Milan players v Napoli

Player Ratings: AC Milan 0-2 Napoli – Chukwueze lively; several fail the test

Photo by AC Milan

AC Milan lost the big clash against Napoli by two goals to nil and although most players did okay, it was a lacklustre team performance. Below are the player ratings for the Rossoneri.

If you haven’t already, make sure to check out how we decide the player ratings. From the scale to what affects the rating, we have compiled everything there.

Starting XI

Maignan (5.5): He couldn’t do much about the first goal, sold out by his defenders, but the feeling is that he should have done more on the second. Yes, it’s one of those shots that causes issues for any goalkeeper, but he just didn’t get down quick enough.

Emerson Royal (6): The Brazilian defended well for the most part and was also quite active when going forward. He couldn’t do much about either goal and at least entered the game with the right attitude.

Thiaw (6): He can be somewhat faulted for the first goal, but aside from that he defended well for most of the game and at least made life a little bit more difficult for Napoli when they did get through.

Pavlovic (5.5): He completely lost track of Lukaku on the first goal and that cost him dearly. His colleague also should have done better, as mentioned, but it was ultimately the Serbian who followed the striker to begin with. He improved after that bit the error made a big difference.

Terracciano (6): Playing out of position, he did okay and certainly took on a more central role in possession. He also directed his teammates a lot, which is something Fonseca also has pointed out before, and it was enough to get a pass here.

Musah (5.5): The maestro of ups and downs, with absolutely zero consistency tonight. He had a good effort on the edge of the box in the first half, as well as some good runs. However, he also missed a big chance (heavy touch) and was sloppy at times.

Fofana (5.5): He needed to do more on the second goal, failing to close down Kvara properly, and his passing also wasn’t that effective. Granted that he did well to win some duels tonight, he’s a player who must increase the tempo of the team more.

Chukwueze (6 – MOTM): He was probably the liveliest Milan player, often cutting inside and waiting for the right moment to play the pass. He got the assist for the goal that was disallowed with a really nice cross, and should have had an assist after great work to set up Pulisic (who sadly missed).

Samuel Chukwueze Milan
Photo by AC Milan

Loftus-Cheek (6): For once we got to see what he’s very good at, i.e. driving forward with pace. He nearly set up a goal by doing so and overall, he looked much better (compared to other games) in both phases of the game. Still, just decent.

Okafor (5.5): Perhaps a few good moments, but very little impact overall especially if you compare him with his opposite man. The substantiation for Leao could have come earlier, to be honest.

Morata (5.5): Another hard-working display, it goes without saying, and it included some good moments such as an acrobatic backheel that nearly assisted Musah. There was also a disallowed goal for offside, but the truth is that the Spaniard could have done better overall. Not to mention that he didn’t spend enough time in the box, which is where Milan want him.

Substitutes

Pulisic (5.5): He’s a bit excused given the flu/fever he suffered from, but he missed a big chance in the final minutes after Chukwueze did really well to set him up.

Leao (6): A couple of good moments, including a shot that was well saved by Meret towards the end. You could argue that it was similar to Okafor, but Leao entered the game in a very tough moment and certainly didn’t have the same space the Swiss international had at times.

Camarda (N/A): We didn’t see enough to give him a rating.

Tags AC Milan AC Milan Player Ratings Napoli

116 Comments

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  1. RLC. Maaan he is awful. Even Camarda took the ball away from the opponent more often and probably made more successful passes too. Milan are basically playing with 10 men when RLC is on the pitch.

      1. I see some reason behind Fonseca comments about Milan playing with quality. We did not do bad, as we practically play with 10 man every time RLC in the team.

  2. Season is already finished in 10th round. Let’s hope Guardiola doesn’t extend his contract and sign with us (if Maldini and his “arab” friends buy us)

  3. What in the world made you guys rate RLC and Emerson anywhere higher than 4.5?
    They were both reckless, not adding anything to the defensive phase, and very stale up front.

    We are going to regret not extending Calabria… he used to put Kvaratskhelia to shame.

  4. Chuk was ok. RLC and Musah can’t even make a proper pass. Musah especialy has zero vision. I don’t know who scout this two and thought its a good idea to spend 40mil on them. The others were just average.

  5. I thought Musah was quite decent. Maybe 6 or 6.5. He progressed the a ball well and was involved in Milan’s best chances in the first half, even if they didn’t come off. Much better than RLC.

