Milan, who suffered their second consecutive defeat in Serie A when Sassuolo scored three at San Siro on Sunday, have conceded seven goals in two games and are without a clean sheet in four league games.
The Rossoneri have struggled domestically but secured a win in the Spanish capital against Atletico Madrid, which gave Milan hope of a possible qualification to the last 16 in the Champions League.
Stefano Pioli’s men lost 4-3 to Fiorentina in Florence, the first in the league this term, and the Neroverdi continued to stun the Diavolo over the weekend.
The match against the Viola had many positive aspects and a few regrets after a well-played game by the Rossoneri.
But the defeat to Alessio Dionisi’s men on Sunday showed a different side of the squad, as they didn’t manage to react to the setback in Florence.
Mike Maignan was back in the starting line-up, when captain Alessio Romagnoli scored the opening goal.
Sassuolo striker Gianluca Scamacca equalised with a great finish, before Simon Kjaer’s own goal turned the match around for the Neroverdi, who seemed to be in control of the momentum after going up 2-1.
Domenico Berardi made it 3-1 after 66 minutes and Romagnoli was sent off 11 minutes later to make the task even harder for the home side.
Milan didn’t manage to bounce back, as Pioli’s admitted the team ‘lacked sharpness and made too many mistakes in the 3-1 defeat to Sassuolo.
Inter are thus one point behind their local rivals and Napoli broke free at the top of Serie A with a big reaction to their first loss in Serie A – the 3-2 defeat to the Nerazzurri just over a week ago.
Napoli bounced back with a 4-0 win against Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio on Sunday and are thus three point clear at the top of the table.
Pioli needs to solve the leaky defence immediately, even if he didn’t want to blame only the defenders after another heavy defeat in the league.
But seven goals conceded in the last two games demonstrates a defensive blackout for the Diavolo and a team aiming to fight for the Scudetto can’t afford many of those performances.
Pioli’s men have one win in the last five games across all competitions but have a chance to make things right already on Wednesday.
The Rossoneri travel to Genoa, aiming to keep their first clean sheet in four league games.