PSV 3, Milan 0: Final Blow

Milan traveled to Eindhoven for a well-intentioned final friendly of the year in preparation for the return of Serie A on Wednesday. However, instead of looking polished and ready to take on all four competitions, they looked as sickly as their split pea soup puke kits. PSV were as explosive as their surprising pyrotechnics before and after the match, and took full advantage of Milan's inability to function as they dealt them a 3-0 final blow to end our intense year of 2022.

There is only so much these two can do with no budget.

PSV-Milan Friendly: Dutch Detour

On Friday, Milan are taking a detour through the Netherlands to play one more friendly against PSV Eindhoven. Serie A will officially resume again on Wednesday, when we face Salernitana. Our final friendly of an eventful 2022 will give Pioli and the guys one last chance to tune up before that match. With all but two players having returned from international duty, there are only injury and fitness concerns to worry about when choosing a starting 11. With a match so close to the restart, we will likely see more starters get some playing time as Milan make a Dutch detour.

The guys are back and ready to return to Serie A, with a friendly detour on Friday

The Problematic January Transfer Market

After watching Milan struggle more during the first part of this season as compared to recent seasons,  it is natural to look to the January transfer market for reinforcements. Given the sheer number of serious injuries to important players and how much their absences impacted our results, the need to improve squad depth is very obvious. However, making improvements in January could prove very challenging. Not only is it unclear how much money, if any, is currently available for investment, but we already have a bloated squad, and would need players to leave before we could sign anyone new, even just on loan. Then there is the danger of interfering with the team mentality midseason, which is the very secret to Milan's success. Which is why this January transfer market could prove to be very problematic.

Milan fans' transfer enemy number one

AC Milan's 2022, Wrapped

With Christmas here and 2022 coming to a close, it is a good time to look back and reflect on Milan's year. Most importantly, this was the year that Milan won their 19th Scudetto, and Pioli's first trophy, celebrated by over a million people in Milano and millions around the world. But there was so much more. There was the sale of the club to RedBird Capital, saying goodbye to Elliott Management. Milan's second season back in the Champions League saw them qualify for the Round of 16 for the first time since the 2013-14 season. Plus plenty of adventure,  all of the drama from our rivals, and enough injuries to shame a zombie apocalypse. So here it is, AC Milan's 2022, wrapped.

Milan's 2022 is wrapped, but 2023 could be a surprise package

Caro Babbo Natale (Dear Santa)

This year, Milan fans have tried to be very good. Yes, we did sing chants against Inter during our Scudetto parade celebrations, but have you seen their referee record last season? Not a single red card at all. It is almost as if all of the elves hid all of their red cards or something. Plus, it was Inter. They are pretty easy to mock. But truly, that was very unclassy and not typical Milan behavior. And we paid our fines and have tried to make up for it the rest of the time. So please, Babbo Natale, if you could just be so kind as to grant us some Christmas wishes...

Babbo Natale has already brought back Mr. Champions League, but we need more...

The Point of Liverpool-Milan in Dubai

Milan were missing 15 players for this match, even more than for our friendly on Tuesday against Arsenal, and it showed. The final result in regulation was Liverpool 4, Milan 1. However, there was a tiny bit of Birthday redemption when Mirante became a penalty-saving machine and earned us a bonus point in the penalty shootout, which ended 4-3 for Milan. This Dubai Super Cup may have been a tournament, I'm assuming someone will get a trophy, but that was not the really the point for these teams.  It seemed like, for both sides, the point of this match was to give a lot of bench and younger players a good look and some minutes ahead of the second half of the season.

Mirante saved two penalties (and almost another) to give Milan the birthday gift of a bonus point

Happy 123rd Birthday, AC Milan!

Milan are celebrating their 123rd birthday today with a friendly against an old rival. They are also celebrating a new shirt deal with Emirates that should bring €90-€105 million to the club over the next three years. Not a bad way to mark an important date. Yet they haven't forgotten what it means to be Milan. Happy 123rd, AC Milan!

