This evening, in addition to losing against Cremonese, Milan set a historic negative record. With the 2–1 defeat, the Rossoneri lost at home to Cremonese for the first time in over 100 years.
AC Milan, the last time Cremonese won away at San Siro was...
The last time it happened was on October 4, 1925, when Milan were beaten 4–1: back then Serie A didn’t even exist yet and San Siro was still under construction.
What did the first matchday of the league season say about Milan?
Well, that summer, like in school years, went by too quickly: it felt like matchday number 39 of the 2024–25 campaign. Milan lost at home to a small club and were whistled by the stadium, which is starting the season with its patience tank already empty: there’s little left to burn. Here are five takeaways on Allegri’s new-old Milan.
Big teams are recognized by their leadership, strength in their eyes and body language.
They win duels, control matches, and react when they go behind. Milan hasn’t had any of this for some time. In the last half hour, they created two chances, maybe three, without ever managing a proud reaction. They never gave the impression of dominating Cremonese, one of the two main relegation candidates. Allegri is used to locker rooms filled with champions, with many leaders ready to guide the team. He cannot accept that Milan is like this, and San Siro, so quiet, only adds to the problem. The crowd, even without the curva’s cues, could sing louder.
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A phrase that perfectly reflects Milan’s situation the day after their Serie A debut and just a week before the close of the transfer market. And within it lies a play on words with the surname of what now seems to be the club’s number one attacking target, after Victor Boniface’s medical tests failed to satisfy the Rossoneri, who consequently decided to send the Nigerian striker back to Bayer Leverkusen. As of August 24, Milan is a construction site, wide open, inside and outside the pitch.
The transfer market is still absolutely incomplete, and tactically there is great confusion, honestly unexpected after a positive preseason campaign by the Rossoneri. The San Siro match was, overall, played very poorly by Milan, who only had a spell of real danger at the start of the second half, with 3–4 good chances, before completely shutting down after Bonazzoli’s goal, the latest in a long list of mid-to-lower level players who turn into Ballon d’Or contenders against Milan. But beyond individual errors, much of the inadequacy shown against Cremonese also lies with Allegri himself, whose choices were, in several cases, quite questionable.
Like the case of Samuele Ricci: the starting playmaker throughout preseason, only to be relegated to the bench in the season opener. Or the decision to field Loftus-Cheek and Fofana together, two players with no real way of coexisting. And finally, Estupiñán: the South American honestly played poorly in the first half, but why take him off immediately after delivering an assist that could have boosted his confidence? Especially to bring on Jiménez, who always brings liveliness, but also far too much confusion and naïve protests.
Pitch and transfer market: Milan is a wide-open construction site:
It is also true that Allegri had very few alternatives on the bench. Only eight outfield players: three defenders, three midfielders, and two wingers. And here we arrive at the other problem in Via Aldo Rossi: the transfer market. To have only one centre-forward in the squad at the end of August is almost a crime; to have no true defensive leader after selling Thiaw for €40 million is just as bad. A shorter squad without European competitions is acceptable, but not like this, it’s too much. Matches are often won thanks to substitutions, and today that would be impossible. After a reckless season like the last one, it was fundamental to start well, to restore confidence in an environment that risks growing more disenchanted by the day.
We will see in the coming hours what effects the transfer summit held recently at Casa Milan between Allegri and the Rossoneri management will produce. Even though the player who was close to arriving (Conrad Harder, precisely) looks like yet another young prospect who will need time to develop and, inevitably, to make mistakes, time that wearing the Milan shirt almost never grants. Allegri, who must be expected to provide greater defensive solidity, has always needed very strong forwards throughout his career, because when it comes to coaching the attacking phase in general, he has been and still is rather lacking. With less than five days to go before Lecce–Milan, it’s a race against time…
