We are now six days away from AC Milan opening their 2023-24 season with a game against Bologna at the Stadio Renato dall’Ara.
As a result, there are various reports circulating regarding the selection decisions that head coach Stefano Pioli might make for the game on Monday 21 August at 20:45 CEST, with MilanNews offering an update.
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The report claims that Mike Maignan will be in goal with Pierre Kalulu, Malick Thiaw, Fikayo Tomori and Theo Hernandez as the back four. Davide Calabria is expected to be omitted having just returned from a muscle issue.
In midfield Rade Krunic should operate at the base of the new-look trio, while Pioli will put his faith in the two summer signings Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tijjani Reijnders as the right and left mezzalas respectively.
Up front, Christian Pulisic is tipped to get the nod on the right wing, with Rafael Leao on the left wing and Olivier Giroud up front.
The only real doubt is the one between Kalulu and Calabria, while Samuel Chukwueze is expected to come off the bench given he is not yet at 100%.
Probable Milan XI (4-3-3): Maignan; Kalulu, Thiaw, Tomori, Theo Hernandez; Loftus-Cheek, Krunic, Reijnders; Pulisic, Giroud, Leao.
Chuk did the the beginning of preseason with Villarreal and even played in a friendly with them. He signed for Milan on July 27, not sure how he’s not 100%….
“He’s not ready” haha
He just trained with the rest of the team from 6 August – barely 10 days ago. Maybe physically he is ready but he need time to adapt to his new teammates.
Just give chance to Pulisic which is good player also, and have full preseason under his belt. What’s wrong with that? Smh
Everyone their own in piolis system. There is no team coordination or partnerships between players. So no point in talking about getting adapt to team
This will be a very good side …I expect us to win this one ,and get us off to a good start …We have the capabilities and a good squad …I think Loftus cheek could be a really good signing for us ..
Pioli is @ it again
I don’t think this 433 will hold much, didn’t see any sparkles durning pre-season… Hope in wrong but from where I see it we’ll undergo another change(s) by December
Yea mate, our full team lost against barca b is too much even if its a friendly game.
=}Back to 4231
We need pulisic as 10 and chukwu on the right. Period
You’re a Genius .
Exactly. If not milan is going no where
Pioli is just playing pulisic over chukwu because of the Us market not because he plays better or anything.
Stop with the BS. If that’s the case then why isn’t Musah starting. He’s playing him because he is a good option, and has been playing with the first team the entire pre season. He scored their only goal against Monza and had two assists in their last game.
musah is suspended for the first game because of a red card in the last game of last season. but that isn’t the reason he isn’t starting. his late arrival to the club and the teams offense over defense priority favor RLC.
That’s the fact
We need 4-2-1-3
Calabria/Kalulu Tomori Thiaw Hernandez
RLC Krunic/Musah
Reinders
Chuk/Romero Giroud/Okafor leao/Pulisic
Yes, we’ll see how this setup works! I also think that Pulisic and Chukwueze can play together. Both are fast and technically excellent players and together with the real Leao would be a danger for the opposition. Maybe Giroud would also come to the fore with balls coming from three directions. Of course, we also have to think about the defensive game, so don’t jump to conclusions! We will see…
Pulisic is not fast, stop talking what you don’t know
Lord Krunic again…ma che cazzo!
😂 my thoughts exactly
It is puzzling that after signing 8 players we are a week away from game 1 and we seem to have a very unbalanced squad.
Don’t get me wrong I like the players we have signed , it just looks like there is no thought as to how they fit together.
In attack we signed, Chukwu, Pulisic, Okafor, Romero and yet it seems we don’t have a striker. Giroud is too old and I like Colombo but it’s unbalanced.
In midfield we sold Tonali and did not replace him, he is exactly the player we need to play DM. Now all we have is Krunic and there is talk of him leaving, again unbalanced.
In defense we have no cover for Theo at LB and at centre back Gabbia has left and Kjaer is older and struggling. Not to mention the poor form of Thiaw, Kalulu and Tomori.