Not a bad birthday way to kick off the Birthday weekend

What We Learned From Arsenal vs. Milan in Dubai

The first thing I learned from this one is that waking up early to watch your team play a friendly is not always rewarded. In fact, sometimes you are punished. As the dressing room pictures were released and I saw those hideous split pea soup puke kits, I knew it would be ugly. But I did not heed the nauseatingly green warning signs and just go back to bed. That is on me. Then I had to have a paid subscription just to watch the match on Milan's YouTube channel. Worse still, they put a picture-in-picture of their ridiculous Twitch streamer, Lollo, and he was talking over the excellent English speaking commentator (loudly) throughout the match in Italian. Literally, I got a headache from it, it was so bad. Oh yeah, and Milan lost both the match to Arsenal 2-1 as well as the bizarre mandated penalty shootout 4-3. But mostly, I learned that our business side are like desperate street pimps in Dubai, ruining everyone's experience with their horrible marketing decisions.

How could they be expected to win anything wearing those abominations of football kits?

What It Means to Be Milan

Milan played their first friendly after a short vacation Thursday. While they finally won 3-2 against Serie D side Lumezzane, it took them a while to remember what it means to be Milan. Meanwhile, off the pitch in the past week or so, we have seen the character of Milan in sharp contrast to other clubs. While Juventus, for example, are imploding in a self-made scandal, Pioli went to a retirement home to share some Christmas cheer, was also awarded for his sportsmanship, while Gabbia and Pobega visited children with cancer, and Maldini and Massara were serving meals to the less fortunate. They all showed by example what it means to be Milan.

Maldini and Massara serving the less fortunate epitomizes what it means to be Milan

A New Chapter Begins with Giorgio Furlani, Milan's New CEO

Milan announced three weeks ago that Giorgio Furlani would be taking the helm of the club after the departure of CEO Ivan Gazidis. However, that change did not actually occur until this week. Now that the Gazidis chapter is officially closed, Milan are moving forward with the lifelong Milan fan to guide the club. The former Elliott man and Milan board member since 2018 will take the reins and write the next chapter in Milan's rebirth.

Furlani was already central at EXPO 2020 in Dubai, along with Gazidis and Stylsvig

Back to Training: Adapting to the Change in Schedule

Most of the players returned to Milanello on Friday to train in the cold. Many had been in warmer climates, vacationing during their break. Now they will train in the cold, play a friendly on Thursday, and then fly to Dubai on Sunday for a warm weather training camp. There, they will play a couple of friendlies, then probably another short break for Christmas. Then back to training in the cold, and another friendly ahead of the return of part two of this wacky season. Whoever thought that having a World Cup in the winter was a good idea was seriously delusional. And probably corrupt, too. (Looking at you, FIFA.) Obviously, the players are professionals, and they will make the best of it as they are adapting to the change in schedule.

How they adapt to this bizarre schedule could impact the second half our season

Truths and Lies: Juventus' Legacy of Corruption

Rival fans delighted in watching the soulless Agnelli and the entire Juventus board resign on Monday. Juventus are one of the most hated clubs in Italy, rivaled only by Inter, who would probably be hated more if they were actually relevant or won trophies of their own accord. Juventus also have a long track record of accusations of scandal, from doping to matchfixing to illicit transfer activities to ties to organized crime and more. While they have largely been proven innocent or escaped punishment, rival fans know that when there is smoke, there is always fire. Somewhere between the jealousy, hatred, and defamation from rivals there are both truths and lies about what Juventus has actually done. And the truths are why Juventus can never escape their legacy of corruption.

Corrupting Serie A since 1897?

Football, Money, and Sportswashing: When the World Doesn't Buy In

Football brings the world together. The World Cup, in particular, has the power to bring people together like nothing else. There are those who would take advantage of this, using football to gain money, power, or political advantage. Everyone from FIFA to political figures or entire countries have notoriously sought to use the World Cup to clean up their image after scandals and corruption, something coined as sportswashing. Usually, the power of football on the global stage makes people forget. But what would happen if the world didn't buy in? This year, FIFA and Qatar are finding out.

The world said a resounding no. Qatar says this stadium is filled beyond capacity.

Boycotting the World Cup

Stick to the football, they say. Respect the culture, they say. Some people have no idea how or why a football fan would boycott the World Cup, football's biggest event. Especially for someone like me, who fell in love with football because of a World Cup tournament. But some things are more important than football. The corruption and prioritization of money over people or even football that FIFA has shown, from the awarding of this tournament, the change of schedule, all the way to the supporting of the suppression of basic human rights is absolutely horrifying. That a nation like Qatar thinks it is okay to abuse human beings and contribute to thousands of deaths, then invite the world into their country and enforce their religious beliefs upon them, going so far as to telling people what they can do or say or even wear is the opposite of what football and the World Cup are all about. These reasons and more are why I am boycotting this World Cup.

