AC Milan's head coach, Stefano Pioli, is the topic of discussion yet again at La Gazzetta dello Sport in their website.
Last December 22nd, with the draw on the field against the bottom-placed Salernitana, Pioli seemed very close to leaving Milan at the end of the season: now, on the contrary, the chances of him still being the Rossoneri coach in the 2024-2025 season are increasing.
In fact, Pioli, in the storm, maintained a solid relationship with the team. This, according to the newspaper's website, is the first reason to turning the tables around. Milan has overcome difficult moments with group unity: Pioli, with strengths and weaknesses, has managed to bring out the best in the Rossoneri. Both in terms of gameplay (although they concede a few too many goals...), and in terms of contributions from individual talents like Rafael Leao, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Christian Pulisic, etc.
Pioli's Milan has won the last 6 games, has the second-best attack in the league, and has several points advantage over Roma (14) and Atalanta (15): they can focus on the Europa League. With 65 points in 30 games (an average of 2.17 points per game), Milan, with Pioli, has done slightly better only in the season of the last Scudetto.
Furthermore, the newcomers have started to understand what Serie A is all about, and Pioli deserves credit for making clear choices. Ruben Loftus-Cheek, but also Tijjani Reijnders and Christian Pulisic immediately as starters; Noah Okafor, Yunus Musah, Samuel Chukwueze, and Luka Jović as alternatives.
The derby and the Europa League journey may weigh heavily for Pioli and Milan
Milan has emerged from the injury crisis, which effectively hindered their Scudetto race, with Theo Hernández in the center, the return of Matteo Gabbia, and Pioli's great work. Now, however, for his confirmation on the Milan bench to become reality, Pioli will have to overcome the hurdles of the derby on April 22nd and, first, the double confrontation in the Europa League against Roma.
A Milan with a Europa League semifinal in hand and, perhaps, with the trophy in the cabinet, and with a good result in the derby, would certainly give Pioli further numbers to prove to the management that he deserves to stay. In any case, it seems that the Milan club is leaning towards confirming him. In fact, Paolo Scaroni said as much with his statement before the match against Fiorentina: "Pioli stays, I've always said that. I like those who win and Pioli is doing well."
