Very balanced first half.

Dalot and Samu are absolutely killing us on the right side. While Krunic is doing his best to outdo them on the other side

Rebic and Saele need to come on at the start of the 2nd half.

Unfortunately we can't do anything about Dalot or Gabbia's shakiness, we just have to ride it out like we did everything else so far this season.

And yeah, Napoli have injuries, but we have injuries to our 2nd choices at this point. Honestly, any hope I had of ever having a full team back this season has been snuffed out. We recover 2 players we lose another 2 or 3

Napoli have been much better

We need to take Samu and Krunic off in the 2nd half, our wings are dead

Yes it has, honestly we need a target man upfront and that is what is missing IMHO.

Let's hope we can get the 3 points out of this somehow

Need subs in now...

Wtf leao.. This is ridiculous finishing

Leao showcasing all his class.

Wondering what's going on in Ringo's head as Napoli are one up to Milan. In the San Siro no less

I think he would just be focused on the game as a professional.

We flipping don't have a proper striker available. Really need to start planning hiw to finish 4th now

That was never a penalty. Great refereeing.

That should have been a red for Theo.

We lack attacking power badly. Our strikers all mediocre. I've only seen the second half but I've liked the intensity we've displayed. It's just upfront we have a bunch of clowns.

Wtf rebic is off

Now he will miss next 1 at least or more games

Wtf this ref??!!

Sent of Rebic for what exactly??

Agreed, we lack the finishing touch.

The foul Di Lorenzo made on Theo was much worse imo. It was studs up on his ankle and nothing

We don't know what was said.

Must have said something horrible to ref

Well it's no big shock. Our front 4 are constantly in and out of the side.

The 4 we started with was just puke inducing.

All things aside, Tonali has been really good today. Think he's starting to find his stride in here.

Dalot absolute sh!t once again

Pioli wasted an entire half with the team that started. We should have started with this team. Dalot and Samu on that right side were a big handicap

Yeah, why insist with shitstains like Castillejo and Krunic? Did he think that cos Krunic scored a free kick he's suddenly Maradona?

F@ck man, now we're in the sh!tter for top 4 as well.

With the injury crises having no end in site this is getting seriously worrying

Kessie looked gassed out there today. Tomori and Gabbia were clearly not comfortable playing togather, Dalot was shocking

Hakan not in it at all. Rebic getting that stupid red is the icing on the cake

He probably wanted to rest Saele for Thursday. And didn't want to risk Rebic since he's only been declared fit yesterday

Dalot man... If I hear one more word about us maybe keeping him beyond this season, I'll pull my hair out. So bad. So many bad passes between him and Samu that put us on the back foot.

Kessie just not on his game today, and when even he is struggling you know it's bad.

Wasn't impressed by Tonali either. Krunic completely MIA. Leao with another mediocre and half @ssed performance. Rebic put a ball under his foot and he barely tickled it

We have Fiorentina, Samp, Parma, Genoa and Sassuolo coming up. We need to make sure we pick up maximum points or we are f@cked imo. Forget about the Scudetto, top 4 hangs in the balance now

Somehow I've completely lost my enthusiasm for this team. Yes, I'd be upset if we don't make the top 4, but a couple of months ago I was really passionate about what we were doing. Yet we shat over our achievements in typical Milan fashion.

Yeah I've lost some of the excitement too, I don't know why. It's surely related to the performances..but oh well.

Well it's understandable seeing as the performances have dropped and we're not racking up the win anymore.

I'm still 100% in it in terms of top 4, I think it is absolutely crucial for the future of this club

I think injuries have simply caught up to us now. Before there was the huge wave of enthusiasm that was carrying the players forward, even when we were in similar situations personnel wise. But when heads start to drop, and things seemingly aren't going to turn in your favour anytime soon, that enthusiasm and that extra quick step are sucked out of you. I understand why the performances have dropped.