Some things are just more important than football

Counting on Olivier Giroud

When Olivier Giroud transferred from Chelsea last summer, many fans complained that we were getting another aging, injury-prone striker. Others worried he would fall victim to the curse of the number nine jersey, which had troubled players who had worn it since Pippo Inzaghi retired ten years ago. But Giroud knew that he could be very useful to Milan, and that Milan would give him the opportunity to prove that he still had what it takes. At the heart of it all was proving to Deschamps that he deserved to be at the World Cup this year for France, his third representing his country. Now, with Benzema injured, Giroud will take center stage for his national team. Because he has proven at Milan this past year that you can still count on Olivier Giroud, serial winner.

The man's career has been all about winning

Podcast: Where We Stand

With the World Cup splitting this season into two parts, Nate from Milan Club of DC helped me talk about where Milan stand after matchday 15 ahead of the World Cup break. He also shared about traveling to Milano for the Chelsea-Milan Champions League match. We caught up on Milan news, the World Cup callups, and recent matches, and discussed the impact of injuries so far this season.

15 Serie A matches down, 23 left to go

Milan 2, Fiorentina 1: Surviving

Milan believed in the win and kept fighting to the end, but it was good fortune that saw them escape this match with the three points against a Fiorentina side who were not as lucky. Leão opened up the scoring right away, but Italiano's side gave up the own goal in the dying minutes, even if they deserved at least a point from their performance. There were a couple of controversial VAR reviews in this one, and none of the Milan players had a particularly brilliant performance, so this one was more about simply surviving.

Stayin' alive... barely

Milan-Fiorentina Preview: Forged in Viola, Gilded in Rossoneri

Sunday is our last game of this calendar year. After a disappointing goalless draw on Tuesday that left us eight points adrift of league leaders Napoli and saw both Juve and Inter gain points on us, only a win would be acceptable in this match. However, Fiorentina have finally found some consistency under Italiano this season, having won five straight matches in all competitions. So Pioli faces the team that helped make him the man and the coach that he is today, needing a win for the team that made him a champion. He was forged in Viola, and gilded in Rossoneri.

From crisis counselor to Champion.

Injuries By the Numbers: The Impact So Far

Milan have played 20 matches so far. In those matches, they have had 105 player absences. That is 105 player absences in 20 matches. These are not just any players, either, as the players with some of the most absences are impact players with undeniable skills and leadership, such as Ibrahimović, Florenzi, Calabria, and Maignan. While there is much debate about just why Milan have dropped as many points as they have thus far, it is difficult to argue that injuries have not impacted the team, both with the physical absences as well as their effect on the overall mentality.

Leaders missing: our captain, starting GK, and Viking CB have 26 games unavailable between them

Cremonese 0, Milan 0: Running on Fumes

Pioli has found Milan's threshold for grinta, and missing eight players after playing every three to four games for weeks seems to have used every last drop of blood and sweat these players have. With so many players out, he actually switched his system, playing a three man backline, which did not go as badly as you might expect. In fact, by the end of the first half, Milan were almost looking like themselves again. But they did not have enough left in the tank for the second half, and the match ended in a very disappointing 0-0 draw. This team is running on fumes.

Running on empty.

Cremonese-Milan Preview: Penultimate Match of the Year

This match will be played on November 8th, and will be Milan's penultimate match of the year, officially. This World Cup is really messing things up. But we are nearly to the break, and our last away match of the calendar year is not too far away to the newly promoted Lombardy side Cremonese. With all of the injuries and suspensions, I am not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing to be so near our year's end, but here we are.

Milan will need to dig deep to find all three points in their final away match of the year

Podcast: Back Where We Belong

After nine long years, Milan are back in the knockout round of the Champions League. Oh, and the podcast is back, too, with Boaz, the legend from the epic Scudetto Podcast as my guest. Despite some technical difficulties, we caught up on the latest in Milan news and recent matches, and then discussed the Champions League Group Stage and the Primavera's UEFA Youth League as well. We are back where we belong.

Milan are climbing back to where we belong.

Milan 2, Spezia 1: Winning Isn't Everything

Sometimes, winning is not fun. Like when your team scores three beautiful goals, but only two count and your top scorer gets sent off celebrating the winning goal. Or like when the youngest member of a family dynasty for your club scores... against you. Or when the referee hands out more cards than you handed out candy on Halloween, and he still lost control of the match. Or when you face your next match missing seven players, six of them starters, due to injury and suspension. Three points are great, they are very important, but winning isn't everything.