  6. You can’t pair Thiaw and Pavlovic. Not at all. Sluggish and Pavlovic too left-footed for a CB. Emerson can’t make a good cross to save his. What a waste of money.
    RLC, don’t know what exactly he brings to the team.
    Musah and Fofana were decent.
    Okafor was mid prior to his substitution. Morays, wasn’t fed and could do little due to Napoli’ compact formation.
    Chukweze was outstanding, making runs, and made some good crosses.

    Sell Leao now.
    I will excuse Pulisic today.

  7. I would rather have our youth players play than playing players out of position… Barthesaghi is a leftback, he can’t be worse than terraciano and please what position does Musah play again? Please we don’t need Krunic 2.0

  8. Pavlovic might be more suited to a back 3 system. In this back 4 formation, he’s a liability.

    A sick Pulisic did much better for 30 minutes compared to a fully fit RLC that had nearly 90 minutes play. That says a lot.

  9. 5 loses and it’s not even November. We can officially say hello to Banter Era 2.0. Even some of our players today resemble the ones we had back then.

  10. In the meantime watching players like CDK and Maldini shine in other teams while we need to watch this talentles bunch here is just pathetic job from the management.

  11. Who needs player ratings?
    Milan lost, and that’s it!
    Keeping Pulisic because we’re playing against Monza in the next match?
    Or benching Leao so he can “learn”?
    And look what happens?

    Two years after changing ownership, instead of moving forward, it has gone backward.
    Promising this and that, only from an economic aspect, but not building a team.
    I hope they sell the team to someone with more money than them soon.

    1. Its not about the money, we were as stingy as you get few years ago but we did have our pride as you do not find many Maldinis around (nor Theos, nor Leaos, nor Tonalis). The world is full of Garriy though ;).

  12. Maignan couldn’t do much on the 1st goal?
    Yeah, he actually could have, by not gifting the ball to Napoli with a dumb pass that led to the 1st goal.
    That dumb pass and Lukaku bullying Pavlovic decided the game 5 minutes into the game. After that Napoli played park the bus and it was over with a great goal by Kvara, that Maignan also was poor on.
    Milan worst players today Maignan and Pavlovic.
    Milan positives today Chukwueze and Terracciano who actually looks better and better defensively as a fullback. When Theo comes back next game, Terracciano should play on his favorite right side as a RB.
    Subs brought absolutely nothing. Milan played better before the subs.
    Napoli isn’t that good of a team, they just don’t beat themselves. While Milan losses are mostly their own doing because of individual mistakes.
    Morata, just like Giroud for most of the last 3 years, gets zero service. Apparently crossing into the box is forbidden in today’s football.

      1. Milan had 5 shots on target.
        What sub had the ONLY shot on target?
        Are you talking about the Leao shot that was going straight at the Goalkeeper?
        Meret wasn’t even trying to save that from going into the goal. He was just trying to not get in the face.
        Napoli celebrates because their left winger scores goals.
        Some Milan fans celebrate because Milan left winger actually puts the ball on target.
        There are levels to this game.
        BTW. I have no reason to hate Leao. I don’t know him, never met him, couldn’t care less about him.
        Just because I don’t think he is anywhere near a top player isn’t hate, it’s just an opinion, that has been proven right over and over and over again for 6 years now.
        If given a choice, I’d take Kvaratskhelia over Leao any day of the week and twice on Sundays and Wednesdays.

  13. Fofana 5.5 what game you watching the man runs his socks off. Ultimately we’re a bang average team and conte does what he does well and that’s getting everyone behind the ball. We need to hold our back line by 20-30 yards so we can use the length of the pitch. Playing from the half way line we’re constantly playing on the edge of the area and we just become predictable. 1 striker against 2 centre backs are numbers any managers happy to bet on. We weren’t bad, we just lacked composure in a few instances and Napoli aren’t great but the gulf in points is severe now and.

  14. Terracciano, Pavlovic, Mussah, Thiaw, cant build fast and direct all are confused and too static to build from back, not a single one deserve 5 among them.

  15. Barca got Lamine yamal and other youngsters because they gave their youth players chance, we had Kerkez but opted to buy ballo toure, we would rather play RLC as a CAM than keep Maldini, we would rather play terraciano and florenzi as leftback than start Barthesaghi… no wonder our young players are leaving

  16. Mike …just shaky whole game..that cross/shot from DiLorenzo should have been dealt with much better than that.
    Emerson Royal …a 6? Not at fault for any goal? Nah, that second goal is the exact difference between Calabria and him. That’s also an experience thing, you always cover Kvara’s right foot shot. But it you’re a noob you wouldn’t know.
    That brings us to Pav…also an experience issue. He didn’t know what he was up against until that clash with Lukaku. But that’s what we get for young inexperienced center back that doesn’t know the league.
    RLC was surprisingly lively in the first half.

