AC Milan Lack Structure as Liverpool Defeat Highlights Serious Flaws

As many expected, AC Milan manager Paulo Fonseca won’t be handing out any Portuguese delicacies to journalists next week.

The Milan coach announced in his pre-game press conference ahead of the Champions League game with Liverpool that should Milan beat both the Reds and city cousins Inter Milan in the Derby della Madonnina on Sunday evening, he’d treat all the journalists in attendance to pastel de nata, a Portuguese pastry.

The hope of eating a tasty egg tart filled with custard and a dash of cinnamon died rather quickly on Tuesday evening.

Milan went ahead in the opening three minutes after Christian Pulisic ran straight through the Liverpool defence and placed the ball into the corner of Alisson’s goal. Cue absolute pandemonium from the Milan fans inside San Siro.

Yet after the opening five minutes when Liverpool looked a little shaky, reminders of the two group stages game from the 2021-22 flooded back. The visitors soon equalised through Ibrahima Konate and then went in front through Virgil van Dijk, both centre-back scoring headers completely unmarked in the six-yard box.

It was defending of shambolic proportions and by half-time, it could’ve been three, with Mohamed Salah hitting the crossbar. 

The second half was much of the same: Milan running around without any semblance of a tactical shape, whereas Liverpool looked the picture of composure. Arne Slot’s men didn’t need to rush things and, truth be told, played within themselves and still looked far more comfortable than a European night at San Siro should’ve been.

The gap between Liverpool and Milan remains as big as it was three years ago. Dominik Szoboszlai added the third in the 67th minute, and it could’ve been more, but the Reds were wasteful with chances as the hosts rushed forward in search of their own. The away side looked sharper, more physical and quicker than Milan.

Even Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez, Milan’s two most-dynamic operators, looked sluggish in comparison to Liverpool.

It made for a horrendous night for all concerned with the Rossoneri, but the result really shouldn’t come as surprise to anyone who’d watched them this season.

Milan’s performances in the opening rounds have left a lot to be desired. The only victory has come in the 4-0 win against Venezia, with two draws and a defeat. Had Milan’s fixture list been more arduous, they likely wouldn’t have any wins.

Fonseca wasn’t a popular choice to replace Stefano Pioli amongst fans. After rumours of Antonio Conte, Sergio Conceicao and Roberto De Zerbi, the decision to opt for Fonseca screamed of a club who wanted a yes man and someone wouldn’t interfere in player signings.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has taken on an advisory role within the RedBird group that owns the club, stated as much in an interview in June, saying: “Milan needs a coach, not a manager.” Conte, went the thinking, would demand certain players, and this is not the kind of model the current Milan ownership demand.

Fonseca is a continuation of Pioli, who also didn’t demand players and never went public to vent any frustration – something Conte is infamous for. Yet the thing with hiring a yes man of a manager is that much of the time the leap in quality doesn’t come if the signings aren’t right, and in Milan’s case, last summer was questionable.

Emerson Royal, signed from Tottenham for €15m, has been a train wreck so far. Alvaro Morata has been injured and made only his first start on Tuesday night. Youssouf Fofana may come good, but against Liverpool he looked completely out of his depth, running around without any hint of tactical intelligence. Strahinja Pavlović is another who could morph into a very good defender, but the Serb was poor and at fault for Szoboszlai’s goal after a jaunt up field and a sloppy pass. 

Milan needed an immediate jump in quality from last season, but went for potential instead. 

Ibrahimovic hasn’t been immune to criticism from fans and journalists alike. The former Milan striker has reportedly been guilty of spending too much with the club’s youth academy, checking up on his son, Maximilian, rather than tending to the needs of the first team.

Moreover, he was questioned by Milan legend Zvonimir Boban on what his actual role is and his answer wasn’t exactly crystal clear: “I’ll explain now: I’m in charge, I’m the boss and everyone works for me,” stated Ibrahimovic.

Yet if he is the boss, he has his work cut out for him because, as evidenced against Liverpool, Milan are a team without a structure or identitiy, and could soon be a team without a coach. 

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