Epic goal, epic celebration, epic ridiculous suspension for Tuesday

Milan-Spezia Preview: Building Momentum

Milan have had a very mercurial week, beginning with a disconcerting loss away to Torino, then Pioli's renewal on Monday, and finally, an impressive win in the Champions League to qualify for the Round of 16 on Wednesday. Now they have to continue to build momentum as they host Spezia at the San Siro on Saturday.

Milan need to build on their midweek win to stay competitive in Serie A

AC Milan 4, FC Salzburg 0: Qualified

It is November second, and Milan have already achieved their season's goal of going further in the Champions League this year than last. By obliterating Salzburg 4-0 in front of a sold out San Siro, Milan secured second spot in Group E and have qualified for the Round of 16 for the first time since 2014. The performance was dominant and ensured that the club will receive the extra cash involved for qualification as well as additional TV rights monies, even if they bow out in the next round. After a very negative performance on Sunday against Torino, Milan reacted well and are qualified.

Contract renewal and qualification all in one week. Worth celebrating.

Champions League Group Stage • AC Milan vs. FC Salzburg: For All the Money

Wednesday is the final matchday in the Champions League Group Stage, and Milan and Salzburg are battling for second spot in Group E as Chelsea has all but wrapped up top spot and Dinamo Zagreb are out of contention. Milan suffered their first away loss in the league in almost a year on Sunday with a disturbing 2-1 loss to Torino, breaking their streak at 17 matches. Meanwhile, after drawing with them in September, Salzburg come to the San Siro confident, top of the Austrian Bundesliga and with a win on Saturday as well. Both teams will be fighting for qualification to the Round of 16 and for all of the money that comes along with it.

Even though we're now also missing our captain, goalkeeper, and scorer from the first match, let's do this

Torino 2, Milan 1: Horror Show in Turin

Milan, or the ghosts of a Milan team we knew, went to Turin on Sunday night, only to find themselves in the middle of a horror show. Torino hacked their way through 95 minutes, Abisso was somewhat abysmal with the whistle, and the team's mentality never arrived in Turin. Perhaps it was an identity crisis, as Torino's home kit required Milan to wear half of their away kit and half of their home kit. At least that would be one explanation for what we saw. But the end result was a 2-1 loss to the number 10 team, dropping three points, and an overall horror show in Turin.

A nightmare of a game that Milan never woke up from

Torino-Milan: Ghost Stories

The year was 2021. Milan were desperate to return to the Champions League, but competition for top four was fierce. One cool, damp evening, they headed to the Grande Torino Stadium. Some say it is haunted by the ghosts of the team it is named for, who all died in the Superga disaster so many years ago. This time, however, it was Milan who would leave with blood on their hands. Like an axe murderer in a horror film, they destroyed that Torino side 7-0, taking no prisoners. Sunday, they return to Torino once again, hungry for more.

Haunted by injuries and exes, Milan could really use some Ghostbuster energy right now

GNK Dinamo Zagreb 0, AC Milan 4: Clear Message

After being robbed of any possibility of a result at home against Chelsea by referee Daniel Siebert, Milan needed three points in this match to maintain a chance of progressing to the Round of 16. Despite having Tomori suspended, also thanks to Mr. Siebert, and having so many players unavailable, Milan sent a clear message regarding their intentions with a 4-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia.

All three on target to send a clear message about Milan's intentions to progress

Champions League Group Stage • GNK Dinamo Zagreb vs. AC Milan: Crunch Time

Milan travel to Croatia on Tuesday with plenty of injuries, but only one thing on their mind: qualifying for the Champions League Round of 16. Unfortunately, that is the same thing that Dinamo Zagreb will be focusing on as well. Both teams sit at the bottom of Group E on 4 points, with Milan ahead only by the slightest of goal differentials. Considering the fact that Dinamo are at home and have fewer players missing, Milan will need to have a perfect game. And hope for a better referee than our last Champions League match, too. Milan should be able to move on, but anything can happen in this group, so this is a must-win now to make that happen. It's crunch time.

