The match between two attacking teams like Milan and Fiorentina lived up to expectations, with plenty of goals—four in total—and a great atmosphere in the stands. The Rossoneri fans continuously cheered on a team that just can't seem to climb out of ninth place in the standings, while the Viola supporters, present in large numbers, were equally passionate. The final draw pushes Milan even further away from the Europa League spots, with the very real risk of ending the season completely out of European competitions. After all, the coaching change from Paulo Fonseca to Sergio Conceição has actually worsened the Rossoneri's league campaign.
Disastrous management...
The AC Milan environment was already boiling over, amid structural issues and the erratic nature of a team capable of beating Real Madrid in Madrid and then drawing three days later in Cagliari. But with the arrival of Sergio Conceição on the bench, things have gotten even more tense. The public argument on the field between the Portuguese coach and former captain Davide Calabria wasn’t an isolated incident of poor management. What happened last night with Yunus Musah may have been even worse: the American, at the center of the tragicomic error that led to Fiorentina’s opening goal, was subbed off in the 22nd minute by the former Porto manager.
He headed straight for the locker room to avoid the heavy boos from the entire San Siro, before being called back to the bench by Stranija Pavlovic and Alessandro Florenzi to apologize to the coach. For many, however, this early substitution felt like an unnecessary humiliation for a player that the Portuguese coach himself considers important—if not indispensable. Not to mention a similar incident already occurred in the match against Lazio, when the former Valencia midfielder was taken off in the 30th minute of the first half, as pointed out by Calciomercato.com.
Conceicao with many mistakes?
Sergio Conceição’s time with Milan will end at the close of the season (Giorgio Furlani’s pre-match comments all but confirm this decision), and it risks being remembered as one of the worst chapters in the Portuguese manager’s career. The Supercoppa Italiana win, earned over two matches and just three days after his appointment, does not erase a long list of tragicomic mistakes. The biggest of them was highlighted again last night with Fiorentina’s goals coming in the 6th and 9th minutes: under Sergio Conceição, Milan have found themselves trailing in 13 matches (the fourth consecutive one). Milan’s ninth-place standing is a direct consequence of a mental and tactical fragility for which Sergio Conceição bears major responsibility.
