On December 29, AC Milan stumbled to a 1-1 draw against Roma. It was the third time in four league matches that the Rossoneri had failed to win, and it was also the final straw for Paulo Fonseca.
Having only arrived in the previous summer, the Portuguese coach was given his marching orders with the club in eighth place. The Rossoneri decided to replace him with his compatriot – Sérgio Conceição.
His first test came in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with Milan facing off against Juventus in the Supercoppa Italiana semifinals. Kenan Yıldız broke the deadlock early on for Juve, but Christian Pulisic would level proceedings from the penalty spot in the 71st minute, whilst Milan took the lead shortly after to confirm their spot in the final. Milan looked to be headed for a defeat after Lautaro Martínez and Mehdi Taremi scored on either side of the interval, but Theo Hernández would pull one back in the 52nd minute. Christian Pulisic levelled the scoring against Inter in the 80th minute, whilst Tammy Abraham secured the comeback victory with a 93rd-minute winner, as Milan prevailed with their first trophy in nearly three years.
“Conceição is a coach who can mark an era at Milan due to his personality, methodology, history, and way of being,” stated ex-Paraguay midfielder Diego Gavilán.
“I followed him a lot in Portugal, and I'm not surprised that he went to Milan, or that he managed to win a title immediately after joining, a title against none other than Inter,” added Gavilán. “Those viral videos of him celebrating in the locker room make it so that these players can see him in a different light and have an important bond, and enjoy a more comfortable coexistence on a day-to-day basis.”
Nearly two months later, it’s fair to say that Milan have failed to build on this early momentum. After succumbing to a 1-1 draw against lowly Cagliari, Milan bounced back by beating newly promoted Como 2-1 before falling to Juventus and edging Girona in the UEFA Champions League and Parma in Serie A. They looked to close out January with a victory at Dinamo Zagreb, who had already been eliminated. If they won, they’d confirm their place in the Champions League Round of 16.
Instead, Martin Baturina would put Dinamo Zagreb in front within 19 minutes. Pulisic would level proceedings for Milan in the 53rd minute, but ex-Juve man Marko Pjaca would restore Dinamo Zagreb’s lead and force Milan to go through the knockout round playoffs. Milan would nevertheless rebound by drawing 1-1 to Inter and beating Roma 3-1 to confirm their spot in the Coppa Italia semifinals, before edging Empoli 2-0. However, they suffered back-to-back Champions League defeats on February 12, with Igor Paixão opening the scoring within three minutes for Feyenoord.
It has been a disappointing February for Milan, but perhaps the one bright spot has been Santiago Giménez. Having joined on February 3 from Feyenoord for €32 million, the Mexican striker grabbed an assist vs. Roma and a goal vs. Empoli before breaking the deadlock within a minute against his former side. Milan looked headed for a place in the Round of 16 until the 51st minute, when Theo Hernández received a second yellow. 22 minutes later, substitute Julián Carranza would put Feyenoord back on top and secure a 2-1 aggregate victory for the Eredivisie side.
Giménez was nevertheless kept under wraps in their following match at Torino, with Vanja Milinković-Savić delivering an inspired display in goal. Torino took the lead via an own goal from Malick Thiaw, and when Milan had a chance to equalize in the 32nd minute, Milinković-Savić thwarted Pulisic’s penalty effort. Tijjani Reijnders would eventually draw level in the 74th minute, but Torino would instantly retake the lead via substitute Gvidas Gineitis, securing a 2-1 victory for the Granata.
It meant that, after 15 games, Conceição’s record is worse than Fonseca’s first 15 games in charge.
Milan are averaging 1.8 points per game under the former Porto coach, in contrast to Fonseca’s 2.06. The Rossoneri sit eight points off the Champions League positions and 16 points off league leaders Inter, and they are in desperate need of a quick turnaround.
Milan will be facing off against Bologna, Lazio, Lecce, Como, Napoli and Fiorentina over the following two months before taking on Udinese. Whilst they still harbor ambitions of winning their first Coppa Italia title in 21 years, it goes without saying that top four will be the harbinger of success. Conceicao’s contract runs until the summer of 2026, with the Portuguese coach earning €1m per season in wages, although he will earn an annual €2m per year if he remains for 2025/26. However, Milan reportedly have a termination clause that allows them to cut ties if they fail to qualify for the Champions League. And if they fail to turn things around in a timely fashion, it seems Milan may have no other choice but to move on.
By: Zach Lowy / @ZachLowy