    Anyways this is the problem of chopping and changing each year. We lost experienced defenders at the back and midfield and paid for the inexperience. Pav to his credit learnt quickly how to deal with Lukaku but the early error was costly. We also didnt provide proper cover at RB. And we’re talking about not renewing Calabria? I’d renew him just to save us 6 points each year against Napoli. It’s probably worth it. All our mids are new and inexperienced. Musah is poor tactically and only recently got game time. RLC strays too much into support striker position so he leaves space in the midfield. Chuk/Okafor are both still relatively “new”.
    You pay for what you get. Napoli invested in a proper league-tested CB who was everywhere tonight, a veritable striker which we dont want to pay but our accounts are great, and a coach who can extract the maximum from a team…also more expensive but we have good books.

    1. Thinking kvara goal was on Emerson show how little you know about football.
      Emerson had kvara in check all game long. On the goal Emerson has kvara and his right foot covered, that’s why kvara continues to move away from from the wing more central. At that point any full back, including Calabria, passes on the winger to another defender. It was Fofana that was late to cover Kvara right foot not Emerson.
      Make sure you know what are you talking about before writing nonsense, as usual.

      1. at least he was out this time…he typically is a step slow…when Adli scored, he was pushed inside, and Fofana did not react fast enough, this time he overshot it…if I’m playing this team, I’m putting a right footed player over there every time…

  17. After the Udinese game, there were some mørøns who angrily responded to my observation that Milan’s defense is a joke, and that in the attacking phase there is lots of sterile ball circulation. It is quite obvious that Milan can’t fight for trophies this season; the 3rd or 4th place in the Serie A will be a fair result. Unless a Serie A-proven coach is brought in and one or two high quality players, one can’t expect much.

    1. Even though Milan defense isn’t good, an Inter fan should not be talking about defense.
      Inter allowed horrendous offensive team like Juventus to score 4 goals. That’s just about a third of the goals Juventus have scored this season in serie A.

      1. It does not change the fact that Milan have the issues I raised above. That being said, I see Napoli as the Scudetto winners this season, as they have Conte and no European competition. Inter and maybe Juve, if TM sorts out Bremer’s absence, can fight for the Coppa Italia and Super Cup. Milan and Atalanta for a top 4 spot.

  18. I dont understand these ratings. I think I watched a different game.

    Our beloved Milan is in a sad state. The management has really been a joke. Other than Pulisic and possibly Reinders, who is good with the ball, every move they made for the last 2 years has been terrible. I miss the Legend Maldini.

    Morata is no good, He does not score goals and crys to the ref all the time. I dont want to hear about his defense and commitment, he is a striker.

    Ruben Soft & Weak brings 0 to the Table.

    Chuckwuese is all left foot. Everyone knows this so he is only dangerous if the defence makes a mistake. One foot is not good enough in Serie A.

    Pavlovic is a poor defender and even worse with the ball.

    Royal is garbage and we ran Kalulu out of town for these 2 clowns.

    Fofana is merely Mediocre. He is not a true destroyer or an Orchestrator. Just half of each.

    Abraham is a joke.

    Oakafor is a decent backup/sub.

    Fonseca’s press produces nothing. It only wears our players out. His Zonal Marking leaves opponents’ players open all over our own box.

    And lastly there is Ibra. Why is he even involved? He has always been a selfish Jerk but was excused because he had tremendous skill, scored many goals and assisted as well. In management these skills mean nothing, so he is around to just say stupid stuff and act like the clown he has always been.

    It’s hard to fathom but we are far worse than last year with little hope of turning it around. When will the management wake up and take responsibility?

    Never. They are Private equity and only care about Profit & Loss. Since Milan is making money, we will continue to be a bad team.

    We will all be depressed for the rest of the season at least and quite possibly for longer. Forza Milan.

    1. Morata is actually good but I think he is a better CAM than a striker. He may be playing out of position his entire career, kkkkk, which a player of his experience could have realized.

      Fofana is not mediocre. He is good but he is surrounded by a bunch of mediocre players; he can’t compensate for everybody and at some point he also suffers from fatigue. Sometimes his passing is off, but anybody who has played the game knows that if you are tired, your pass precision suffers. See that today he didn’t have Reijnders with him, who isn’t exactly mediocre so Fofana had to try to do more. And if you look at our full backs, they are defensibly terrible so that puts a strain on Fofana too; he often needs to run all over the defensive end of the field and nobody can sustain this rhythm for 90 minutes. Fofana is the kind of player who would be doing very well if he were playing with better companions.

