Il Corriere dello Sport published Franco Ordine comments on Milan victory against Lecce:
"Raise your hand if you’ve ever thought about this 'Fonseca formula' that has allowed Milan to get back on track and abandon the lazy inertia displayed in the first four rounds of the tournament."
"Raise your hand if you ever imagined that by fielding Leao and Pulisic on the flanks and then adding Morata and Abraham to pound the central areas, taking turns like good teammates, with one coming back if the other is stopped, to cover and recover valuable balls, an offensive vein could be discovered that hadn’t even been considered in the face of unrestrained optimism.
Yet in the folds of the September international break, while looking at Lake Como, where he decided to settle, Paulo Fonseca had that crazy idea that was transformed from the derby into a winning move last night. In psychology, the same method is used to overcome the fear of water in babies: courageous mothers throw them into the pool, watching them float back up. And that’s what the Portuguese coach did, who has never read Pessoa's literary works but has certainly memorised some military manuals. In the era of Leonardo as coach, following the incomparable Carlo Ancelotti, Milan took refuge in the wild fantasy of Ronaldinho, Seedorf, and Pirlo under the same conditions; Fonseca did the same last night against Lecce, which, despite the result, was by no means an easy opponent.
More on Paulo Fonseca's work:
Don’t have courage? I’ll force you to have it! His formation has become a '4-2-goal' because in the meantime Milan has become the team with the highest turnover in terms of goals, despite the negative start of the season. But this is precisely the point. Goals have never been a problem, even in Stefano Pioli's seasons. Last year, the second place behind Inter and the double elimination first in the Champions League and then in the Europa League was marked by the same trend: 96 goals scored, too many like the 59 conceded, at the end of the season.
Yet from his very first day at Milan, Fonseca has never had doubts. That phrase that seemed like an excess of optimism ("we're looking for a dominant style of play") is slowly coming to light, although more confirmations are awaited, especially on an international level to understand if this setup can withstand the pressure from European armies."
Tuesday in Leverkusen, against Bayer, is the right opportunity to answer this other question.
