Paulo Fonseca Keeps His Word as AC Milan Thrash Sassuolo to Keep Coppa Italia Bid Alive

Paulo Fonseca stayed true to his word. 

In the lead up to AC Milan’s meeting with Sassuolo in the Round of 16 of the Coppa Italia, the Portuguese had promised the Rossoneri would take the competition seriously. 

He was abundantly vindicated with just 23 minutes gone, as Milan led the Serie B leaders 4-0 courtesy of a brace from Samuel Chukwueze, Tijjani Reijnders and Rafael Leao.

Davide Calabria and Tammy Abraham added two more in the second half either side of a goal from Samuele Mulattieri as the hosts swatted aside the Neroverdi 6-1 to book their place in the quarter-finals.

By Milan’s standards this season, this was a surprisingly straightforward evening, exactly as, one suspects, Fonseca had planned.

“It was a brilliant performance,” the Portuguese said in his post-match press conference. 

“We played some beautiful football. The first half was outstanding and made it easier to manage the team. We were very professional and showed a great attitude. I’m delighted.”

Too often this season, Milan have taken their eye off the ball against opponents they were expected to beat, a frustrating trait for a team capable of beating Inter Milan and shocking Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.

In that respect, dispatching Sassuolo, albeit one fielding a largely changed starting XI, with such ease is a step in the right direction.

Even more significantly, while keeping the likes of Reijnders, Leao, Youssouf Fofana, Calabria and Fikayo Tomori, Fonseca rotated his starting XI.

“​​There’s always a risk of complacency in matches like this, so I emphasized the importance of starting with intensity,” the Milan manager said. 

“The team responded with a brilliant high press. 

“We’ve had issues with our mentality in the past, excelling against top teams but struggling against others. 

“I take full responsibility for that, but seeing the players perform this way is incredibly satisfying.” 

The Portuguese knows full well the importance of winning a domestic cup, having done so at Braga in 2016 and at Shakhtar Donetsk in the following three seasons.

With Milan 10 points adrift of Serie A leaders Napoli and success in the Champions League highly unlikely, the Coppa Italia provides the Rossoneri with a realistic target.

Lifting the trophy also guarantees a spot in the Europa League and in the final four of the Supercoppa Italiana.

More significantly, while it may lack the glamour of the Scudetto or the Champions League, the Coppa Italia has developed into a stepping stone towards greater prizes.

Roberto Mancini and Jose Mourinho both kicked off their winning cycles at Inter by winning Italy’s domestic cup.

And even at the peak of their nine Scudetto in a row, Juventus took the competition seriously, winning it in four consecutive seasons.

“The Coppa Italia is firmly in our sights,” said Tomori. 

“We’re a strong team and our ambition is to win every competition we enter, including the Coppa Italia, the Champions League, and the league.”

Sassuolo’s visit to the San Siro was hailed as a dress rehearsal for Fabio Grosso’s men.

Top of Serie B and with by far the best squad in the division, it would be a surprise not to see the Neroverdi return to calcio’s upper echelon at the first time of asking.

If Sassuolo do win promotion, they will be hoping to put up more of a fight than they did on Tuesday night.

Admittedly, Grosso had one eye to the Serie B campaign and left Kristian Thorstvedt and Armand Lauriente – the Neroverdi’s top scorers this season – on the bench along with Domenico Berardi.

The Coppa Italia would have represented a glorious bonus for Sassuolo, whose main objective this season remains returning to Serie A.

Bad as the defeat against Milan was, it does not alter the fact Grosso’s men remain the team to beat in Serie B.