AC Milan were not expecting a honeymoon season, but they were not expecting a disastrous one either. Their goal was to compete against Juventus in Serie A and maybe win the Europa League. By doing so, they would signal to the clubs in Europe that they are back. After receiving a whitewash by Lazio, they will need to curtail their expectations.
Quality players
The new Chinese owners wanted a quality showing this year. That is the reason they splashed out $273 million on players. The Milan based club bought:
- Mateo Musacchio,
- Franck Kessie,
- Andre Silva,
- Fabio Borini,
- Hakan Calhanoglu,
- Andrea Conti,
- Ricardo Rodriguez,
- Lucas Biglia,
- Antonio Donnarumma, and
- Leonardo Bonucci.
These are all quality players scooped up for coach Vincenzo Montella.
With the kind of players they brought in, a lot of fans expected them to play well. Losing to Lazio defeats that aim. There are must-win matches and the match against Lazio was one of them.
Last year match against Lazio was better
When AC Milan played Lazio in 2016, they won by two goals to nothing. The goals came from Carlos Bacca and M'Baye Niang. Both players are not at the club right now and were believed to be inferior to the ones recruited. With the amount of money spent on transfers, the Rossoneri should not be losing like that.
The Lazio game was the first true test of their ability. After league matches against Cagliari and Crotone, they fumbled when they met a good team. AC Milan strikers got bullied by Stefan Radu and Stefan de Vrij throughout the night.
Suso, who played sharply against the two lesser opponents had a bad day too.
Simone Inzaghi men played cohesively and were brilliant in their attack and tight at the back. They had all the answers for the AC Milan team that was playing more like individuals than a team. Simone Inzaghi is becoming a leading tactician in Serie A.
AC Milan Coach Vincenzo Montella admitted that his team played badly, and that they lacked the mental strength to react. He called for understanding from the fans as they look to fix things so they can deliver better results.
With Alessio Romagnoli coming back to full fitness soon, the coach might well fulfill his promises. Once Bonucci and Romagnoli can play together, the defense will get a lot tighter at the back.
It might be early to doubt AC Milan capacity to win big matches. Nevertheless, this defeat has reminded fans that their darling club is not quite there yet.