Pioli has a big challenge to mould this mess of players into a team
Exactly.
This is nonsense. Tonali was not a good DM. That was one of the big problems last season. He doesn’t track back and loses his mark all the time. They brought in 3 MF’s and Musah could play the DM role better than Krunic can.
Yawn, so many Tonali doubters here. Did you see him boss it in his first EPL start for newcastle?
Yes in a 4231 system, Tonali and Bennacer did not have enough muscle. Once Tonali was paired with Krunic they were rock solid.
In a 433 he is exactly the profile you want as regista, that was his position before joining Milan. Also he would have 2 other midfielders to share the load with.
Anyway it’s a moot point now. The issue is we need a starting calibre player as regista/DM and keep Krunic as deputy.
I just cannot see how our midfield will function as it is now. All we have is Mezzala’s who like to get forward.
That’s a pretty huge hole that needs to be addressed!!
Yes, Tonali did well going forward for Newcastle and was playing much higher up the pitch than he did for Milan. But the marking and tracking back issues were still there. He has defensive issues.
I think Musah could fill that role for Milan. Certainly better than Krunic. He has the physical qualities to do it and is an underrated passer.
There were no defensive issues. He was off the charts.
Selling Tonali was the biggest mistake.
If Milan wanted to do investments, then they should sell Bennacer, Thiaw (who is now wanted by Real), Krunić, Origi, Alexis, Messias, Rebić, Adli.
It is easy to sell a star player but the real deal is to sell unwanted players for a good price and keep the star players.
Tonali performed superb against Villa and showed , that he is a world class midfielder who can play offensive and help the defence if needed.
Maybe I will sound like a hater but this just wasn’t a good move and this board simply did not convice me with signings like RLC , Pulisić (both injury prone and Chelsea deadwood).
Personally for me.. Samardzić, Rejinders, Kamada, Thuram were the players to go for.
At the same time, I must say that Chukwueze and Tijani are good signings.
Still can’t get stop the feeling that Milan has lost it’s italian identity and that with the ,,moneyball” approach, Milan is going to be a feeder club
Tomori and Giroud were “Chelsea deadwood” too. Worked out pretty well.
You’re talking rubbish. Tonali was fantastic last season. He’ll be appreciated more in the EPL.
@MBM
You know they are always trying to justify the present management.
Fantastic at what? Our midfield got bossed against everyone last season and we finished 5th in points. I guess through your rose colored glasses that is fantastic.
It’s very strange… when we didn’t have enough forward players he was intent on playing 4231 with 4 forwards….having to push Kessie or Bennacer into an unnatural no10 role and then using Messias, Saelemaekers or Brahim as awkward RWs…….
Now, we have the perfect balanced front 4 with Rafa left, Pulisic CAM, Chukwueze RW and then either Giroud or Okafor as CF he insists on going to 433, which leaves one of our new attacking threats on the bench… it seems daft.
It surely has to be Reijnders and RLC in the double pivot and then the 4 up top…..
Reijnders and RLC are not pivots mate, never have been imo. They will just run with the ball, that is their natural instinct. Musah as well.
Yes, I very much get your point. My thinking is Reijnders can be the more attack minded and RLC can sit in almost a regista role, he is strong and has a good range of passing. Once Bennacer comes back he can sit back in. It’s going to be about discipline and I can’t fathom a situation whereby Krunic is a starter given 3 years ago we’d have laughed at the prospect.
We don’t have a lot of options currently 😬
“We don’t have a lot of options currently” — you summed it up nicely mate.
Despite this plethora of signings.
Should have signed a proper option instead of getting both Musah and RLC.
And in attack, we did not need both Pulisic and Okafor to join. Either one would have been enough – if money is tight.
Big holes in the squad — nobody to play regista, no reliable younger striker. Though I think Colombo should get the role.
Well i did say a number of times that while the attack improved significantly, the midfield was weaker, and i got bombarded with insults.
