If the victory against Venezia had brought a bit of serenity and confidence back to the Rossoneri environment, the 3-1 defeat against Liverpool in their Champions League debut has sent Milan back to hell and has dangerously shaken Paulo Fonseca’s position.
The derby on Sunday night could be decisive for his future at Milanello. In case of dismissal, the Milan management does not want to be caught unprepared and already has in mind who could potentially replace the Portuguese.

Maurizio Sarri in pole position to replace Paulo Fonseca at AC Milan
This morning La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that the priority for Milan is to hire a coach who favors a four-man defense and who can get the most out of the players acquired during the last summer transfer window.
For this reason, among the available coaches, Maurizio Sarri, who managed Lazio last year, is at the top of Milan's list, as we have explained to you recently. The former Napoli, Juventus, and Chelsea head coach would also bring international experience and could deploy the Rossoneri with a 4-3-3 formation, which might be perfect for this team.
Other names in Milan's radar to replace Paulo Fonseca, in addition to Maurizio Sarri:
Sarri is not the only candidate to replace Fonseca if he is dismissed. In fact, another profile that is of interest is Igor Tudor, who is highly regarded by Zlatan Ibrahimović (they were also teammates at Juventus). Among the free agents is also Massimiliano Allegri, whose return to Milanello is considered more of a suggestion than a concrete option.
There are also some foreign options, such as Thomas Tuchel (with an excellent track record but coming off a negative stint at Bayern Munich), Sérgio Conceição (already approached in the summer), and Edin Terzić (who was at San Siro on Tuesday watching Milan-Liverpool).
