AC Milan's team, led by coach Paulo Fonseca, failed last night at the Artemio Franchi stadium against Raffaele Palladino's Fiorentina. The match ended 2-1 in favour of the hosts. The Rossoneri, failed to convert two penalties, which were taken by Theo and Abraham when they were not supposed to.
In addition to that, the French left-back, who was wearing the captain's armband, received a straight red card after the final whistle for his protests to the referee Luca Pairetto.
With last night's nightmare of a defeat, Milan now have four defeats in just 9 matches. Two losses came in the Champions League and the other two were in the Serie A with 13 goals conceded.
At this rate, even the minimum goal for the Milan club management, which is qualifying for the Champions League for the 2025-2026 season, risks becoming complicated.
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So, is Fonseca at risk of being sacked from Milan?
Essentially, yes, writes PianetaMilan.it. The victory in the derby had helped strengthen his position, but the defeat in Florence, especially given the manner of it, inevitably calls his position into question.
His leadership over the group of players does not seem particularly strong either. Just look at the situation regarding the missed penalties by Theo and Abraham, which Pulisic should have taken, and on which the players acted independently.
Changing now, immediately, could mean for AC Milan having days without matches to work with a new coach to get back on track. Perhaps focusing on a new tactical setup, new motivations, and trying to turn things around.
The project entrusted to the Portuguese coach seems to be heading towards failure. True, national team commitments will take many players away from Milanello, but after that, they will be playing every three days, and a change at that point risks being a gamble.
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Who could replace Paulo Fonseca?
In fact, Milan could replace their coach with one of Maurizio Sarri (the favourite), Igor Tudor (who follows closely behind and has excellent relations with Zlatan Ibrahimović), and Sérgio Conceição.
Paulo Sousa is also liked by the Rossoneri management as a potential 'outsider.' Sarri and Conceição would fit well with the squad of this Milan, given their formation (4-3-3) and playing principles.
Tudor (3-5-2 or 3-4-2-1) would represent a decisive shift in defensive and character aspects.
Finally, PianetaMilan explain that they don’t find an approach between Milan and Massimiliano Allegri plausible. The former coach of the Rossoneri (2010-2014) commands too high a salary, and, as is well known, RedBird is not keen on spending so much on this aspect.