We now see the point, that we have as you say, no natural no6. but 3 new signings in midfield who want to go forwards.
Musah does not play high in half spaces high up the pitch like RLC. they play very differently with Musah prefering to run the pitch. RLC is favored as an attacking midfielder.
I dont think RLC likes to play that role. He was a DM with Chelsea and said he hated his positioning in his interview. he wants to be higher up the pitch.
RLC is playing in a 10 role…all preseason…
PREDICTION:
I predict a slow start to Milan’s season simply because of the number of new players who had come into the fold. It will take time for this thing to come together. I think the first 5-6 games would be a good indicator of where we’re at.
But I think Milan will make a run for the Scudetto this season.
Pioli has been given enough rope to hang himself. Half of the money was carelessly spent.
I think ac milan will lose with this line up, why not play Chukwueze right wing and Okafor Center forward, and Musah in Krunic position, 2nd half subs in pulisic and Romero
I just cannot understand some of you …
You just don’t seem to get the picture,,Stefani
Pioli is the manager and an excellent one of that .he knows full well the attributes of Olivier Giroud and so do I ..He is technically the best centre foward anywhere in Europe…Yes he is .yes he is 37 years old ,but still has that quality factor about him ..Some of you have got little understanding about a team .Yes it’s a team game .Olivier is the man to play centre forward this season ..He has great vision and awareness as to where other team members are .
Olivier needs pace around him ,but with the squad we have now ,we have pace with abundance..
Giroud will have his best season for us this one ..
What a wonderful target man he is …He has a poachers instinct,that’s why he will score goals ,as we will this season …We will challenge for honours this season ..Start believing. Goals will come from Olivier Giroud,,pulisic ,Loftus cheek ( who incidentally will perhaps end up being an amazing buy ) then of course Rafael leao …No I cannot understand some of you at all …two seasons ago we won the scuddeto,lot of that down to that man ..Yes Olivier Giroud,last season champions leauge semi final …We have a much better squad now than then ..In my experience and opinion, a better team ..We will challenge for honours again this season ..Start believing !
Giroud is the man to have in and around the 18 yard area …Great technique and skill in tight spaces…
He will score goals ..
I agree with you on your comments on Giroud. He is without doubt the most underrated CF of the last 15-20 years. However, he isnt the player of Arsenal and you cannot deny that. What will be interesting is if we give him 15 games rather than 40, and Okafor and Columbo rotate, what Oli’s output will be.
I am not convinced by Pioli though .He is for me a ‘decent’ manager, but we don’t want that, we want a top class manager
If we go 4231 with Pulisic as CAM and the pace on those wings then Oli G will score goals. The issue is the fitness and sharpness that naturally deteriorates over time. I wish we had signed him straight from Arsenal.
Pioli knows what he’s doing, a good coach will not line up all his best attack at the same time, Chuk and Leao play same style of football but in different wings. Chuk is to spark the team up in the second half when under pressure, so if the both starts, there will be no player to kill the tension again. Even at Villareal, Chuk is not always a starter, against Bayern in UCL when Villa was under pressure, Chuk came in and score the winning goal.
Bench Leao, start Pulisic on the left. It’s time to make Leao feel some pressure and force him to the next level.
This is an excellent idea, watching him walking around so carelessly after loosing ball after ball made me furious because he couldn’t care less. I get it, it is preseason. But still, show the newcomers what it means playing for the shirt and the role/number you have on your back….
Hopefully he will stop this nonsense and atleast tries to recover the balls he looses.
Pulisic will continue to struggle until he’s deployed as a #10 and/or regains self-confidence. His strength is playing off others, and being elusive in small space. He can put in crosses, but he’s just not going to create as much from the flanks. I think less up and down sprints reduces his injuries as well. Hoping Pioli is the one to take this chance and lets him pull strings underneath Leao/Chuk/Giroud. Play him with a strong 6 and 8 and see what happens. Just like when he was a youth international and dominated.