      Royal v Kalulu is completely incomprehensible; you are right. Ibra indeed is a clown.

      Chuk has actually been improving lately. I used to think of him as a bust but I guess he’s not really one. But see, we practically played without a striker tonight, given that Morata was far from the box, so what exactly can Chuk do? Wingers depend on strikers in position to send the ball in for created opportunities. Yes, he is one-footed but at times he does make some brilliant plays. Not very often but at times he does. He is not a total waste of space, or at least, hasn’t been in the last few games.

      But yes, we have so many problems in so many areas, and in addition to several mediocre players, we also have a mediocre coach, and no proper Sporting Director. Scouting has been poor, too. Indeed the state of affairs is poor.

      1. Did you see Kalulu vs Inter? Lol. It’s not that we should have kept Kalulu over Royal, it’s that we should have gotten someone much better than Royal.

  19. Isn’t clown Zlatan’s sentence about Milan not needing a manager and therefore Conte not fitting within the project, more telling about the ambitions of this ridiculous management than anything? Why even get angry at these loses? On what grounds do we require more from a team that’s being managed by THESE people? It’s only logical that the day-to-day basis at Milanello is like this – random and apathetic. I don’t even think Leao and Fonseca care enough for the situation in order for them to have an actual fight.

  20. Terracciano was better than usual. Despite some failures, Musah was also better than usual but wasn’t clinical in the one chance he got. Morata was good but wasn’t playing inside the box so we actually had another midfielder but no striker. Chuk was our best player. He seems to be turning around the earlier impression that he was a bust. Poor Pulisic, people blamed him but he had the flu, including symptoms of fever and intestinal issues. He can’t do everything for this team when he is sick. Maignan was poor. Pavlovic allowed Lukaku to eat his lunch. The second goal developed from Emerson’s sector as usual. I thought that RLC was also better than his usual which doesn’t mean being great. Thiaw was decent. Fofana was good. Okafor, can Fonseca please explain to me what Okafor added to this team tonight? Like I said a few times, Okafor is very rarely good as a starter. The subs tried but failed to have an impact (Rafa and Puli could have scored; one was hindered by a good goalkeeper save, and the other one usually buries that, but he was sick therefore imprecise; Camarda had no time to make an impact).

    I only give a pass to Chuk, Morata, Fofana, and Terracciano. A few got close to earning a pass: Thiaw, RLC, and Musah, but didn’t quite earn one.

    Somehow, even if it’s still relatively early, this seems like the end of all hope to win the Scudetto.

    Napoli and Inter will continue to accumulate points, and we will not. I wish we somehow manage to at least finish fourth and maybe with a lot of luck, earn a trophy from Coppa or Supercoppa although I think it is more likely that we will be trophyless again and may even fail to qualify for the next UCL.

    At this point I think the only viable objective is to still finish 4th.

    1. “Okafor, can Fonseca please explain to me what Okafor added to this team tonight? Like I said a few times, Okafor is very rarely good as a starter.”

      He was arguably our best player between Udine and Brugge combined. Had a great first half in Serie A, but was subbed, because of the red card, and then came on and immediately assisted for Reijnders in CL. More than enough to warrant him a starting place over a disappointing Rafa who, again, proved useless tonight, despite being more involved than Okafor.

      1. What I said is “very rarely good as a starter.” That’s not the same as “never good as a starter.” Yes, Okafor on occasion has had a good first half as a starter. Rarely. What Okafor is, is a good super-sub. He is a lot more effective when he comes in at about 60 to 70 minutes, and is rested, against tired defenders; not as good when the defenders are just as rested or just as tired as he is, that is, when he starts. So, no, he shouldn’t be tried as a starter even if on occasion (rarely) he does relatively well; the statistical odds are such that more likely than not, his game suffers when he starts. It’s a question of using a player the most effective way, and for Okafor, that way is coming in late in the game against tired defenders.

    2. None of these players are anywhere good to start for Milan. The only three players that currently fit the bill from the team Fonseca fielded today were Leao, Puli, Fofana and maybe Chuk. That’s it …

      1. Well, that’s a bit harsh. Mike was not good today but he often is good. Mike was just named 5th best goalkeeper in the world. Top 5 in the world in any profession is being world-class. Reijnders often has good games and lately it seems that his finishing, which is by far his weakest skill, is slowly improving, so I think he is also worth of starting for Milan. Morata is also a good, experienced player who is intelligent with and without the ball. I don’t think we can say that he is not good enough to start for Milan. The one thing with Morata is that he seems to be a better CAM than a striker and it’s hard to understand why he spent his entire career as a striker, but I don’t think we can say he is not a player who is good enough for us.

