Sergio Conceição has no intention of giving up; he believes in the chase for fourth place and will do everything to achieve it.
He said so on Saturday evening to the club executives in the belly of the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, during a post-match discussion that often takes place between the coach, Ibrahimović, Furlani, and Moncada.
The Portuguese manager is going through perhaps the most difficult moment of his coaching career, but he is not showing the slightest sign of giving in. He is angry, but not resigned.
"Our season is not over," he emphasized, "and we are here to secure fourth place. We will be competitive until the end."
For Conceição's thoughts to turn into reality, however, the ups and downs that the Rossoneri have been alternating since practically August must be avoided. Over the span of four days, from Thursday to Sunday, many things will become clearer because, against Bologna and Lazio—two direct competitors in the race for fourth place—the Rossoneri cannot afford to make mistakes.
What are Milan's numbers?
So far, Conceição has collected 14 points in 8 Serie A matches, maintaining an average of 1.75 points per game—better than Fonseca (1.59), but not enough to consider his record satisfactory. To finish behind Inter, Napoli, and Atalanta, surpassing the 70-point mark will be necessary. This means that 9 to 10 wins may be required in the 13 remaining matches on the calendar, including this week's rescheduled game at the Dall'Ara.
Easy?
Not even in a dream. So far, the club has won all three points in 11 out of the 25 matches played, meaning in 40.4% of cases. From now on, they would need to do so 9 to 10 times in 13 matches—nearly 70% of the time.
The required points-per-game average?
2.3 per match
Could the other teams lower the points threshold needed for Champions League qualification?
This weekend, Lazio, Bologna, and Fiorentina slowed down; Juventus (now +8) did not.
Since 2018—when UEFA’s reform guaranteed Italy four Champions League spots—the fourth-place team has often needed to surpass 70 points to reach the goal. It happened to Inter in 2017-18 (72 points, plus the head-to-head advantage against Lazio), Lazio in 2019-20 (78 points), and Juventus both in 2020-21 (78 points) and 2021-22 (70 points). The Bianconeri finished fourth with 72 points in 2022-23, but their 10-point penalty altered Allegri’s standings. Inter in 2018-19 and Atalanta last season secured fourth place with 69 points, in a year when fifth-placed Bologna also qualified for the Champions League.
Milan's focus and fitness
Starting next week, Conceição will be able to work at Milanello every day. Will he succeed in improving the physical condition of certain players who seem "heavier" than before? Will he be able to eliminate the mistakes that, in his view, stem from a lack of focus? Only in this way can he hope for a comeback.
His Italian adventure, after barely two months, is already at a crossroads, and his confirmation depends on Champions League qualification. The time for mistakes is over—Sergio knows this too.
Source: La Gazzetta dello Sport