Hoping that Milan will burst into Zagreb like a Tonali header 

Milan 4, Monza 1: Mission Accomplished

Maybe it is just the "military green" kits, but Brahim Díaz triumphantly saluting after scoring an amazing goal made this game seem more like just another battle in a war than an actual football match. Or maybe it was just because he, too, became yet another casualty of Milan's ongoing war with injuries. Either way, despite a brilliant 4-1 victory over Berlusconi's new cheap knockoff AC Milan team, I just couldn't enjoy this one like I should have. It's probably just those hideous kits, they make everyone look so sickly with that unnatural color. Or maybe it was because of all of the injuries and potential injuries, it just felt more like a classic "Mission Accomplished moment".

He shared this pic with the caption "Always at your service," which is so true

Milan-Monza Preview: So We Meet Again

Milan welcome back to the San Siro a couple of old acquaintances on Saturday. And when I say old, I mean Berlusconi is 86 years old, and Galliani is a spry 78 years old. After using Milan for Berlusconi's political purposes until he was done with it and then letting the club fall into ruin, then selling it to a charlatan for way more money than it was worth, they pretend like they have some claim to Milan's current success. Ironically, that success was built from the ashes of their ruin by Maldini, who was blocked from returning to the club for nine years by Galliani. Meanwhile, Berlusconi wanted to get back into politics, so he bought a new club, not too far away, AC Monza. Not coincidentally, I'm sure, it has the same starting letters, the same number of letters, and also the color red, just like AC Milan. So while he lives in his delusions and past successes, and probably has parties with only a single Bunga now, his team have somehow made their way up to Serie A and are coming to the San Siro. So we meet again.

Let's just hope there are some celebrations like this on Saturday

Verona 1, Milan 2: A Win to Forget

With so many players missing and Milan struggling so much away this season in those white kits, a trip to the Bentegodi was never going to be easy. But we probably never expected it to be that painful, either. Pioli played with the formation, his tactics, and lineups due to all of the missing players, and it did not always go well for us. We also conceded a goal that was deflected into our own net, which is never fun to watch, either. But we did get to see some players get some playing time that we have not seen much of, and thanks to Tonali, we actually did get the 2-1 win. Still, it was a win to forget.

Take the 3 points and move on to the next match

Verona-Milan Preview: Battle at the Bentegodi

After a demoralizing loss robbery in the Champions League midweek, Milan are looking to bounce back with a win in the league. There are two problems with that. The first is that they still have a number of injuries to key players. The second is that they are away, to the Bentegodi no less. A stadium that is known for having some of the most hostile, combative, volatile fans in Serie A. Verona also have a brand new coach, as they currently sit in the relegation zone, desperate for points. However, they have a number of key injuries of their own, so it will be more like a battle at the Bentegodi.

Milan will need to bring all of their available weapons to battle

AC Milan 0, Chelsea FC 2: Hell Hath No Fury

After Chelsea had their way with a Milan side that was missing nine players last week, we knew this match would be difficult. But we also knew that a sold out San Siro with 75,000 passionate Milan fans would give any team hell. What no one ever expected was that a referee would singlehandedly change the match to give Chelsea even more of an advantage. Again. After last year's debacle that saw UEFA referees suspended, you would think UEFA would choose referees more carefully, especially so that Milan and their group were not influenced by the officials. Again. But German referee Daniel Siebert apparently did not get that memo from UEFA. Or perhaps he did? Either way, Hell hath no fury like a club that has been robbed by UEFA referees two years in a row.

A good ref should never be the talking point. And UEFA did not send a good ref.

Champions League Group Stage • AC Milan vs. Chelsea FC: Welcome To Hell

Last Wednesday's match in London was perhaps the most painful loss in Pioli's tenure since that loss to Atalanta that inspired the amazing winning mentality they have built ever since. However, Pioli learned from that loss, lessons he put into place to defeat Juventus. Having a healthy Theo Hernández back did not hurt, either. But the real advantage on Tuesday, when Chelsea come to Milano will be Milan's amazing fans. A San Siro packed with fans who start each match by singing "Pioli is on Fire," and do not stop singing or supporting their team until the final whistle. The match will be tough, it may not even be winnable, but Chelsea will not be made comfortable. Welcome to Hell.

This is not a little tea party. Welcome to Hell.

Milan 2, Juventus 0: The Answer

After a soul-crushing loss to Chelsea midweek in the Champions League, it was difficult to know whether or not Milan would be able to come up with answers against a Juventus side that scored six goals this week in two wins. Additionally, in response to Juve's poor form this season, Allegri had begged the question, what would happen if you took away five starters from Milan? Tonight, with seven players out injured, most of them starters, Allegri got the answer.

