikely, though, and the following is more realistic: a draw against PSG at San Siro, a win against Dortmund at San Siro and a win against Newcastle in the final round at St. James’ Park.
Milan would then have to depend on the results of Dortmund-Newcastle, PSG-Newcastle and Dortmund-PSG. Essentially, the Rossoneri would need both Dortmund and Newcastle to drop points at least once. The maximum they could reach then would be eight points, while the Rossoneri would be at nine.
Winning two and losing one (the one against PSG) would also be enough for Milan in that same scenario, taking them to eight points. It would then come down to head-to-head points, based on which they would prevail (four points against both Dortmund and Newcastle). The group could look as follows:
➤ Paris Saint-Germain: 11 points (3W, 2D, 1L)
➤ AC Milan: 8 points (2W, 2D, 2L)
➤ Borussia Dortmund: 8 points (2W, 2D, 2L)
➤ Newcastle: 4 points (1W, 1D, 4L)
Of course, all of the above is based on Milan beating Dortmund and Newcastle. The situation would be different in the event of a win against PSG and a loss against Dortmund, for example, which is why it’s best to wait until after the next round before breaking down all the various combinations.
No fighting spirit
Tactically naive.
Leao the anointed superstar missing in action
Sorry to say this, but we are now fighting for a chance to qualify for Europa League. We have close to zero chance to qualify with all the injuries we have. I don’t think we will beat PSG and Newcastle away game will be hard too, they have a very good home record.
It’s probably more likely us winning in Sana Siro against PSG, against Dort and draw at Newcastle to go through. I’ll take us winning vs PSG at home than at st James Park
We shot ourselves in the foot first two games
I think we can get in with a win and 2 draws. 7 points if everything breaks right. A draw against PSG. Dortmund and Newcastle draw against each other, which is a very possible result, puts us at 3 and them at 5. Then we beat Dortmund to go to 6 points, and PSG at home beats Newcastle.
PSG would be at 10 ,We would be at 6, Dortmund 5 and Newcastle at 5. Then we could possibly get in with a draw at Newcastle, provided PSG at least draws vs Dortmund.
I’d feel a lot better if we just beat PSG, but after that last match not very confident Pioli will come up with a good gameplan.
Yeah, there are a few more permutations than this article outlines, but the bottom line is that we’re depending on others because we failed to win the first two very winnable games.
Honestly, I don’t know if Pioli has the acumen to take us out of the group stage. I’d rather crash out altogether than qualify for EL so we can focus on the Scudetto.
He’ll take us to the end of season but the. Questions need to be asked of him and his limitations.
The reason we ended up in this group is because we are still in Pot 3 for the draw. Going into the Europa League and possibly advancing would give us a much, much better chance at increasing our coefficient enough to get into easier groups in the future. Advancing in the Europa League has the exact same effect on the UEFA coefficient as advancing in the Champions League. Being out of Europe altogether for many years is what has put our coefficient in such bad shape.
If Pioli remain as the coach, the Milan remain bottom of the UCL table
Thank u very much for saying d truth everybody is avoiding d truth including d management which is pioli out if pioli continue to be our couch we will not win one game in d champions league and we will not see d scudetto we might come out top 4 in d table
P$G is beatable as long as Pioli change the tactics.
We got this. Now I’m excited for the round of 16, woo-hoo!!
Talk, talk, talk. If we pretend to be a top team, we just try to win every game. Usually, it is the clubs at the bottom of the league table who try to salvage at least a point.
We must win next game. If not. Then we are fudged. Newcastle away will be the hardest game. Look at how they play in Pl And against PSG. They are a force to be reckoned with at St: James park.
We have to score a goal first then start talking about winning. We’ve gone 5 matches straight in UCL without scoring, how do you expect such squad to qualify from group of death. There’s no hope with pioli and his tactics so i rather feel very comfortable with Milan finishing last in the group than going to EL cause that will be pioli most achievement in this group of death.
A good coach with this Milan squad can comfortably finish first in this group of death.
We are not going to the next round… Why all the stupid permutations when we are losing games in the league with injuries and tactical naivety? I am not going to get my hopes up, we squandered points that we were supposed to earn and no we hope other teams lose. Let pioli learn his lessons if he can. All the media hype counting points pioli won and ranking him alongside arrigo, cappello and Don Carlito was b.s. let’s see them wriggle out of this quagmire.
We are not going anywhere, not with the tactics, morale or body language these players exhibit during matches.