        1. I forgot Mike. He’s obviously a starter. As for the rest I was referring to the players that started today. Against a Conte team. Not sure why Fonsy thought it was clever to start Leao and puli on the bench.

  21. When finding out Pulisic was put on the bench with the flu and already being without Théo and Reijnders everyone had to kind of know this was going to be tough to even get a draw. I don’t understand all the complaining about the Scudetto race being over already. It’s not. It’s just the end of October. Down 11 with a game in hand so potentially only down 8. Obviously things need to change but it’s not over yet.

      1. No but is it impossible to make up the points? I’m not saying they will but I’ve seen a lot crazier things happen in sports. I don’t actually think Napoli is that amazing or anything.

        1. Napoli maybe are not amazing or anything but they do have an amazing coach; it means that they are not likely to make a lot of mistakes. They played a rice-and-beans game today but devoid of any mistakes, and won comfortably. They are compact and uncomplicated. They defend well and counter well. Conte makes the best use of his players, unlike Fonseca. It will be VERY hard to trim down this advantage on points, when the team we need to catch is coached by Conte.

          1. Maybe so but I just think it’s too early to say the scudetto race is 100% over. I didn’t think Milan would win it before the season started and obviously it’s worse now but it’s still not out of the realm of possibility that they can turn it around. Come Christmas(maybe earlier) I’ll be willing to admit it’s over but everyone keeps saying it’s 11 points but we have a game in hand so it could be 8 points. I can say it’s over with possibly being only down 8 points and it’s still October. It is very unlikely though.

  22. Did you know what can safe our season? Definitely if we finish out of top 4. Our club don’t receive a money what they want and we will be -120m€ and this is the only think what can open eyes everyone in our management…. in that moment they need to buy more quality players and there is possibility also for new coach… and also new , more experienced management 😄😄
    But true is, this game we was definitely better then Napoli , but still they win 2:0 and are still 1. .. och where we going and how it finish…….

  23. This is a makeshift Milan team that was missing pivotal figures and starting with subpar players. Back is shaky AF and mostly Toothless up front. I mean it says something if Musah has the best chances.

    Hard to gauge Fonseca’s job here with so many key pieces missing. BUT Conte came in and showed us the ruthlessness and identity that he instills in his teams that this Milan sorely missing. While Fonseca keeps fiddling with players and fielding them out of position…

    This Milan is nowhere near a Scudetto challenge yet. Top4 at best. Won’t get very far in Europe either. So the management will need to sit down at the end of an empty handed season (by the looks of it) and figure out what they achieved in hiring Fonseca…

    1. They achieved not hiring someone who will have football ambitions and require more work from them. It has already been “figured out”. Firing Maldini didn’t provide enough clues for you?

      1. Maldini was a mediocre sporting director. I had no problem with bringing in an experienced SD and moving Maldini to a different role. But his pride wouldn’t allow for it.

          1. Fonseca was a strange choice and I’ve always criticized RedBird for it. There were always better options available. Dumb hire, after a year of knowing we needed to upgrade the coach…

  24. Not dissapointed as didn’t expect us to get a result.

    This was the B team in a lot of ways

    I liked how the players husseled, I’m glad Fonseca is trying to bring that. Unfortunately we just didn’t have the quality.

    We need quite a few players, again, to fix so many holes in the squad, where to start?

    We need to start using our young players, there are several worthy of a shot

    1. Take Napoli’s 4-5 starters out and see how they fair. Conte or not 😉 That’s why I think it’s tough to judge Fonseca given the absences.

  25. I never watched the game today(probably first time in years) but from what I read is that RLC was awful, same silly mistakes in defence and too many chances not converted.

    Another awful season and scudetto is already gone, just hope to get in the top 4. Just goes to show you should have splashed the cash on someone like Conte who wanted to come here as his first choice btw and he’s in first place and we’re suffering. The joys of being a milan fan I guess

    1. Actually, it was one of the few RLC sparks this season. Weird nuance overall, but it did happen. Some flashes from his PSG performance, but without the end product.

  26. We went out and played with 5 of 10 outfield subs.

    We created multiple chances and maintained possession for long stretches.

    Every backup played as a better form of them self. Some slightly some quite noticably.

    We are without Theo who got himself tossed for descent AFTER the game while wearing the armband.

    We are without Reinjders who also got a card.

    Out current best player in Puli was sick but still showed up (more than Theo could do)

    Out current best defender in Gabbia is injured.

