League starts back up tomorrow, we play the first game Monday night against Samp

What...time passes fast.

Bro, all other leagues have already started since a while.

1 assist and 1 goal for Capanoglu in his first 15 minutes with Inter. I wonder if Paolo is watching...

Well...

Even without Conte, Hakimi and Lukaku, Inter are still on a whole other level.

They are?

Mind that Inzaghi usually starts the season strong and then tends to loose momentum. Not unlike Pioli for that matter.

Let's chill, they're playing Genoa.

Different team, different players.

Same coach. It happens very often and it isn't just a coincidence.

Yeah, sorry, I don't buy that.

Correct me if I'm wrong but you were okay with us letting him go...

This is all revisionist history now because he played well against one of the worst sides in the league who always bend over for Inter. Their goal difference over the last 2 seasons or so was 0-24 to Inter (I have to check that again as I'm not sure of the amount of games but it was a ridiculous number)

Genoa were terrible and this was a typical "look what you're missing" performance from Hakan, his post-match comments show that he's still salty.

And I was one of the few here who wanted us to keep him. But let's not gloss over the time Hakan spent at Milan. 8 or so good months out of 4 years.


Come on now. It was the opener against Genoa... Let's see how they do against other sides before naming them champions on matchday 1.

Haha, good point, revisionist history

Yes, I was. Where did I say I wasn't? My remark was towards Maldini who, as sporting director, let him go for free. He's the one that should be bitter about it.

I didn't crown them champions on matchday 1. I said they're still great. Until they prove us otherwise, let's stop trying to justify their win as it was "just Genoa".

You're the one pointing out his contributions...

As I said in May/June, this is going to haunt us. Forget about Hakan who we all know well enough, but letting him go for free has created a hole for us that we seemingly cannot fill, not to mention that it would make it almost impossible to get in the RW we needed...

I understand not wanting to overpay players, especially ones who do not deserve it as was the case with Hakan. But we're seemingly going to make the same f@ck up with Kessie and if that happens serious questions would have to be asked


Anyway, Bennacer will not start today as he's not in optimal condition due to just recovering from Covid. Krunic will start instead...

This obsession Pioli has with this subpar dude is really getting old. Why not play Pobega there FFS???

And? Even more so why Paolo should feel embarrassed.



Pobega has been lukewarm in pre-season, it wouldn't change a thing. This is another case that would have been solved had we not pushed Bakayoko's signing in the final week.

I'm kinda secretly hoping we lose this one, maybe 2-0 or 3-1, so it can act as a wake up call to management that we're nowhere near competitive as we are right now.

Anyway, it's gonna end in a draw. No way we're winning tonight.

But by that definition, you and Paolo were on the same page re Hakan - Not worth what he was asking for. So why should Paolo be embarrassed?

And many other Milan fans were in your corner as well btw, this is not just me pointing out your sudden turn around. Most Milan fans wanted to see the back of him. They have been abusing him on social media for months now. But suddenly because he had a decent game against a Genoa that bends over backwards for Inter every time, it was suddenly a mistake to let him go...


Nah man, no matter what we need a strong start similar to last year. We can't start slow and lose points here. A loss won't change anything. It won't suddenly make the management decide to pump money into the side. They all know what the problems are, no need for a loss to spell it out. Whoever we close for this week will remain the same, whether we win or lose today


And agreed re the midfield, but Pobega at least did better than Krunic in the pre-season. This is the same BS we had to deal with under Galliania, leaving the most crucial signings to the last minute and wasting the first few months until they integrate into the side.

It's not the same in the slightest.

I'm a fan who doesn't like a player and doesn't care about the financial of the club. I only care about winning.

Paolo is the sporting director of AC Milan, who clearly didn't want to lose Capanoglu on a free and is now watching him have an excellent debut for the city rivals.

If Capanoglu turns out a successful singing for Inter, the blame is entirely on Maldini, that's all there is to it. But even poor Paolo probably had Gazidis dictating him not a cent more for Capanoglu's renewal.

Ah so general consensus doesn't matter when it turns out not to be a good decision.

For me it was always the wrong move to let him go for free. But at some point you have to let it go. Maldini and the management made their offer to him based on what they thought he deserved, it was always obvious that staying at Milan would have been Hakan's last choice if no other opportunities came up. For me it was clear that he was using the Euros as a personal advert for himself, obviously it didn't go well for him on that front but he got lucky with Eriksson's heart issues because if that hadn't happened Inter wouldn't have gone for him either and he'd have reluctantly renewed.

Had we already signed a better replacement we wouldn't even care that he did well in the opening game. Hakan has always been this way, he blows hot and cold. I feel like I've stepped into the twilight zone sometimes, the other day I saw someone compare him to KDB ffs!

And I was someone who advocated for him to stay until the final minute btw. Even if I knew he had clear flaws to his game and that Milan wasn't first choice for him.

But we move.

Let's see if we can replace him by the end of the window. Because that would be the catastrophe for us here, no letting him go

Maignan with some awesome outballs so far

Leao looking good as well

He is like the main playmaker role

I like this Milan

Lord krunic missed a sitter

What have we ever done to deserve Krunic? It's like a curse.

Krunic man...


How do you not score that. Or at least put it on target

I'm liking what I'm seeing from Leao and Tonali mostly, it looks like they're ready to make that step up

Really great with the ball

And some top notch reflexes as well

Samp are not bad. Very end to end

They have some decent players

I was worried during the opening few minutes as they were pressing us very aggressively and we tend to struggle against that type of setup. But we've settled well

I don't get this squad. We started off so well, but for whatever reason we just stopped playing. Boring game. Sampdoria leave plenty of open spaces behind, guys like Brahim, Leao and Theo should be eating them alive. Ufff...

