Milan's first official match of the season did not go exactly as planned. In a match where Milan could and should have controlled the narrative, decisions by Fonseca and errors by players, particularly in the defensive phase, once again took center stage, and the result was a 2-2 draw with Torino. Vanoli's side were not necessarily better, but perhaps better prepared, without players on national team duty, and having not gone on a giant promotional tour of the U.S. across the Atlantic ocean. The Milan fans, too, were not prepared for the season, with the Curva Sud having boycotted the last 4.5 matches of the season, and not attended Raduno to support the team, their support also wavered. Even the technology faltered, with VAR compensating for Goal Line Technology (GLT) and then failing itself with human error. Overall, you could say this match was a bit of a learning Curva.
 |
| Patience and a promise to do better from everyone would be wise. |
From Fonseca's lineups, one could anticipate that things might not be ideal. He chose to reward players who had trained with him the longest with starting spots, rather than players who were mentally and tactically the best options. The most glaring choice here was Saelemaekers, who is a right winger, and Fonseca put him in at left back. Saelemaekers works hard. He runs. But he is not a defender, and he is definitely not a left back. As we saw in the 30th minute, when he gave Bellanova acres of space to take the shot that would end up as a Thiaw own goal. 1-0 Torino.
 |
| First match of the season, and Milan are getting hit with VAR/ref controversies. |
The controversy here is that the goal was not initially given. Maresca checked his watch for GLT confirmation of goal or no goal, and nothing showed up, so he signaled to play on. But it was clear that the ball had crossed the line, and Doveri, who was head VAR ref, alerted him as much, so the goal was awarded. GLT was developed to be infallible. In the modern version, there are multiple high speed cameras set up that are trained specifically on the goal areas, which can triangulate the exact placement of the ball in relation to the line to within .5 cm and within one second. That system sends the goal/no goal message to the referee's special watch that he wears just for this one thing. However, apparently there was a problem with the GLT, as Maresca did not receive the message, according to the president of the Italian referee association.
Which leads me to Thiaw. A lot of people criticized Thiaw exclusively for that error. Not only forgetting that he had the first shot on goal with his header in the seventh minute, forcing a goal line clearance, or his other shot later, or the many other plays he got right. No. A shot that Saelemaekers allowed, Tomori attempted to clear, but it rebounded off the inside of the post and was definitely going in if Thiaw did not intervene, and Thiaw takes all the blame because he didn't manage to do it. A player plays 90 minutes, does so many things right, but is judged for his worst moment.
 |
| One error does not a poor defender make. |
I had great hopes that Jović would be able to break down his giant Serbian teammate, Vanja Milinković-Savić, who, at 6'8" (2.02 m) is still the tallest keeper in Serie A, and always has a great game against us. But I was wrong. Despite scoring two goals in preseason, Jović struggled up front. Perhaps it was his choice to tempt the curse of the number nine jersey to come back as he switched jersey this week, I don't know. But when Morata came on in the 60th, the impact was immediate, and his threat constant, the difference was painfully obvious.
Rafa Leão worked hard, but was unable to convert any of his chances. Not even when he put on the afterburners and ran the length of the pitch to put him in a 1v1 with Milinković-Savić in the 41st, the goalkeeper came out and saved his shot. We won't talk about the attempted bicycle kick. Chukwueze was not able to be as involved in the play, but once he did get a shot, his shot was wide, as well. In fact, Milan took 26 shots in all against Torino, but only six were on target. That isn't about fitness, that is about mentality.
 |
| Everyone excited to see Pulisic play centrally, but it will take time for everyone to adjust. |
Pulisic created a couple of great chances, too, one in the 48th, where he managed to beat Malinković-Savić and get around him, only to leave himself not enough space to get the shot into the net. Jović's final contribution before being substituted was to earn Milan's first yellow card of the season for fouling Ricci. Ironic that after a season where we won the Red Card Scudetto, two of the four players we picked up this summer are known for being generous with their physicality, both Pavlović and Fofana. The French midfielder signed his contract, held his press conference, and was presented at halftime.
In the 60th minute, Fonseca brought on three players that made all the difference: Morata, Reijnders, and Theo Hernández for Jović, Bennacer, and Saelemaekers respectively. Fonseca said they were not fit, but as Morata pointed out, it is the mentality that needs changing. This is precisely why Fonseca was brought in, to change the mentality, bring in a fresh perspective, new ideas, to energize the team. Which, during the preseason, when teams were not at full strength or playing full force, seemed to work.
 |
| Dear Fonseca, I know you love this guy, but he is not a left back. |
But Fonseca lined up a Pioli lineup (although even Pioli never played Saelemaekers at left back,) and, as we saw particularly in the Barcelona match, he has not even begun to convey any new ideas for the massive defensive issues. But to be fair, neither has the management, really. Fofana is a bigger, tougher box-to-box midfielder, who is less likely to get run over or bullied than some of our other midfielders, but he is not a true defensive midfielder, which is the one thing we have truly lacked since winning the Scudetto. And for this match, they did not even have Fofana yet. Luckily for both the questionable lineups and the questionable defense, Maignan had some incredible saves, and Tomori put all the haters to doubt, too, with a rock solid performance.