    Our highest paid player is currently a liability (though he did show some signs of understanding the entire job description with some nice ball winning efforts today)

    Yet the moaning here is about management?

    Scudetto will be harder to win for sure. We have serious work to do in UCL to advance. Copa and Super Copa are still there for us.

    Yet the group in the he field played more together. The ball movement in the first half cut Napoli open and created dangerous chances.

    Those chances were often from our BACKUPs.

    Yet 30 of 33 comments are doom and gloom.

    To paraphrase Ghandi: “I like your Milan. I don’t not like your Milan Fans. They so do not like your Milan.”

    1. I was with you until your criticism of Leao.

      Leao is not in any way liability.

      This is just more #Leao out trending stuff.

      The Leao situation, and indeed the Tomori situation, the Calabria situation, the Theo situation, the Abraham situation, and all of the other situations point to a specific issue with the coach.

      The reality is that so far he has less than 1/4 of the squad performing anywhere near their potential.

      Lest we forget this squad, warts, Leao and all, have finished in the top 4 in the past 4 seasons, and in 3 of those seasons they finished in the top 2.

      Fonseca rocked up and decided to undermine the club captain, local hero and longest serving player.

      And guess what?

      Morale collapsed.

      Fonseca needs to go.

      Starting a game against Napoli without Tomori and Leao (with the other injuries and struggles you mentioned) should be a sackable offence.

      I want him gone.

      1. I did not say Leao out.

        He is a liability. If you cannot face that then it cannot improve.

        He came on and again the field tilted towards a guy who stands still before he touches the ball a majority of the time.

        Today, however not only was he in motion more but he tracked hard to win the ball back and rekindle the attack TWICE.

        This is something he doesn’t do. Now he is.

        Maybe – just maybe – there is a message from the Boss to the player? Maybe we saw a positive change we can hope for more?

        You are calling for change as the guy who wants every player to stay and develop? New coach means more player churn? C’mon man at least maintain a facsimile of consistency.

        We had a solid team concept today that suffered from our inability of finish. Chances were created from intentional ball movement.

        So yeah let’s FonzyOut so we can bring in a guy whose gonna bring back our “pass left” attack.

        I think I will _support_ the club. Warts, Leao, Fonseca and all.

        1. #Leaoisaliability is part of a trend which leads to #Leaoout

          It’s all part of this narrative.

          In what world is Leao a liability when he consistently creates multiple chances each time he steps on the pitch?

          It’s just more myth making.

          Like #CalabriaIsAWashedUp27YearOld.

          All of this #EndlessTransfers.

          I am perfectly consistent. I support:

          – the players;
          – coach; and
          – random suits,

          in that order.

          I will side with the players over the coach especially when this number are struggling.

          A coach can make or break players. Fonseca is breaking most of them.

          As for the churn, the men in suits are supposed to be the ones who put together a coherent squad based on a long term project, and then it makes it easier to hire and fire coaches if things aren’t working.

          That is literally the entire point of a director of football (and Milan seem to have multiple directors).

          It of course goes without saying that I want the management/men in suits gone.

          1. Unpopular opinion…
            But Leao has generally improved his defensive contribution since last season (a little before that actually). He tracks back, he wins balls. You make it seem like he’s responding to being benched and he is suddenly tracking back now. No.
            I also don’t think Fonseca’s problem with him is his defensive contribution. It’s more of this ‘breaking the biggest player’ thing he’s doing.

        1. I know we are not allowed to compare football with real life, but in what world does a new manager rock up to an existing team and undermine the line manager?

      2. There was a moment where Leao was jogging back from somewhere and the commentators were incredulous that he was doing so given the gravity of the situation. Lol, anyway. Remember the one player you do hate on our squad? Reijnders. Apparently Barcelona and City are lining up for him. Guardiola seems to like crap players suddenly.

        1. I’ve said elsewhere that I can see Reijnders becoming a superstar for those clubs.

          I know around people love to take sides but I don’t actually hate Reijnders. I, heaven forbid, criticised him.

          It’s probably not healthy having a player you refuse to criticise (whilst laying into several others).

    2. What about the games vs Torino, Parma, Lazio, Liverpool, Bayer04 and Fiorentina? They had nothing to do with the players and the manager who were all brought on by the management, right? Would you please point out what exactly has improved, compared to the Giampaolo-esqued first three games?

      1. Would you please provide a meaningful timeline for improvement?

        Okay it is not really fair to answer a question with a question. So …

        Unevenly but I each game we changed from the Pioli individual defense and individual offense with lateral and back passes to more forward passing, more off the ball motion, more covering the mistakes of others.