I really thought we were starting to see an uptick considering how we played against Verona and United, but now I just think both teams were sh!t. Or the performances were flashes in the pan which has seemingly gone cold even since Christmas break imo.

I think if we can get some players fit and keep them that way long enough for them to get their form back we should make top 4. But if the injuries keep piling up at the rate that they are. That could be in jeopardy too now.

Btw, during the summer the management must look into the fitness team. There have been too many muscle injuries this season. Sure our season started earlier than the other teams, but it's just too much. Injuries ruined what could have been a very good season for us.

Ibra is the only situation I accept because he is almost 40 years old and we played him too much at the start of the season. We should not have been using him 3 times a week during September, October and November.

Bennacer, Hakan, Rebic, Kjaer, Saele, etc have all been in and out of the side all season. We simply have not been able to build up any consistency. Inter practically put out their best 11 week in week out. That's the difference

Injuries have absolutely been a huge factor. To reach top form players need to achieve consistency, but staying in and out of the pitch on a regular basis due to muscular injuries and whatnot simply has conditioned them.

Unfortunately if we can't field our best starting eleven with most players in good shape then we lose A LOT, because those who replace them are a bunch of mediocre duds that wouldn't play for any other top team in Europe.

Two things must be done in the summer: 1) rethink our athletic preparation strategy, and 2) lose the deadweight. Starting with Leao. Ugh, what a rubbish player.

United will be fielding a strong squad in the return fixture as de Gea, van de Beek, Cavani, Pogba, and Martial could all be coming back from injury.

This thread is funny. It's all calm and chilled and observational then suddenly it's like red mist came down and everyone lost the plot.

I watched this one last night - we were denied a penalty, as usual, when the ref rejected VAR. I've only seen the ref reject VAR in world football 3 times - every single time, Milan were denied the call.

If that had happened outside the box it would be a foul every time.

Anyway, Rebic... wonder what the idiot said. You could clearly see him mouthing, ref turned immediately and red carded and Rebic didn't even blink, which means he knew it was coming and deserved.

As for the loss - this club, all season, just hasn't had it against the big teams - even though Juve and Napoli aren't what they were, we are always beaten before we get on the pitch. It's mental with us.

But it's completely fallen away the past two months into the typical Milan.

Rather than be gutted, I'm actually happy, happy we got to see the side top of the table for a hell of a lot longer than anyone expected. We did ok for a while, and now we're back to normal.

Que sera!

I agree on the most part Danny, the lense I have on is one where Milan is a young team today and needs to gain experience. Playing in Europe is one, challenging for a top spot is another and managing dips of form is another.

Don't think the team could go from zero to hero in a matter of months, takes time to build a winning team. The foundation is good. As I recall people discounting Kessie, Calabria, Donnaruma and Calahanoglu previously while during the flight in form of the team we all came to observe how good they are.

There is a common denominator that should be infused, which is this season should be one to establish a foundation. Next season, build on the same and the season thereafter have a team that's worthy of CL football. Then we could talk about Scudetto and taking on the PSGs of world football.

Que Sera

You can only build on things if you sign quality. The Mandzukic signing didn't work at all, despite his CV - I was wildly wrong with my expectations on him.

And we've been signing generally other teams' discarded waste. Sometimes it works, Theo has been very good, Tomori is top class, but other signings, like Mandzukic and Kjaer and Bennacer have worked out, even if I'm not a massive fan of the latter.

We aren't in the market for signing the kind of players we need to actually build with. There's not a player in the team we can build on, Ibra is about to retire, Bennacer will move on, and Hakan is utterly inconsistent. And we can't sign at the level we need to change that.

We have had something this season, no denying it, but most of it came from the champions mentality and brilliance of Ibra. Once he ran out of steam and fitness, the whole deal caved.

Need something more stable, and I don't have a clue what that is.

Please elaborate.

The core I'm looking at is Donnaruma, Theo, Calabria, Kessie and Hakan. That's what the clubs needs to build around.

