I was looking for a thread relating to the upcoming season, but didn't see one (feel free to delete this if one has already been created and I missed it)

Here are the fixtures for the upcoming Serie A season:




I saw some cooler ones specifically tailored to Milan, but those were from WhatsApp & Twitter tbh, and I have no idea what website has easy sharing options these days.

EDIT: Upon further review I think a new thread for the upcoming season is also required in the football discussion section: [IT] Serie A 2020 - 21

But I'm gonna leave it up to you guys to do so... I believe I've already created a bit of mess with this one (due to the lack of standardization) and have some stuff out of place... it's something of an eye sore to me already

Thanks for this Trini. I'll open a thread for the new season.

Inter on matchday 4...

First three fixtures look very comfortable in order to go with full 9 points in the derby. Hope we don't screw up this start of the season again.

Bologna could be a bit tricky but the others should be wins.

The EL matches will come in handy in this regard, they will serve as good warm ups to the league

Welcome!

Inter so early is a bit nerving... But at least our first 3 games on paper are as lenient as they come.



I know right... Even Maldini recalled a fixture some seasons ago where we opened against Bologna and squandered what on paper was to be an easy fixture. We certainly should look to head into these games overly confident, but as you said as well, if at the end of the season we're expecting a favourable position in the table; 3 points are a must against weaker sides (not to mention newly promoted ones).



Every game in theory can be tricky, but our first 3 league fixtures are about as easy as we could've hoped for... We just hit Bologna 5-1 a few months ago, and we weren't even playing that well. I expect 3 points.

And I'm not being cocky or arrogant, realistically, we need to take advantage of the easy fixtures. In a way I think this is where Ibra could help out the team mentally.

Also agree that the EL qualifiers should serve as good warm ups and an opportunity to re-establish our chemistry from end of last season.

Daniel Maldini scores against Monza

Looking at our defensive lineup atm is worrying.

I really hope we bring in a CB and RB this window. Musacchio, Duarte and Gabbia imo are huge question marks, if Romagnoli or Kjear get injured (which is highly likely) we're screwed.

Couldn't agree more. Romagnoli is currently recovering from his injury that ended his season a few games shy (but he should be back near month end).

But I'm certain that the club is aware of this and reinforcements would arrive tbh.

(We need a back up to Theo as well...)

Romagnoli generally gets injured a few times per season. Kjear I'm not sure about his injury history but it's risky to rely on him alone.

Musacchio, Duarte and Gabbia for me should be shopped around. Gabbia should definitely be sent on loan. Musacchio I'd consider keeping but his injuries this season are worrying not to mention that he's never been all that great for us. And Duarte is just aweful.

Calabria and Conti are also not adequate. Conti is made of glass, not to mention that he's simply not good enough, and while I like Calabria, we can't start the season with him as our starting RB.

I think Laxalt for now is adequate backup for Theo

I get you, guys. What I don't get is that the league starts in 10 days, we know Romagnoli is out till the end of September and Musacchio will be out for some more time. So, why the hell haven't we signed a CB already? Are we supposed to consider Duarte a valid alternative at this point? Gabbia?

It was all fun and games at the end of last season when not much was at stake and we were in great shape. But now we're starting a new season and we shouldn't mess up. Not another crappy start to the season, please!

I know right...

I'm sorta hoping that we're just working very silently in the background without much news being leaked via the media... *shrugs* *fingers crossed*

^ Nice sig. by the way. Huge AM fan myself.

I think what you mentioned is exactly the problem. The season ended and started so quickly, there is so little time to navigate. I agree that at CB we need a replacement, but I think we all agree that the signing of Ibra and Tonali were priority here. Duarte is being played in almost every friendly game, and I guess it was too see if he could be a valid backup. But, obviously he hasn't been performing as well at all.

Objectives according to Tuttosport:

Pezzella - 18M
Milenkovic - 40M
Fofana - 30M

The first two play for Fiorentina, Fofana plays for Saint-Etienne.

Fofana apparently accepted an offer from Leicester City. Now it's up to the clubs to negotiate, so he's probably not an option anymore.

Pezella and Milenkovic are both passes for me. Fiorentina are asking too much, neither are worth the sum mentioned.

So, who do we go after? I'm at a loss here. I thought T. Silva was a really good short-term option but then Chelsea go and offer him 10M a year.

Honestly not sure.

The media seem adamant about the Milenkovic link. But, for me, if we're going to enter into any negotiations with Fiorentina, I'd rather it be for Chiesa.

Maybe we could go for someone who's not high profile and would just be a better back up option to what we currently have. Because any really good CB who's starting material is going to cost a lot. And I'd rather spend that on a RW tbh

Strange we never entered the Kumbulla race. Roma just signed him on loan with obbligation to buy for 30M. We could have probably inserted someone else we don't need and lowered the price further.

No idea how good Milenkovic is, but 40M is a very exaggerated price tag. Clubs nowadays just seem to throw ludicrous prices left and right for anyone who's under somebody's radar.

Fiorentina are notorious for this. They should learn their lesson from the Torino-Belotti story

Anyone watching? 1-0, Ibra.

Me...struggled to find streams as no one cares about this game.

Nothing special, the machine is being oiled, but till now going okay.

This one works well so far: https://www.soccer24hd.com/game/match/2235/...s-AC-Milan.html

I thought we showed some good sparks, but I also feel that the mediocrity of Sale-maker and Barbie doll limits us considerably.

I really wish Pioli would sub in Diaz instead of the Belgian. And also I would love to see Tonali instead of Kessie.

In defense we allowed a couple of good occasions, should be more careful.

