Milan confirmed its choice to drastically break the chain of negative results achieved with Paulo Fonseca, to continue weaving a new one with Sergio Conceição.
Perhaps not much has changed yet in terms of on-field performance, perhaps defensive weaknesses are still visible, perhaps the offensive phase is still ineffective, but with the former Porto coach, the team reacts, has more energy, and does not give up, as relayed via Il Correire dello Sport.
In one word: comeback.
That is something that never happened with the former Roma coach. NEVER. Between Serie A and the Champions League, Milan had gone behind nine times with Paulo Fonseca on the bench, without ever being able to turn the match around; at most, Leão and his teammates had managed to earn a point. Never a full haul. Starting with the first three matchdays: behind against Torino, behind against Parma, behind against Lazio, with only two points earned in total thanks to goals in the final against Torino and against Lazio.
Even in the first two Champions League matches, the same false start was confirmed: behind against Liverpool after Pulisic's initial goal, the Reds even increased the gap, while at Leverkusen the 1-0 scored by Boniface remained intact.
In the league, the pattern did not improve over the weeks: no comebacks in Florence (a 2-1 defeat after Pulisic's equalizer), against Napoli (a 2-0 loss at San Siro), in Cagliari (a dramatic 3-3 after an opening goal by Zortea and two equalizers for Milan from Zappa in the final moments), and in Bergamo (2-1 in stoppage time, with Lookman scoring after Morata's 1-1). Then came Sergio Conceição, and the change was drastic. In the Italian Supercup, the story is well-known: Milan first came back against Juventus in the semifinals with Pulisic's goal and Gatti's own goal, then beat Inter in the final with goals from Theo, Pulisic, and Abraham in stoppage time.
The rest is recent: a Como advantage with Diao's goal, followed by a Milan turnaround with goals from Theo and Leão for the final win. Conceição, in short, has made three comebacks in three matches in which Milan was behind. And, curiously, he did not win the only game (against Cagliari) in which his team was ahead. Clearly, the sample of matches is still small, but the shift from "never" to "ever" means something.
Conceicao has brought new energy and vitality to the Milan team.
Of course, the Rossoneri's game has not yet been brilliant, but victories help build confidence and good spirits, especially those achieved with determination. The time for training is limited: Milan will continue to play every three days at least until mid-February.
Conceição has made it clear that he wants to focus on the physical and athletic side: to implement his high-intensity and pressing game, he needs Morata and his teammates to be in better condition. For now, it is already important to have broken the chain of missed comebacks.
