Home of AC Milan, Official Thread

Home of AC Milan, Official Thread

AC Milan clinched a spot in the Europa League group stage by overcoming Rio Ave after a thrilling penalty shootout. Saelemaekers and Calhanoglu (penalty) scored for the Rossoneri.

STARTING XI


Donnarumma (7 – MOTM): Although Milan conceded two goals in the course of the game, none of them can be blamed on the goalkeeper. Gigio was imposing both during the game and the penalty shootouts as his last penalty save gave Pioli’s men a much-needed victory.

Calabria (6): The Italian right-back delivered a decent performance, helping the team create many dangerous chances. However, in a must-win game, a decent performance did not seem to be enough, especially in defence.

Kjaer (6.5): Not particularly impressive considering what he has shown in the past. However, Simon Kjaer showed great leadership in the toughest times and did not blink when it came to penalty shootouts, scoring twice from the spot.

Gabbia (6): While he can be seen as a decent partner for the veteran that is Kjaer, the youngster still has of improvement to do. Overall, he completed Kjaer quite well for the most part even though he could work a bit more on his decision-making and positioning.

Hernandez (6.5): Despite a forgettable first half, Theo stepped up towards the end of the second half and took over during extra time as he was on every ball both offensively and defensively. Great performance from the French.



Bennacer (6.5): Impressive once again. Bennacer’s short passes between space to find teammates created some good chances for the team and he was more dangerous than usual offensively.

Kessie (7): A dominant performance from Kessie who keeps proving he is by far the most consistent player on the team.

Castillejo (5): Uninspired and ineffective. The Spaniard failed to create any threat and seemed clueless going forward for the majority of his time on the pitch.


Calhanoglu (6.5): Creative and inspiring, the Turk was pulling the strings throughout the game and scored the crucial penalty that brought Milan back in the game.

Saelemaekers (6.5): An impressive display by the young midfielder who showed an incredible amount of grit and desire and his goal is a good testament of that.

Maldini (5.5): The youngster looked lost on the pitch, his lack of experience proved to be a disadvantage for him in such a crucial match-up.

SUBSTITUTIONS

Diaz (6.5): Skillful and ambitious. Diaz was at the start of nearly every dangerous opportunities for the Rossoneri during extra time. Impressive performance.

Leao (6): Not a great performance from Leao who was sloppy most of the time and kept tripping on himself during crucial moments. A performance to forget.

Colombo (5.5): His lack of experience and game time was palpable as the youngster failed to make an impact.


Tonali (6.5): A truly great performance from Sandro who gave new life to the midfield after coming on during the extra time.
 
The month of September has finished, and we at SempreMilan have decided to start a monthly series based on who we think has been the best performer.

We will start off with two honourable mentions before jumping into the winner…


3. Franck Kessie – Average rating: 6.88
Third place goes to Kessie, and rightfully so. The Ivorian has been dominant in the midfield since the start of the season and even managed to score an ice-cold penalty against Crotone.

But where he shines is in front of the backline where he uses his strength and defensive abilities to recover the ball in almost every situation. Not only that, Kessie has been improving his attacking game as well and has been impressive thus far.


2. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Average rating: 8
Zlatan was heading for a win in our first edition, but unfortunately for him and the team he tested positive for Covid-19 and had to miss the games against Bodo/Glimt and Crotone.

The Swede, however, managed to score three goals in two games looking sharp and in perfect shape. His movement on and off the ball would not suggest he is at the age of 39 and the Swede looks hungrier than ever.

If his start is anything to go by he will surely make first place at least once during the season.


1. Hakan Calhanoglu – Average rating: 7.38

The first ever player of the month goes to Calhanoglu. The Turkey international has picked up three goals and two assists in four games since the start of the season, and while he hasn’t yet scored or assisted in Serie A, he has contributed a lot in the two games to help his team-mates seal the win.

Hakan has been on fire since the restart of Serie A last season and is set to continue the brilliant run of form into this season as well. Finally playing at his preferred position behind the striker, the former Leverkusen man has found his mojo forming a great partnership with Zlatan and showing what he is capable of.


Hopefully one of many player of the month awards he will grab as his promising start of the season has set the expectations high.
 