Tomori had the answer. Again.

Milan-Juventus Preview: When The Going Gets Tough

Milan are used to being dealt some serious levels of misfortune. However, they are also used to rising above it and conquering it with an incredible mentality, a mentality that won the Scudetto against all odds last season. However, after their 22 match league unbeaten streak was broken by Napoli ahead of the recent break, their mentality finally crumbled midweek against Chelsea in the Champions League after the second goal was conceded. Now Juventus are coming to the San Siro, and with so many important players still out, Milan face another tough test on Saturday. So what will happen this time when the going gets tough?

Let's hope the San Siro looks something like this on Saturday

Chelsea 3, Milan 0: Crushed

The writing was on the wall for this one, but it doesn't make the loss any less painful. Milan's signature mentality was broken between the onslaught of really horrible, long-term injuries and the crowded schedule, including an international break that saw 16 of our players called up for their national teams. The brave young team, some of whom were literally our third choice at that spot, showed up to play for the first 20 minutes or so, but were soon overpowered by a team at full strength, playing at home, with the energy from a new coach. Losing is never easy. Losing 3-0 is worse. But losing when you've been pummeled by injuries relentlessly is more like being crushed.

When even your best was never going to be good enough

Champions League Group Stage • Chelsea FC vs. AC Milan: Like Lambs to the Slaughter

Milan come into this match as Group E leaders, but have an injury crisis that would make prior year's injury crises blush, mainly because of the severity and length of injuries to key players. When you add those injuries to the healthy players that Pioli had to leave off of the Champions League List A, our prospects for the Chelsea match on Wednesday are... very young. One might even say "like lambs to the slaughter."

We have to hold on to what we've got and hope for the best

Empoli 1, Milan 3: Last Gasp Win

Milan's mentality knows no bounds. Having lost three new players to injuries in this match alone, and seeming to be a team playing on their last gasp, they came back in stoppage time to take all three points from Empoli. The cost is obviously very high, with new injuries to Saelemaekers, Calabria, and Kjaer very worrisome heading into yet another insane round of fixtures in both the Champions League and Serie A. As mentioned ahead of this match, when Milan are missing big players, other players step in to fill those shoes, and that happened again tonight. Ballo-Touré scored his first goal for Milan, and with goals from Rebić and Leão, the three points were ours. It was a miraculous finish to an absolutely nailbiting game, a last gasp win.

The last gasp win from a new hero

Empoli-Milan Preview: Strength in Affliction

Milan suffered numerous injuries over this international break, having up to nine players simultaneously injured at one point. While a few have recovered or are in the process of recovering in time for Saturday's match, this situation, where Milan have numerous key players with long-term injuries, is all too familiar. In the past, this has been a time when the other players rose to the occasion and compensated for the missing pieces, but there is some question as to whether or not they will be able to continue to do this. These next few games will be a test to see if Milan still really does find strength in affliction.

When Milan are missing players, others step up... right?

Milan's International Break: Everybody Hurts

Like an abusive relationship that Milan can never escape, the injury crisis is back in full force at Milan. Not content with the long-term injuries that were quietly adding up, a couple of players over-extended themselves versus Napoli, compensating for the lack of Leão. Then the players went on international duty. Sixteen players, to be exact, and one by one, after only two days of international competition, Pioli has a full-blown injury crisis on his hands. Of course the injuries have to happen now, when the competition is tougher than ever and we actually have a decent chance in the Champions League. But when players are injured, everybody hurts.

Leaving a huge hole in our starting 11

Milan 1, Napoli 2: Heartbreak Loss

Milan's 22 match unbeaten streak was broken in front of over 72,000 fans at the San Siro in a 2-1 loss to Napoli. Their last loss in the league was... well, we don't really want to remember that one, either. Despite taking more than double the shots that Napoli took, and still being impacted by some questionable refereeing from last week, the scoreline was gifted to the visitors. Not quite in the unsavory way it was handed them last year in this fixture, but Napoli were incredibly lucky to come away with three points. Not that they did not play well, only that Milan played better for longer periods of the game. Obviously, Milan did not convert their chances and did not do enough to win, either. But it was a bitter pill to swallow after a valiant effort despite all odds. We go into the break with a heartbreak.

When you've given all you have and still don't get the result