AC Milan 1, Borussia Dortmund 3: Consequences

Actions have consequences. There are also consequences for not taking action. This game was a result of many things. Mentality, injuries, decisions made, errors on and off the pitch. But the most glaring action was one taken late on June fifth of this year, and all of the subsequent actions after that. Milan's DNA was systematically extracted this summer, along with all of the heart and grinta that took what many believe was a lesser team to the Champions League semifinals last season. And the consequences for that are that Milan are at the bottom of Group F, looking at elimination in the Group Stage. Or worse, a run in the Europa League with this beleaguered squad, a competition Milan has never succeeded in. Milan's lack of action in addressing the horrific injury plague has now taken another victim, leaving Milan with only one healthy center back. So very many consequences.

Ancelotti: "Football clubs who primarily think of doing business ahead of achieving sporting goals are destined to fail."

Champions League Group Stage • AC Milan-Borussia Dortmund: No Uncertain Terms

This group was deemed the "Group of Death" from day one, and it has lived up to its name. Milan have done themselves no favors, however, by putting themselves in a must-win situation to qualify for the knockout round. Dortmund come into this match at the top of Group F for now, But true to its reputation, no one is safe yet in this group. This matchday could see anything happen. However, Milan is the only team in the group to have never topped the table, and thus need all three points to keep their Champions League dream alive. Their job is spelled out for them in no uncertain terms.

You have one job, Milan.

Milan 1, Fiorentina 0: When Push Comes to Shove

For all the quality this management supposedly brought in this summer, their shortsightedness and the deficiencies in the squad have been impacting the team when things were less than ideal. First the shortage in defense, now the lack of a proper backup at center forward. Of course, that led to 15 year-old Francesco Camarda making history by being the youngest player ever to debut in Serie A. Which is great, but what will the consequences be for him? Will the media destroy him like it has others? What was the benefit to the team? This match proved that whatever quality was brought in, this team is still dependent upon the core players that the previous management built this team on. And when they are missing, the performances suffer. Just like all of the fans suffered through this match. In the end, Milan took the 1-0 victory over Fiorentina because of a penalty they conceded. Literally, when push comes to shove.

United in mediocrity.

Milan-Fiorentina Preview: Desperate Measures

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and with Milan's injury crisis right now, that is exactly where Pioli is at. Management were criticized for not finding a backup for Giroud, then at literally the final moments of the transfer window, ended up signing former Fiorentina player Jović, who has unfortunately not made any impact at all. Now management are being criticized even more for their shortsightedness, but Pioli has had to do something practical to address the crisis at center forward on Saturday. So he is calling up the goalscoring wonder, 15 year-old Francesco Camarda, from the Primavera squad. A huge gamble, to put such a young player on such a big stage, but desperate times do call for desperate measures.

Pioli making desperate decisions under desperate situations.

The Real Scandal Behind Betting in Italy

Last month, another scandal hit Italian football. Which sadly, is never surprising, and one of the main reasons Serie A continues to struggle as a league. This one, however focuses primarily on a few players. The investigation actually began in late August, apparently, but was blown wide by a man who has served time for extortion. The media claims that the scandal is that these players have been placing illegal bets, with Juventus' Nicolò Fagioli and former Milan favorite Sandro Tonali already receiving bans and treatment for gambling addiction. But the real scandal behind betting in Italy is that only the players are being punished, and that the gambling industry, even the illegal portion, is being protected.

Is it the grinta? Is that a risk factor in gambling disorder?

Milan's Injury Nightmares

After years of Milan struggling with injuries, the latest surge of players getting injured has finally got people looking at the numbers. And those numbers are staggering. Milan have had 24 injuries already this season, more than Juventus and Inter combined, and 21 of those 24 injuries have been muscle-related injuries. A shocking more than 500 days out injured as a squad. And, as Pioli pointed out postmatch on Saturday, these cannot all be due to just bad luck. While the players are all at Milanello injured or on national team duty, everyone is speculating about Milan's injury nightmares.