Davide Calabria vs Spezia:

100% passing accuracy
15 duels won
3 clearances
5 blocks
6 interceptions
7 tackles won
6 dribbles
4 chances created
 
Today we Break Records 😍
AC Milan are the first team to play with 7 starters born in 1999 in a single match in the Top-5 European Leagues. ❤️🖤
 
Football Italia

Agnelli: 'COVID protocol is clear'
Football Italia2 Hours Ago

Comments
Juventus President Andrea Agnelli insists the Serie A protocol covers the Napoli scenario and was not followed. ‘The ASL wouldn’t intervene if the protocol was being followed.’

The patron spoke to Sky Sport Italia at the empty Allianz Juventus Stadium, where the Bianconeri turned up with a starting XI and Napoli remained at home.

“I am here because it is only right that we express our opinion,” said Agnelli.

“We need clarity. There are protocols that are very clear for situations like this, the situation was predictable, that there would be one or two COVID cases in the matchday squad.

“At that point, we go to the protocol passed by the CTS and the Lega Serie A, which is that we go into fiduciary isolation at a structure agreed with the ASL.

“That allows us all to go into the structure, to continue training and playing when tested regularly. There is clarity, the Federation worked well with the Ministry for Health and CTS to make sure we all know what needs to be done.

“Juventus discovered there were two COVID cases yesterday, so naturally we all went into the bubble so we’d be ready to play this game.”

Napoli are not the first club to have two COVID cases in the squad, but other games were not postponed, for example, Milan and Torino.

“The protocol was drawn up by the Government and the CTS. If we go into situations with borderline scenarios, then we can look to the protocol and then work out the individual situations.

“The focus remains on public health, of course, but this protocol was drawn up in order to allow us to continue our profession.”

There are surreal scenes at the Allianz Juventus Stadium this evening, with the Bianconeri arriving, announcing a starting XI, all with their opponents Napoli self-isolating on the other side of the country.

It took just three rounds to reach a breaking point in the protocol, agreed between the Government and Lega Serie A to end the lockdown, but not necessarily taking into account the orders of individual Regions, which in Italy act in much the same way as States in the USA.

The Serie A and UEFA protocol states as long as a team still has 13 players available – including one goalkeeper – a match must go ahead.

There is a clause noting that this is save for rulings from the local authorities, but the debate is whether the ASL statement is or is not specifically an order not to travel or merely advice.

There are 20 people self-isolating between players (16) and staff at Napoli and they are currently at home. They will move to the Castel Volturno training ground tomorrow and are not therefore technically in a ‘bubble’ yet.

Did Agnelli have any contact with Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis?

“His message was to postpone the game, which can well be a legitimate request, but there are some very clear rules and we all have to stick to them.

“Any industry has its rules and if we don’t follow them, that is an error not just as professionals, but as citizens.”

Should the protocol be changed following this controversy?

“It is not up to me to say if the rules need to be changed. All I can do is follow the rules as they are written. The protocol was written precisely for what happens if there is a positive test.

“As we are in international competition too, we have three swabs per week – all two days before the game. It’s pretty much inevitable that all teams will register cases. I believe most if not all of ours were asymptomatic, so if we hadn’t been so closely tested and monitored, they would’ve probably continued to go along their business.”

Agnelli was asked if Juventus would’ve travelled to Naples if they had received that ASL message urging them to self-isolate?

“We would not have left, but we don’t believe the ASL would’ve released that statement. If they did, it’s evidently because they felt that there was some failure to follow the existing protocol.

“In my view, the ASL would not need to intervene if the protocol that was sent out to all clubs was followed meticulously.”

The implication here is that Napoli asked the ASL to over-ride the existing Serie A protocol for COVID-19 cases.
 
Federico Chiesa from Fiorentina to Juventus, here we go! Loan with obligation to buy for €50m total. Medicals today. Personal terms agreed until June 2025. Official on next hours as Douglas Costa to Bayern Munich. ⚪️⚫️ @DiMarzio @SkySport #Chiesa #Juve
 
📊 The last time Milan won their first three Serie A games was in the 2006/07 season.