The reason the club went for Diaz, Tomori, Mandzukic, Zlatan, and the likes is because it can not afford the top tier players at the moment.

But let's say the club qualifies for CL, then there is income to build further on the core. But it won't be enough IMHO, the club would need at least two consistent seasons in CL to generate meaningful revenue to facilitate purchases of top players.

Hence the expression zero to hero and that I was never expecting a Scudetto. What the team did in the first part of the season, when fitness was at peak and at a full squad, is secure as much points to allow for a CL birth. And that in itself is something of an achievement. Considering where this team came from.

It's gonna take some time, as time will tell if the club is set on the right course.

Now what happens if no CL, at the very least Milan loose Donnaruma on a free.

He's regarded as a key asset. PSG and City looking at him. Do you really think we can hold onto him if they do come calling?

Took Liverpool 30 years to be a force in England again - but they lost it overnight once they had it.

I fear Milan may never again be the side we worshiped in the 80s, 90s and 00s. Or at least not for a long long time.

There's a new era now, for the money teams - something we have none of. The power teams are elite, with City, Bayer, Barca, PSG, Juve and one or two others at the top. We're a tsunami off this, and the problem with your CL solution is that alone can't do much for Milan. It's what 50M for being in the group stage? Even 100M is pennies after two seasons.

That gets you 5 ok 20M players. Unless you're lucky and find a Haaland with a 17M escape clause, you're gonna struggle on that kind of money.

it was a game changer in 2011, as I kept preaching about us doing, but we didn't, and signed SAS and Mexes instead. And lost our window of opportunity.

That golden Era is Berlusconi's Era.. It ended when FFP was introduced.

There will never be an Era like that for Milan. At least not while FFP is in play. As you pointed out, there is no way Milan could fork out 100M or 50M. There is also the fact that Milan will need to cover wages. So yeah gonna be real expensive. And what we aspire too takes Milan straight to the red and administration/bankrupcy.

But what can happen is a gradual building of the team. Yes two seasons won't be enough, but building on the existing core would give us more depth to challenge. And that challenge could spark a resurgence, gradual ofcourse.

What's the point of going back and forth on what we aspire for, when we know the club can not afford it? What is built at current is exceptional and allowed Milan fans to dream. But I'm not going to fall into a trap of setting expectations, I am delighted Milan is in CL contention and is playing official matches against the likes of United. This is experience a young team such as ours is desperate for to allow for future growth.

Not arguing Danny, trust me I am in agreement with you on most of what you are saying, just that I would rather not be so harsh in passing judgment on a team that has done something wonderful since covid hit. I wish this team well and hope they build on this for next season

I really like Bennacer, but I don't think he's as good as to become a PSG or City priority signing. Especially with all these injuries.

Rebic, Romagnoli, Calabria and Leao out injured for tonight.

Seriously, it?s like we?re picking injuries out of a hat for every single match. Whose turn is it going to be next? What a joke. Fire everyone from the athletic staff already. Bunch of clowns.

PS: Calabria will undergo surgery tomorrow. When did he even get injured? Was fine only a week ago.

Fml

Official: Castillejo CF with Krunic LFW.

Did anyone say, Serie B?

Had to come off against Utd. Pioli said it was a groin issue though. Don't know how that turned into a knew surgery FFS

Rebic out again?? I though that we'd at least have him for this EL game!

Leao I don't care much about, but I'd prefer him over f@cking Samu as a false 9!

As for Krunic on the wing again. I mean FFS Pioli! Stop it with this guy

Krunic is Pioli's Emanuelson. Play him the f*ck everywhere. Next game as GK!

Funny how Inter got their game postpones now that they have a mini Covid outbreak

We were not afforded the same luxury when we had 3 players positive

Kalulu is a huge weak link. So many lost balls, he has no clue what he's doing.

Lion's share of possession for Milan. Certainly very well playing the ball despite missing so many starters.

Zlatan to come on in second half should add more reference to the front line. Samu is certainly out of his depth up front.