As well as being on the bench, Sergio Conceição is also... on the platform. The one for the last train of the season. Tonight at San Siro, ninth-placed Milan host Fiorentina, who sit one level above with a view of Europe, just one point behind Roma and Lazio. For the Rossoneri, on the other hand, qualifying for European competitions via the Serie A standings is becoming incredibly difficult. Fiorentina are four points ahead, and the Roman duo even five: it follows that failing to win today would likely bring Milan’s hopes of a comeback to an end.
The Coppa Italia would still remain as a lifeline to cling to, but in addition to Inter in the semi-finals (1-1 in the first leg, return on April 23), they would then need to beat the winner between Bologna (heavily favored after the 3-0 in the first leg) and Empoli. In short, when Tammy Abraham, after Wednesday’s derby, used the usual cliché about “eight finals,” he wasn’t far from the truth: Milan must win every time if they want a realistic target in the near future.
Doubt
No pre-match press conference for Conceição, whose last-minute headache is named Tijjani Reijnders. The Dutch midfielder had to leave training early yesterday due to illness. He’s been struck by a virus similar to the one that sidelined Musah before the derby against Inter.
Today will reveal whether Reijnders can recover or not — early signs suggest pessimism. If he can’t play, the leading candidate to replace him is Bondo, currently ahead of Musah in the pecking order. As a result, Pulisic — who scored in the reverse fixture in Florence — will be deployed again as the central attacking midfielder.
Guess who’s back?
With Alex Jimenez suspended, who will play on the right wing? Samu Chukwueze is warming up. The Nigerian hasn’t started a game under Conceição, and his last start dates all the way back to last year: Milan-Roma 1-1, on December 29 — the night Paulo Fonseca was dismissed. The next day, Conceição arrived at Milanello. He immediately placed his trust in Fikayo Tomori in defense. The Englishman, who seemed close to leaving multiple times in January, ultimately stayed. But since his red card at Empoli, he’s only played half an hour — in the return leg of the Champions League playoff. Virtually disappeared. Yet, Conceição now seems seriously intent on relaunching him tonight against Fiorentina. The same opponent against whom Tomori had a disastrous first leg: first, handing his friend Abraham the ball for Milan’s second missed penalty of the game; then, failing miserably to stop Gudmundsson on Fiorentina’s second goal. Not surprisingly, Fonseca “punished” the former Chelsea man by benching him for the following matches.
Key players
This time, there's no risk of Pulisic having a penalty “stolen” from him. After Gimenez’s miss in Naples (saved by Meret), the American won’t be handing out favors to struggling teammates — especially against Fiorentina, who will remind him of what happened in Florence earlier in the season (first Theo, then Abraham took the spot-kick instead of him, both being denied by De Gea). Speaking of which, the Mexican striker seems headed for his third straight game on the bench, overtaken in the pecking order by Abraham. The Englishman didn’t shine at the Maradona but bounced back with a goal in the Coppa derby and is now fired up. In this final stretch of the season, Tammy will try to convince Milan to give him another chance, negotiating with Roma for a permanent deal. It’s a complicated scenario, both in terms of transfer fee and salary — but never say never.
Source: La Gazzetta dello Sport