Reijnders helped immensely, of course, as always. There is a reason he played nearly every minute of every match last year. He quickly became Milan's best and most consistent midfielder, even if defense is not his focus or strength, either. And Theo Hernández is otherwordly as a left back compared to poor Saelemaekers, who had no business playing that position. Although to be fair, Theo was also caught napping when Duvan Zapata scored Torino's second goal in the 68th. 2-0 Torino. (And for the people blaming Thiaw, Zapata was behind him, he was in front of Theo, and he was supposed to be marking him.)
 |
| The most vital part of our midfield. |
However, Morata came on and was simply explosive. Barely on the pitch for two-three minutes, he was taken down in the box by new Torino defender Saúl Coco. Initially, Maresca saw Morata down in the box and whistled for a penalty. But upon a VAR review, he realized that he no longer plays for Juventus, he plays for Milan, so obviously, the penalty was revoked. In all seriousness, people claim this was the right call, but for me, Morata's leg moves before Coco's foot touches the ball. Which means Coco's knee made contact, but I think in Maresca's quick look, he only looked at the feet. Which is unfortunate, because Milan should have had a penalty there. But it is good to get Morata used to wearing the Milan shirt, and all of the completely insane referee calls and errors that come with that.
After the last cooling break, Fonseca made an inspired sub, bringing on Musah for Pulisic. Tactically, it was strange, but it absolutely worked, as Musah was integral in what would happen. Morata had a header saved, then scored a goal, but it was called back for offside. Then Fonseca's last substitution was Okafor for Calabria. Again, definitely not a like-for-like sub, but also crucial to the storyline.
 |
| How to change a match in one substitution, by Álvaro Morata. |
Milan were controlling the match now, and Torino were playing scared. Despite Vanoli making more substitutions, they did not get any more shots off during this time. It was in the 89th minute that Milan finally broke through. Musah blasted the ball forward, Reijnders also hit it hard, and Morata with his killer instincts shocked Milinković-Savić and just sent it past him with relative ease. Now it was Milan 1, Torino 2.
What happened here was disgraceful. Morata tried to grab the ball to hurry and restart the match. First, Milinković-Savić grabbed it and kept it from him, then threw it on the ground away from him, which should have been a card for timewasting. So Morata, hungry as ever, went after it, but Tamèze apparently picked it up and refused to give it to him. Also timewasting. But Morata was carded for trying to get the ball from him, before Maresca finally pulled out a card for the Toino midfielder. Shameful from the Torino players and the referee. But again, at least Morata is quickly learning about the disadvantages of being a Milan player.
 |
| Mr. 95th Minute was given the Player of the Match trophy by Serie A. |
Both Musah, and then a minute later Saelemaekers attempted shots from distance that were blocked or saved. Then, in the 95th, Musah sent in a great cross for Okafor, who was in the middle, and he just knocked it in from about the penalty spot for the equalizer. 2-2 all. Theo and Reijnders would both have shots that were just wide before the final whistle, but Milan couldn't get the winner, unfortunately. Fonseca's lineups and delayed substitutions had been too costly to turn around the deficit in such a short time.
Speaking of turning around, the Curva Sud finally decided to show up. Which was a miracle in and of itself, and they started off singing at a decent volume, but got a lot quieter as they watched more of the same football we had seen last year. However, once Morata and the others came on and started to make things happen, they found their voices and helped the players find the mentality to pull two goals back. I like to think the new players got a taste of how loud the San Siro can be, and hopefully our fans remember they can provide that atmosphere and support for them.
 |
| His dream come true could be our dream come true, too. Welcome, Fofana. |
Fonseca has a full week to make whatever adjustments he plans to before the trip to Parma. I am not sure if he got too cocky namedropping the big clubs and his success in the summer friendlies in his prematch press conference, or perhaps it was Karma for not calling up Kalulu, Pobega, and Adli because he is pushing them out, but it is clear that he doesn't know his team or the challenges he faces as well as he may have thought he did. I hope the draw was enough humble pie for him to realize that this is Milan. Whatever he needs to learn, he needs to learn quickly, because his past success will not help him overcome the issues he was hired to solve here, as we spoke about on the Season Preview podcast. The new players will have to adapt quickly, too, and hopefully, the fans and the Curva Sud can remember how to support their team again. After all, this is a learning Curva for everyone.
Milan Futuro Progress in the Coppa Italia Serie C
 |
| Camarda celebrates scoring his first two professional goals for Milan Futuro. |
Milan Primavera win their First Match
 |
| The one that is smiling is Maximilian Ibrahimović. He must have known. |
Reviewed by Elaine
on
11:00 PM
Rating:
