The minor misstep served as a lesson for Paulo Fonseca, writes Il Corriere dello Sport this morning. After a questionable lineup against Torino, the Portuguese coach has decided to reshape Milan for the first away game of the season against Parma, a match that paradoxically the Rossoneri cannot afford to get wrong, despite it being only the second matchday of the league.
This is why Fonseca has reverted to a more balanced Milan, relying again on some of his key players, such as Theo Hernandez and Tijjani Reijnders. The real change, however, lies in the fact that the former Lille coach has decided to rely on Noah Okafor rather than Luka Jovic to replace the injured Alvaro Morata, justifying this decision in yesterday’s press conference by saying:
“I have to be honest, tomorrow Okafor will play. It will be a different match. We want to have a different ability to play high compared to Saturday against Torino. Okafor responded well during the week, and the characteristics of the match suit his qualities. Noah will play tomorrow. Luka may be useful at another point in the match. Tomorrow I think it will be difficult, and we will need a higher and different pressing ability. That’s why Okafor will play.”
Fonseca, however, did not feel comfortable immediately dismissing the Serbian forward, who had a nondescript debut wearing the number 9 shirt against Torino, and he will still get his usual chance during the match.
In all this, with the burden of not being able to afford another mistake, the Milan coach has warned his team about Parma, a team that has shown it can compete with almost anyone with its ideas and quality, despite still being newly promoted, as Fiorentina knows well.
This is why Fonseca will approach the match at Tardini with a more cautious lineup, with Musah alongside Reijnders in midfield and Loftus-Cheek returning to play as an attacking midfielder with defensive duties to support the midfield.
