Milan coach Paulo Fonseca is not the only one Italian pundits blame after the Rossoneri suffered four defeats in the opening nine games of the season.
Fonseca’s Milan have lost two matches in Serie A and two more in the Champions League and are already five points below league leaders Napoli.
The race for the Scudetto is expected to be as unpredictable as ever this season as Inter will be tasked with defending the title, while Napoli and Juventus want to bounce back after an unconvincing 2023-24 campaign. Bookmakers on askgamblers.com still see the Rossoneri among the title contenders, but Fonseca’s men will need a drastic U-turn in the coming weeks, especially because their direct opponents already seem to have a clear identity, while the Diavoli have had way too many highs and lows this term.
Their 2-1 win over city rivals Inter in September was a massive boost and helped Fonseca save his job at San Siro, but Milan will need more performances like that to remain among the top sides in Serie A.
Milan missed two spot kicks in their most recent league game against Fiorentina, upsetting their coach, given that the designated penalty taker, Christian Pulisic, was ignored on the pitch, seeing Fiorentina keeper David De Gea save Theo Hernandez and Tammy Abraham’s penalty kicks.
Fonseca was fuming at a post-match press conference in Florence: “Of course I am upset [that players changed the penalty kick taker]. Christian [Pulisic] should take penalties. It must never happen again, and I told the players,” he said.
Milan players are as criticised as their coach lately and former Rossoneri star, Giovanni Galli, was particularly harsh on them in a recent interview with TMW.
“I don’t think they had an appropriate attitude in the game against Fiorentina,” said the former Italy international.
“It did not reflect the history and importance of the Diavolo. These players must understand the shirt’s weight, but it’s hard because Matte Gabbia is the only Italian player. Playing for Liverpool, Real Madrid or Milan makes no difference for the others.”
Davide Calabria is another Italian player in the Rossoneri squad, but the captain was injured against Fiorentina and his future at the club is in doubt with a contract expiring in June 2025.
Galli is convinced that changing coach would produce no effect at San Siro as the ex-Roma boss deserves a chance to “continue his work.” Milan have also lost their opening Champions League games, so the next meeting with Club Brugge at San Siro is already a key game for their fortunes in Europe’s elite competition.