        During that time we have seen individual players – usually out so called leaders – behavior counter to the good of the group. CoolingGate, penaltyGate, red card that accomplished nothing.

        So we have improvement of the teamfootball in the face of all that resistance (there is much more but those are the obvious) culminating today in us putting up a great fight
        With our many of the rebellious not contributing.

        Message: You are not bigger than Milan. You are not bigger than the team.

        I take Milan as it is. Not some ideal from a bygone era. I want that success for Milan. I know (because I looked it up) that it took years to get to that level of consistency before it happened.

    3. You have to remember many here are Brits and they are professional moaners. If not management it would be something else. I know this would be un uphill battle after seeing the starting 11 and the match resulted in what we all thought would happen. At least Chukwueze is starting to cook so he gives us another option.

      1. No kidding on Chuk. I was not a fan at all! Now he is playing Puli into the 10 spot. Kudos to Fonseca for doing what Pioli seemingly could not with Chuk.

        Musah was observably better today and this is more of a trend. He and Fofana make a good pair.

        Thanks for being The Other Heir 🙂

    4. Wow, you are very optimistic. I commend you for that. I’m not. This team has too many issues, and a mediocre coach who not only can’t fix them, but also creates some of his own. Plus, clueless managers who do stuff like hiring Emerson and shipping out Kalulu. And now we’re 11 points behind a team coached by Conte. That’s not good.

      1. I am already weary of Conte as Baba Yaga. Clearly Fonseca looks way more like John Wick 🙂

        Seriously though it is not that I am optimistic. I am realistic.

        Math says we are in it.
        Napoli will slump as Conte’s act wears thin. They certainly looked quite vulnerable against our bench today.
        A cup gets us the trophy every seems to feel we are entitled to.
        Mgmt seem to realize this is a project (scope schedule and resources) and they have a plan beyond “win now so the moaning stops”

        I see a bright future for this team. Since I plan to live past this year I am happy to see us grow with Fonseca and take the pain that will come with it.

        Of note. I was peeved big time a few weeks back after PenaltyGate. I had lost faith until suddenly he decided he was th Boss. He is responsible. He sat Leao. He sat Tomorri. He is showing more trust to the bench.

        To win the Scudetto while playing Europe, all of these are preconditions.

        So he didn’t make problems, he is simply dealing with those left to him by the previous regime.

        I really hope y’all put away the razors and avoid warm baths on game days. Jeebers.

        1. Agreed. Gotta give Fonseca more time. And I’m someone who thought they should have kept Pioli. There are some positives, like beating Inter, Reijnders looks better, Pulisic somehow even better than last year, Fofana is playing pretty well, Chuk is starting to play well. If he can get Leao going then a front 4 of Leao, Puli, Chuk, and Morata could be formidable.

  27. Everyone praised Fonseca after 2-1 win against Inter. But for me, Fonseca mediocre smell never gone and here we are.

    Also, funny with people who think we are in the scudetto race. With Fonseca, it would be a miracle if at the end of this season we can get 3rd or 4th spot. Heck, i don’t think we can finish at 5th.

  28. If RLC starts or plays – you can be sure Milan will lose or draw the game!
    Even a below-average coach will know that RLC is the team’s biggest problem. I don’t fault Fonseca because RLC was not his purchase nor did he have any options on the bench as a replacement. So I will not blame Fonseca for that. If Milan doesn’t get rid of RLC and get a proper midfielder, Milan will lose more matches. Musah is poor, too, but it was Cardinale who wanted him and not the coaches. At least Musah makes an effort, which is non-existent in RLC’s case. If anyone can’t see that RLC is the problem and needs to be shipped in the immediate transfer window, I bet they are dumb or blind.

    1. Guess what, RLC whom I agree is not great, wasn’t in any way the worst player tonight. No, he’s not Milan’s biggest problem. He is “a” problem but not “the” biggest problem.

      For me, the biggest problem is Paulo Fonseca, and the whole management that hired him instead of getting someone like Motta or Conte.

  29. There’s very little point rating players when it’s quite clear none are playing anywhere near their potential.

    Even Pulisic, who seems to be one of the few players reaching his potential under Fonseca, struggled tonight with the flu/fever.

    But the rest showed a general lack of clue as to what to do.

    And that is not a criticism of any of the players. It is a criticism of the coach.

    Not starting Tomori and Leao against Napoli should be a sackable offence.

    Fonseca has alienated most of the few remaining Scudetto winners. He’s taken a squad that finished SECOND last season, and in the top FOUR in the past 4, and he’s alienated the core of that squad, and only a handful of players are playing anywhere near their potential.