Milan 2-1 Lazio
⚽️ Fillipo Inzaghi 🇮🇹
⚽️ Ricardo Oliveira 🇧🇷

Parma 0-2 Milan
⚽️ Clarence Seedorf 🇳🇱
⚽️ Kaka 🇧🇷

Milan 1-0 Ascoli
⚽️ Marek Jankulovski 🇨🇿 https://t.co/JASiTORn7s
 
B6C880C9-8822-4974-A970-D0DBC9AB8C99.jpeg
78298764-96CD-4296-AC5F-F8BD1670E3DF.jpeg
 
Big 3 points for Milan today in a must win game to stay at the top of the table. It may only be Spezia, but with them missing guys like Zlatan, Rebic, Romagnoli and coming off a 120 minute thriller against Rio Ave on Thursday, this might’ve been a game where they’d drop points early last season. Milan got the job done and are 3/3 this season.

Goalscorers:

57’ Leao
76’ Theo
78’ Leao
 
Pioli responds to suggestion Milan need a new striker and questions scheduling for game vs. Inter.


AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli has stated ‘the club knows very well what to do’ regarding the end of the transfer market as he praised his side after the win over Spezia.
Pioli spoke in front of the media in his post-match press conference, with the questions and his responses transcribed by MilanNews.

*What effect does it have to be first in the standings going into the derby?*
“There is satisfaction, we have achieved what we had set for ourselves before the start of the season: to enter the Europa League and win all the games before the break. It has no effect to be in the lead, it is a very long championship,” he said.
 
*What prompted you to insert Leao from the first minute despite Thursday’s performance?*
“Trust in my players, I think mine is a psychological job and Rafa responded well. He knows very well that he is not at 100%, but he has the qualities to do well and help the team.
“I’m happy with his performance. He has been working for a few days but was ready and played well both as a winger and as a centre-forward. This allows me to have many solutions for a demanding schedule. Hauge also did well and also those who played less. We have to rest and think about the next match.”

*Did you expect a match of this level from your team?*
“Yes, I always expect the best possible match. In the first half we played well, but maybe the ball wasn’t moving so fast. The performance was there. It’s quite normal to relax a bit after having passed such a tiring session. We were mature today, we managed to stay focused and intense.”
 
*Don’t you think Milan need a more ready deputy Ibra than Colombo?*
“I think that if you remove the two best offensively players from all teams, even the strongest go into difficulty, it’s normal. It was a very important start to the season, even more so considering the absences. Leao has shown that he can be a centre-forward, albeit with other characteristics.”

*What impression did Hauge make on you?*
“He only arrived on Friday, I like him because he plays between the lines, he is fast and technical. He has some characteristics that will help us.”
*Do you still expect an effort from the management on the market?*
“The club knows very well what to do, if there is a chance to improve the team will do it, otherwise we are already doing well. Dalot I have just met him and he gives us other characteristics.”
 
Chris Smalling to AS Roma, here we go! Roma board have never considered the deal off - working by 3 months and now completed the agreement on last minutes of Italian transfers window. €15m + add ons to #MUFC. Paperworks signed. Done. 🚨 #ManUtd #DeadlineDay
 
2020 Summer mercato comes to an end
Oct 5, 20200
Milan have signed six new players (some of them on pure loan deals) and three new-old, while saying goodbye, at least temporarily, to 10 men.

The Rossoneri went into the transfer market after finishing the 2019/20 season on a high. Paolo Maldini and Frederic Massara were given the task of strengthening the squad of Stefano Pioli but at the same time had an extremely limited budget to work with and had to invest carefully.

The biggest signing – and the one that cost the club the most money – is without a doubt that of Sandro Tonali. The Italian arrived from Brescia on loan with option to buy and he’ll give Pioli important options in midfield. Tonali is joined by Brahim Díaz and Diogo Dalot who arrived on loan, while Pierre Kalulu, Ciprian Tătăruşanu and Jens Petter Hauge came on permanent deals.
 
Strasbourg resisted the pursuit of Mohamed Simakan by Milan who went as far as sending a private plane to Strasbourg while waiting to find an agreement. [LoicTanzi]
 
Since January 2017, Atalanta have made over €322m from the transfer market. Incredible 👏🤑

• Traore - €40m
• Kulusevski - €35m (+9m in bonuses)
• Kessie - €32m
• Bastoni - €31m
• Cristante - €26m
• Castagne - €24m
• Conti - €24m
• Gagliardini - €22.5m
• Caldara - €19m
• Mancini - €15m
• Petagna - €15m
• Barrow - €13m
• Cornelius - €7.5m
• Paloschi - €6m
• Kurtic - €5.3m
• Berisha - €3.5m
• D’Alessandro €3m
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
📊 stat via Sky Sport
 
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