Thanks for the stream, but I managed to get it working on the AC Milan app.

I agree with the changes, but I think Pioli wanted to play it safe today...we'll definitely see some changes eventually.

Anyway, Calhanoglu...he did well today.

FT 2-0

About the late subs:

Brahim Diaz looked super good, but it seems he will be more utilized as a a sub for Cala.

Tonali didn't do so well, looked quite nervous.

We need to fix the wingers situation ASAP. Rebic is nice but we need a RW. Salemakers and Castel are simply not good enough. They are OKAY as a replacement..

Same Milan as we left about a month ago. Overall pleased with the performance though I feel we should have created more.

I must say, I'm very impressed with the way Calabria has been performing. Ever since he replaced Conti at the end of last season he's been really good. If he maintains this form we won't need a new RB.

Agreed about Calabria. Hopefully he keeps it up as he generally lacks consistency.

Diaz was also really impressive in the 10 minutes or so he got. He's one we need to keep an eye on. Too bad we didn't manage to insert a buyout fee in his deal, something tells me we're going to need it...

Maybe Diaz can take Samu's spot in a few weeks time if we don't bring in any other wingers


Tonali looked a bit nervous out there. Granted he didn't have much time to really assert himself which is important for the position he plays. Pioli needs to be careful with how he integrates him into the side without too much pressure being put on him.


The rest we as per usual. Hakan and Ibra seem to have kept their form, which is crucial for us. Same goes for Kessie and Bennacer in that double pivot.


My biggest worry atm is still those CBs and the RW.

Agreed about Diaz. He will replace Castillejo eventually.

Did not get to watch the game but followed the audio on the Milan app. Was a bit worried about this one, but we made it through. Bologna next ...

We have FK Bodø/Glimt in the next EL round, which is a one off tie as well

The final round will be another one off against these potential teams if I understand how this all works correctly.

FC Basel of Switzerland / Anorthosis of Cyprus

Viktoria Plzen of Czech Republic / SønderjyskE Fodbold of Denmark

Beşiktaş of Turkey / Rio Ave F.C. of Portugal

The one off nature of the ties is what's a bit worrying for me. One bad night and we're out.

So, we're playing Bologna home on Monday for the kick-off of the League.

Rebic should be back to replace Sale-maker on the left. For the rest it will look the same as last night.

We managed to thrash these guys only a couple of months ago. Here's to hoping for a good start.

Update

Should we pass the next round, we'll play the winner of the Besiktas/Rio Ave tie

Besiktas could be a banana skin, Turkish teams are always tricky.

But yes, Bologna up next. It will be good to have Rebic back in the starting line-up Salemaker should not be staring matches anymore. He should only be used to close out games in a more defensive capacity.

Samu needs to do better than what we saw yesterday. Gabbia starting in Serie A is also not ideal. Any idea when Romagnoli or Musacchio will be back?

Don't mean to be a killjoy but it's hard to judge the quality of Milan's performance when it's Shamrock you're up against.

In case you guys don't know, the League of Ireland is absolutely horrendous.

Romagnoli at the end of September, Musacchio in November last I read.

Painful. At least the first 3 games should be easier on paper.

Gameday. I want a convincing win tonight. Time to kickstart the league as a serious side.

Does anyone remember the last season that we started with a strong showing? I honestly can't remember one aside from when we won the Scudetto in 10/11

Samu the obvious weak link so far

I was about to say. You really feel Samu's mediocrity when compared to Zlatan-Hakan-Rebic.

Really good first half. Could have scored more. Bologna were never dangerous. Let's score a couple more in the second half.

Yep. big time.

I really want to see Diaz in the second half but have a feeling Pioli will bring on the salesman

Yep, you can betcha.

Everyone has been really good. Bennacer and Kessie dominating that midfield. Maybe Rebic could have been a bit more dangerous. Calabria also continuing with his excellent form.

Missed most of the first half. From the recap it looks like we missed a few opportunities. Bologna, however, was also dangerous on a couple of times.

Aaand, he does it at the start of the 2nd half...

They had 2 good ones, but overall we've controlled the majority of the game, just need that little bit of precision that's still missing due to rustiness

Holy sh*t, Kessie. When did he get this good?

He and Bennacer have been great. I think just using him as we always should have is why we're seeing what he can actually do.

Calabria with a great showing today

If only he can keep this up. Our RB issues would be solved

Right now, my only two worries are that CB position (playing with Gabbia and Duarte made the hair on the back of my neck stand up) and the obvious lack of quality on that RW.

Calabria was MVP for me tonight. What a showing.

Diaz has all it takes to start on the left. He has pace, can use perfectly both feet (actually dribbles with his left), and great technique. But even the salesman was good tonight, somehow.

Should have scored at least 4-5 tonight. But I must say when Kjaer came off we looked really shaky, and could have actually conceded once.

Well, Pioli also took off our nucleus in Kessie-Bennacer. Not that surprising that we'd start looking shaky at that point.

Tonali looks shaky right now as well. Maybe Pioli can give him a full game in either the Crotone or Spezia games coming up so he can start to find his feet.

I'd really like to see Brahim getting the start on Thursday in the EL. But Pioli does value the hard working player on the right side, which is why I think he favours Sales.

We'll see, but for me, I think RW is just as crucial as a CB. (Still secretly praying for Chiesa )

Davide Calabria vs. Bologna

➤ 72 touches
➤ 92 % pass accuracy (45)
➤ 6 tackles
➤ 1 interception
➤ 2 clearances
➤ 0 dribbled past
➤ 8 ground duels won
➤ 100% of aerial duels won
➤ 1 key pass

Beast.