    He needs to go.

    1. Your criteria for a starting place is “Scudetto winner 2022”? Not discipline, current form, development over the last two years? Against Fiorentina Tomori literally failed to clear a frickin’ goal kick which lead to their winner, I bet you were warm inside that at least he is a scudetto winner. That guy is more dangerous for Mike than he is to opponent’s strikers. Fonseca may be a mediocre coach, but refusing to change players who perform horribly, because of pasts events, is the most idiotic sounding argument I’ve ever read on this site.

      1. Well, that’s Maldini’s Heir for ya. He thinks that Calabria is the second coming of Jesus, because he is the captain and a long-serving player who is a boyhood Milan fan, all very good things to be, but he’s currently nowhere near what we need from a RB. Only worse than Calabria as a RB is Emerson. And Tomori, oh my God, he has made so many mistakes lately. Gone are his Scudetto days.

        But yes, he is right that this team is clueless under our mediocre coach who keeps experimenting with stuff, apparently never does his homework by watching tape of what has been tried and hasn’t worked, and keeps creating more controversies with players than solving them.

        1. What do WE need from a RB?

          Because I guarantee you the RB you think you need in your head is different to what someone else thinks in their head and you end up with Emerson Royal.

          Same with Tomori. We now have Pavlovic.

          But hey what did Einstein say was the definition of insanity.

  30. Reijnders’ Critics:
    Is the difference in our midfield with and without Reijnders palpable yet? Or are we still confused by what the Dutchman brings?

    1. Not a huge difference .

      Musah basically did the same job, and arguably we had more control of the midfield, albeit Napoli allowed that by setting up for the counter.

      The issue, and in defence of Reijnders, is that the team generally lacks direction and none of the players, including Reijnders, are playing near their potential.

      1. lol

        Reijnders is far from perfect, but he is the only guy in the roster who can play between the lines, dribble decently and eventually put a decent pass for the forwards. I like Musah but he is nowhere near in technique or football IQ

        1. My main criticism of him has been in his inability to play between the lines!

          But I will also give him the benefit of the doubt because few players are performing well under Fonseca.

    2. It seems to me that Reijnders lacks consistency. With the Netherlands team as well. At some moments he does well, at others he is nowhere to be seen or makes bad decisions. He also needs to improve in the defensive part of the game, as today it is “all players defend, all players attack”. That it is better to play him rather than Musah or RLC is easily understandable, but he needs to fix his issues in order to take his game to the next level and become a high quality mildfielder. He can’t become a top player, but still there is a lot of room for growth. Whether he will do that or not is another matter.

  31. Don’t know how many times I can say it BUT when you hire a MEDIOC coach – guess what – you get MEDIOCRE results. Hate to say it but – The worst thing that happened (for the long term good of the club) is that we beat Inter as that saved Fonseca’s job when he should have been fired.

    Aside from that win vs Inter – we have beaten Lecce, Udinese and Venezia and a 10-man Brugge. That is it. That is horrid. How he still has a job is beyond me. Amd he has managed to alienate Leao. Starts Oka and he bombs. Oh ya I forgot he’s cheap and doesn’t ask for players – that’s why. What an embarrassment. Great job Zlatan and co.

    And to think we COULD have had Conte LOL, and Lukaku etc…. LOL. Amazing management we have! Musah??? Hahahahaha the kid is a hard worker but and that is it no sense of the game. Pavlovic needs to sit and learn positioning. Emerson what a gem! Lol. Terraciano – another superstar 🤣.

    Changes need to be made that’s enough with Fonseca

  32. I’ll say this once again.
    The best coaches, the best teams…
    They find a way to get the best out of their most talented players. You don’t try to break the personality out of your top players, you give them confidence, trust, while earning theirs.
    Remove the personality out of your team, and you’re left with a bunch of averagely talented schoolboys, worker bees. They’ll win against Leece and Club Brugge but ultimately won’t have any tangible thing to show at the end ofnthe season. They certainly won’t excite.
    But go on, Leao’s music career is probably the problem.

  33. I’m thinking of all the quality managers that were available this summer…..and we choose this bum who came in what 4th in the French league. Great job Redbird, you suck.

  34. Bye bye Fonseca. Benching Leao in a game where so many key players are missing? A match this important?! He still thinks he’s the star of the show, that fans buy tickets to see him.

    And can we get one game with no 2-3 dangerous chances for the opponent in the opening minutes? Fonseca himself said his first and foremost objective was to improve our defensive game. Well, has he?

    On other topic, are we ready to acknowledge that Mike has average to mediocre shot stopping skills?

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