Pioli's recurring nightmares.

Lecce 2, Milan 2: Chaos

This match might have presented a challenge, but on paper should have been a formality. Yet Milan dropped two more points and lost two more starters to injury as well as a player to suspension. What began as a scrappy Saturday afternoon match quickly descended into pain, then misery, then chaos as Milan lost their 2-0 lead and their heads to draw 2-2 with Lecce. Worse still, the voices who have been tediously screaming Pioli Out for four very long years are now hysterically insisting that the Club sack him. Truly, since June fifth, the club has just been on a one way descent into chaos.

Sure, he said what we all wanted to, but still...

Lecce-Milan Preview: Ready, Steady, Go

Milan took fans for a wild ride this past week. After their worst performance of the year and the 1-0 loss to Udinese last week, they defeated PSG 2-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday in one of their best performances of the year. Now, ahead of the international break next week, they are away to 13th place Lecce on Saturday afternoon. Three points is the least they are expected to do, with a good performance and no new injuries the ideal scenario. But above all, they need to settle into a mental rhythm again that helps them to perform (and hopefully win) consistently. Ready, steady, go.

Now Milan need to keep the performances and their mentality steady.

AC Milan 2, Paris Saint-Germain FC 1: Miracle at San Siro

After what even Florenzi described as Milan's worst performance of the season on Saturday, fans were rightfully filled with a sense of dread for this match. Milan had not scored in the Champions League before tonight, and PSG had dismissed Milan 3-0 in Paris two weeks ago as well. Pioli's superpower has always been mentality, and especially being able to pull the team together and get a reaction like this 2-1 win over PSG after a dreadful performance. However, with so much of the Milan gone from Milan this season, even the most ardent believers rightfully questioned whether it was possible. However, with a few key players returning from injury and a sold out San Siro stadium behind them, this team dug deep and performed a miracle at San Siro.

Current mood.

Champions League Group Stage • AC Milan-Paris Saint-Germain FC: Do We Have To?

When Milan traveled to Paris two weeks ago, there was some hope that the team could compete with the Ligue 1 financial powerhouse. But then again, Milan went into that match with a tiny amount of dignity. After losing to PSG 3-0 in Paris, Milan gave up a two goal lead to draw with Napoli away, then lost 1-0 to 17th place Udinese on Saturday at San Siro. I think it's safe to say that all dignity, if not all hope, is lost. And other than a handful of Milan Ultras with a stupid vendetta, I think most Milan fans are dreading this match. Do we really have to watch?

If we must watch, at least support our own goalkeeper.

Milan 0, Udinese 1: The Nightmare Continues

It was very clear from his prematch press conference that Pioli had hit the panic button and that this was going to be one of those matches. After weeks of hypercriticism from the toxic Italian media, and the Pioli Out hashtag surfacing while Pioli had this team comfortably in first place, as well as an endless stream of injuries, a lot of discipline issues, and a string of poor results, this 1-0 loss to 17th place Udinese was certainly not a shock. Another poor performance, another three points dropped, and another injury. The nightmare continues.

They dedicated this match to Kalulu, then played as if they were anesthetized.

Milan-Udinese Preview: Zombie Nightmare

November is here, Halloween is over. But not for Milan. In a nightmare that is all too familiar, Milan are missing many players to injury yet again, including serious injuries. Kalulu had surgery this week to repair a torn tendon, and the brand new Pellegrino is out with a broken foot. The good news is that we have already faced Roma, Inter, Juventus, and Napoli. The bad news is that we have to face all of the other clubs this round with yet another insane injury crisis. And history shows us that Milan tend to struggle more with the clubs who are not contenders for top four, anyway. So, while most clubs would love to be facing a relegation-threatened team at home at this point in the season, Milan have another injury apocalypse and this match could easily be yet another zombie nightmare.

Loftus-Cheek has finally been resurrected for this one, but we lost other players to injury.