The loss against Fiorentina didn't sit well with the Portuguese coach, Paulo Fonseca. The English players, Fikayo Tomori and Tammy Abraham, are facing a lot of criticism: the two are expected to start from the bench in the next Serie A challenge against Udinese, scheduled for October 19th at San Siro.
This decision is meant as a warning to the rest of the AC Milan players: there is no tolerance for bending the rules.
The incident with the penalty kick stolen from Christian Pulisic, deliberately ignoring what Fonseca asked of them, was the final straw.
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Fonseca with his trusted men
AC Milan now needs to focus on solidity and collecting more points; and not on playing beautiful football. Except for the derby, the team hasn’t looked cohesive this season.
The former AS Roma tactician is facing unexpected challenges in managing his players. In fact, he felt "betrayed" by two of his key players, Abraham and Tomori, around whom he had planned to build his regular lineup.
He is disappointed and that is why he decided to punish them and not include them in the starting lineup against Udinese.
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Who will Fonseca deploy to replace Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori?
Noah Okafor can take advantage of this break to prepare himself. The former RB Salzburg forward wasn’t called up by Switzerland's coach for the Nations League matches, allowing him to train harder.
The coach's plan is to pair the Swiss player with Spanish star Alvaro Morata in the next match.
In place of Tomori, however, Serbian defender Strahinja Pavlovic is expected to start.
Meanwhile, Samuel Chukwueze remains outside Fonseca's tactical plans for now, as the starting right-winger is Christian Pulisic who is enjoying an excellent form.
Source: Calciomercato.com
