The Cult of Calcio
·31 October 2024
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Yahoo sportsThe Cult of Calcio
·31 October 2024
Milan suffered their third loss of the season against Napoli on Tuesday and have amassed just 14 points in their first 9 matches. They had never started this slowly with Stefano Pioli at the helm. They always reached the 20-point threshold in the previous four years, La Gazzetta dello Sport indicates (via Calcioblog).
The Rossoneri hadn’t commenced a campaign this poorly since 2019/2020, when Marco Giampaolo was fired after seven rounds. The brass isn’t considering a coaching change at this stage or in the near future. They continue to back Paulo Fonseca.
Milan are in the middle of the pack both offensively and defensively statistically. Their attack hasn’t been elite despite their summer reinforcements, and their backline has been too lax in multiple games.
The Rossoneri wish to restart from a pair of reactions, like the one versus Udinese in ten men, and the Napoli game. They weren’t outplayed despite being depleted. The roster has some holes that won’t be easy to address for the boss.
They have two big problems: the lack of a clear identity and, while it’s way too optimistic to think about the title race, also the fray to make the top four will be brutal, and missing out would be disastrous. The start by the Italian contingent in Europe wasn’t promising, and an encore of what happened last season, when Serie A earned a fifth spot, seems unlikely. They might end up having to fight with the likes of Juventus, Atalanta, and Lazio, which have their own defects but are in better shape than the Rossoneri.