We've missed some passes that could have produced killer counter attacks. We're obviously missing Kessie and Benna in that middle, and Diaz likes to carry the ball more rather than making the quick release pass.

There are some obvious things to work on but overall it has been an encouraging display considering we're missing the entire midfield 3 we used last season

Bro, why is Pioli so fixated with Krunic? Why???

Our biggest problem is we completely f*ck up the passing in the final third. Some terrible, terrible passes and decision making.

Also, can somebody please slap Theo for me? His nonchalance almost cost us a goal. Wake the f*ck up, frenchy!

Theo killing me today. WTF is he doing?

Krunic at AM gives me a stomach ache.

This f@cking about with the ball in dangerous areas is giving me an ulcer

Wtf are we doing.. Why play for 1-0

It's crazy! We're playing like a bunch of demented chickens ffs! Can't keep the ball to save our lives

Ft 1-0

Not the best of performance but 3 points in the end.

Tonali, tomari and leao my picks

FT

FFS... An insanely stupid game from us. Take the 3 points and learn!

Tonali finally showing some spirit and quality. Still lacks that final ball. But I can say that about pretty much all of our players.

Saw positives and negatives in this game. The positives are obvious; Tonali, Leao and Maignan. The negatives, the team is not as sharp and lots of mistakes were done.

But 3 points in the opening round is welcomed and this gives the team something to work on in training. Think as the season progresses, even Giroud will be well oiled in positioning, as the team gets accustomed to his movements.

Proud of Maldini in keeping the core entact and retaining the coach.

Forza Milan.

Bad game and lucky win. Sampdoria didn't deserve to lose.

This mentality thing to take things calmly and nonchalant is truly annoying. We were wining 1-0 and Sampdoria was dictating most of the play, yet we were playing as if we knew we would win.

I have no idea where Pioli thinks is going to lead us in the long run, but it's not looking good.

About some of the players:

Maignan - Great performance. Very secure and dominant in the air. Has to work on his passing.

Tomori - Top class defender. So glad we signed him. Never had a better CB since Thiago Silva.

Tonali - I hope I'm not the only one who thought he was MASSIVE today. Best game he's had since he's been a Milan player. Held the midfield completely on his own. MotM easily for me.

Bennacer - Bro, he only played a handful of minutes, but he looked like a beast. Is Pioli even evaluating well his players' conditions? Should have started no doubt.

Maignan showed so much qualities today. Really making the Donna decision look like an amazing one. Obviously one game is too little to judge him on, but he's insanely sharp on the ball, great reflexes and was good coming out for high balls. Excellent signing. And when looking at the other keepers in the league, I'd hazard to say that we still have the best number one in the league

Theo... Man he needs to wake up. Explosive one second, in a coma the next. Too many times he tried to do idiotic sh!t in dangerous areas. Always trying to play through a wall of players. When it comes off it looks amazing, but when it doesn't it's deadly for us.

Krunic and Tonali held down the double pivot as well as could be expected. There was a huge Kessie sized hole in the middle of the pitch for us and it was felt. Bakayoko is going to be coming in so hopefully the AFCON won't handicap us to the degree that I'm predicting it will. But to know we're haggling over a couple of million with him, when he'd this crucial for us makes me want to cry like a baby

Brahim. Really good imo. Obviously he brings different qualities compared to someone like Hakan who is more of a passer rather than a progressor. But he was aggressive, strong on the ball, had some really good plays and in the end scored the goal.

Leao. A very good game from him imo. He's working on his overall contribution which is good to see and some nice moments of real quality, once again, just missed that final ball

Alexis and Calabria, good and solid as per usual.

Giroud. Had so many moments where his quality shone through, was just missing that really good ball from his team mates to get his goal. But overall he's a great addition to the team and a great alternative to Ibra.

Totally agree on Tonali, had some massive moments in the defensive phase as well. He's going to make that step up this season. I'm sure of it. We really do sometimes forget that he's just 21 years old.

Re Bennacer. They are obviously going to be extremely cautious with him given the issues he had last season and the fact that he missed a good chunk of pre-season. But yes, he looked great an Tonali transformed as well when he came on. It was like he was finally unshackled to drive forward. Hopefully we'll see them both starting next Sunday



I want to point out again that we were missing key players here and this was the first game of the season so fitness levels are going to waver. Yes, I wholeheartedly agree though that in-game management has to be much better. I do not understand why we were playing like rushed headless chickens instead of holding on to possession. Samp were getting desperate and would have made errors that would allow us to go through. Instead we kept losing the ball and inviting pressure. Obviously this isn't the first time we've seen such shenanigans. Last season we barely scraped through in this very same fixture as well.

On most aspects I can agree with you guys, but 2 main points defer.

1) You kept saying that Sampdoria will beat us and that they are a decent team. I all honesty, I've seen a relegation team play yesterday. They have no attacking concept, their coach does not seem to grasp some basics and most players look either out of shape or just past their prime. I think this team will have many difficulties scoring goals and will end up as a bottom team.

2) Leao was good? He started good, sure. But once again he became sluggish and not entirely connected with the rest of the team. Most of our troubles and buildup/counter attack problems are in connection with this.

I was the only one who said Sampdoria will win, simply because away they're always a tough side to play against, and they have a bunch of decent players. And honestly, I don't think they were that bad. They were chasing for the draw until the last minute.

I agree about Leao. He had a few decent moments in the first half, but that's about it. Once again a player we should have offloaded and failed to.