If there was one sequence that epitomises AC Milan’s horror show of a season, it was in the fourth minute against Torino at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino.

The game was just settling in when a ball from right-back Marcus Pedersen was hit in behind the Rossoneri back line towards Antonio Sanabria. 

The Paraguayan striker gave chase, but was soon closed down by Milan defender Malick Thiaw and Mike Maignan, who’d rushed off his line to meet the lose ball.

Sanabria had ended up third in a three-horse race to the ball, but the goalkeeper’s attempted clearance smashed into Thiaw’s chest and back towards his own goal, and the pair could do nothing but see the ball roll into the net, giving the hosts an early lead.

It was calamitous, amateur and showed a lack of communication – Milan’s season in a nutshell.

The away side got an equaliser late in the second half through their only consistent performer this season, Tijani Reijnders, before capitulating again just two minutes later.

A Torino free-kick was taken quickly and, with Milan’s players still remonstrating over the decision, substitute Gvidas Gineitis was rolled in by Sanabria down the left.

Gineitis’ first-time shot caught Maignan by surprise, and the ball cannoned into the opposite corner of the goal, restoring Torino’s lead. Milan had no response and suffered another defeat in what was a terrible week.

The knives came out in full force in the aftermath. Such has been the real lack excitement from a Milan standpoint this season, the winter signings of Joao Felix and Santiago Gimenez have given Italian newspapers a reason to dub the new arrivals, in addition to Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic, as the ‘Fab Four’.

Yet the Fab Four have only managed to score one goal in 168 minutes while being on the pitch together. And even at that, the only goal — Gimenez’s goal against former side Feyenoord — came from a corner.

Hardly the kind of return Milan coach Sergio Conceicao, nor owners RedBird, wanted from four players of such individual quality.

Of course, it’s difficult to be too harsh on Felix and Gimenez. Yet Felix has already come in for criticism.

“He’s as handsome as he is useless,” said Italian journalist Fabio Ravezzani in the aftermath of the latest defeat.

Many believe that Felix’s introduction has hampered Reijnders, with the Portuguese forward now occupying the same spaces but with far less output than the Dutchman. Leao, who was once again ineffective in Turin, was hauled off by Conceicao at half-time.

La Gazzetta handed all of them between a 5 and a 5.5/10 in their match pagelle (ratings), and this against a club who’d won just twice in the prior 10 league outings.

In addition to the Fab Four, Milan have Samuel Chukwueze, Tammy Abraham, Riccardo Sottil and Luka Jovic all on the club’s books.

Those eight players earn just under €30m in wages, yet they’ve only produced a total of 17 goals in Serie A between them. Milan have the seventh-best attack in the league, with even the likes of Bologna and Fiorentina outscoring them. The Rossoneri need more.

Former Juventus and Chievo player Emanuele Giaccherini, now a pundit for DAZN Italia, believes this current Milan squad is better than the one who won the Scudetto less than thee years ago.

That drew a surprise reaction from fellow pundit Marco Parolo, yet Giaccherini isn’t that wide of the mark. On an individual level, this Milan side has more quality, but in terms of spirit, cohesion and tactical astuteness, they’re miles away from the 2022 team.

This season has seen Milan riddled by an almost comical series of errors. From own goals (Thiaw, for example, scored an own goal in both games against Torino this season) to basic mistakes (Maignan’s drop in confidence has been staggering) and from coach-player falling outs (think Leao and Theo Hernandez with Paulo Fonseca earlier in the campaign) to missing two penalties in a single game against Fiorentina.

Throw in the maddening inconsistency (beating Real Madrid one day, drawing against Cagliari the next), Hernandez getting sent off for diving, losing to manager-less Feyenoord after signing their best player the week before and the general lack of leadership in the starting XI, it’s been a season to forget.

Moreover, Milan’s last title win was built on a tight defence that conceded only 31 goals, yet Pierre Kalulu and Davide Calabria have both since departed San Siro, while Hernandez and Fikayo Tomori have regressed.

So with a leaky, error-strewn defence and a forward line that doesn’t score, what are Milan left with?

Reijnders has been the star of the season, with the Dutchman arguably the only major signings in recent years to develop. There have been moments of quality from Youssouf Fofana, but Milan’s recent track record when it comes to buying players has been nothing short of disastrous. The less said about Emerson Royal and Alvaro Morata, the better.

It’s no surprise then the reports in Italy suggest the club is seeking a new sporting director ahead of next season in order to rectify the damage done since the departure of Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara. 

Former Juventus and Tottenham director Fabio Paratici is being linked with the role, as is ex-Lazio director Igli Tare and Francois Modesto, who’s been at Monza since 2021.

It’s clear that the Giorgio Furlani-Geoffrey Moncada era has been underwhelming, with the pair chosen by RedBird to succeed Maldini and Massara. 

Yet whoever comes in this summer will have a mammoth undertaking on their hands, with it well established that Milan are in serious need of a major overhaul.

La Gazzetta believes that all of Hernandez, Leao and Maignan could be sold this summer, with the belief the trio have regressed since the title-winning campaign. 

Conceicao’s future is also in the balance, with the coach only likely to be kept on should they somehow qualify for the Champions League.

This in itself would need a minor miracle. With 12 games remaining, Milan would likely need to win at least 10 of the 12 and hope all of Juventus, Lazio, Fiorentina and Bologna drop a lot of points in between.

Italy’s chances of earning a fifth Champions League spot for next season have also diminished significantly, with Milan themselves playing a major role in that.

All of the issues point to an air of stagnation at Milanello. Milan represent a club weighed down by its own history, one who doesn’t know what it wants to be in 2025, one feeling around in the dark for a way out.