Before the derby, there had been suggestions of a split at AC Milan in several ways. However, against Inter, the Rossoneri were a united team, so what changed? Well, a report has suggested Paulo Fonseca hosted a special event to unify things, and it seemingly paid off.
Questions have been asked about Milan since the opening day draw against Torino, and with poor results against Parma and Lazio, speculation was rife about the reasoning. Reports began suggesting there were splits within the group, and with Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao not joining a team gathering against Lazio a flame was lit.
Although the event was not intended to cause harm, it painted a picture hard to see in another way. Partner this with suggestions that there have been splits between Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the Portuguese head coach, and things seem concerning.
However, towards the end of last week, reports suggested that things were more united at Milanello, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic speaking to the squad on Thursday to assist things. Today, another reason for the unity has come to light.
Sky (via Milan News) have reported that the Diavolo had a barbecue after Friday’s training session led by Fonseca. With this, the group have seemingly become closer, and this showed in the performance on Sunday night with them showing deeper trust in their manager.
I’d be interested to hear Fonseca’s opinion on Leao’s performance. From what I saw of the second half he looked dangerous but we seemed to be attacking most of the second half. Fonseca has one chance at this, to get Leao straight. This team has to work as a unit
Fonseca had to have given instructions not to attack down the left for some reason. Even with Leao not in form I’ve never seen him pass back so often.
Any good coach will tell you that a coherent team spirit is half the solution, the rest is execution. If the mindset is right you can achieve miracles with an average team. Our 6 straight defeats in the derby was more mental than ability. And this weekend we saw a team that started believing. The big ask is to maintain this spirit…there’s work to be done.