CM: Pulisic and Reijnders step up as Fonseca seeks new leaders for his Milan | OneFootball

One victory does not change AC Milan’s fortunes entirely but it provides a platform on which to build, and there are two new leaders within the team that Paulo Fonseca can construct around.

Calciomercato.com recall that there were various positives from the game against the Venetians such as Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez combining well, Tammy Abraham winning a penalty then scoring one and the centre-back pairing of Strahinja Pavlovic and Matteo Gabbia looking solid.

In addition to Mike Maignan, Theo and Leao, the report speaks of two other pillars of the Milan project moving forward: Christian Pulisic and Tijjani Reijnders. Both arrived last season, with the USA winger on 17 goals and 13 assists in 54 total appearances, while the Dutch midfielder has four goals and five assists.

After the poor start to the season and the controversy that arose from the cooling break incident during the Lazio game, Milan had the urgent need to find sources of charisma and leadership. Pulisic has stepped up again, with two goals and two assists in four games this season, while Reijnders continues to be the most important metronome in the midfield.

After giving indications that he can play in a more advanced role while away with the Dutch national team, Reijnders returned to Milan and did similar. Against Venezia he often swapped positions with Loftus-Cheek, but above all continued to show a desire to have the ball at his feet and to create.

With Reijnders in the middle and Pulisic on the right, Fonseca can always rely on two dynamic players who are ready to take any game by the scruff of the neck. After losing two leaders in Olivier Giroud and Simon Kjaer, Pulisic and Reijnders – together with Theo and Leao – are candidates to take their place.