Milan 0, Napoli 2: Misery

Reading Stephen King's Misery is far more terrifying than the movie could ever be. But I am beginning to feel like we are all the writer in the story, Paul Sheldon, and Fonseca is our Annie. He says he is our "biggest fan," that he is benching our best players "for tactical reasons," but in actuality, he is holding us hostage and torturing us and making both our players and us fans suffer unbearable amounts of pain until he gets his way. Even if his way means only five wins in 12 matches, or losing 2-0 to a team that we absolutely owned, even in the Champions League,  just over a year ago. Fonseca's man management tactics are a source of pure misery.

When you are compared to the protagonist in a psychological thriller, you may be the problem.

Milan-Napoli Preview: Conte Is Finally Here

When there were finally credible rumors of Pioli being sacked, so many fans wanted Conte at Milan. Reports were that he was even Ibrahimović's first choice, but who knows if that was ever true. Well, now Conte is finally going to be at Milan, but not in the way Milan fans wanted. He comes to the San Siro as the manager of Napoli, who are four points clear at the top of the table and showing no signs of slowing down. Worse still, with the Bologna match being postponed on Saturday, Milan will be missing two key players that we otherwise would have had. Then there are new injuries, and whatever narcissistic psychological warfare Fonseca is playing with Leão. So, not great timing, but the fans asked for it, and Conte is finally here,

Conte is coming to Milan, but not in the way supporters wanted.

AC Milan 3, Club Brugge KV 1: Emotional Roller Coaster

Milan finally have three points from three Champions League matches, although to be fair, the referee and Club Brugge deserve as much credit as Milan for winning 3-1 on Tuesday. While Fonseca made a lot of questionable decisions within this match, Brugge outplayed Milan for much of the time, even partially while down to ten men. But the first half red card was the most influential factor to the outcome. Well, that and a Reijnders brace, a Pulisic corner that turned into a goal, and Camarda's Champions League debut and his goal that was called back for offside. It was definitely an eventful match and an emotional roller coaster.

So many ups and downs in this match, a heart rate monitor would have broken.

Champions League • League Phase • AC Milan vs. Club Brugge KV: The Search for Points

They say the third time is a charm, and for Milan's sake, I really hope this holds true. On Tuesday evening, AC Milan host Club Brugge for our third Champions League match of this new League Phase. Brugge have something that Milan do not: a win in this new format. Despite the fact that seven time Champions League winning side Milan should be considered favorites in this one, we currently sit in 32nd place of the 36 teams. So for Milan, a result would not only be massive, it is becoming quite necessary. And a nice goal differential would be helpful, too. This one is all about the search for points.

Still looking for that first UCL win...

Milan 1, Udinese 0: When VAR is MOTM

Milan won this match 1-0 vs. Udinese, and if you enjoyed it, either your name is Fonseca, or you hate football. Many are upset with the referee, Chiffi, but in actuality, he only enforced the rules. With the help of VAR, of course, which was also used correctly. First, Reijnders was sent off in just under 30 minutes with a straight red that seemed criminal. Chiffi called it, and VAR reviewed it and agreed. Then Udinese had not just one, but two goals called back for offside, both overturned by VAR review, even though Chiffi had originally awarded them both. Without VAR, this match would have ended at least 2-1 for Udinese. Instead, Milan took all three points, leaving a bad taste in everyone's match, and a whole bunch of stoppage time at the end. That is what happens when VAR is the Man of the Match.

When VAR is the focus, warriors like these will be forced to suffer.

Milan-Udinese Preview: Redemption or Relapse

Like picking up a cliffhanger of a book where you were forced to leave off, our Fonseca season picks back up again when Milan host Udinese at the San Siro. Amidst poor results, defiant players, a manager's tantrum, injuries, and even a player suspended, Fonseca needs to pull this team together to try to pull points off of a team who is actually two points ahead of us on the table. He's basically got two choices: redemption or relapse.

Fonseca will need a lot more from his team for redemption.

Fiorentina 2, Milan 1: Pandemonium

Sunday's match had everything. Three saved penalties. Managers carded or sent off. A player scoring against the team that owned him (but not celebrating.) Five yellow cards amongst some very questionable refereeing. A captain sent off after the final whistle. And amongst all the insanity, Milan lost 2-1 to Fiorentina, dropping another three points. But the real chaos began with Fonseca's postmatch press conference when he raised some questions about some of the players' behaviors. Which in turn raised more questions about his man management and overall competency. So, once again, we have two weeks of an international break with Milan fans and the media in a complete state of pandemonium.

It felt like this for 90 minutes.

Fiorentina-Milan Preview: Refocus

Milan need to recover from their midweek trip to Germany and more importantly, any mentality drop from their Champions League loss to Bayer Leverkusen. With only one match before the international break, Fonseca will need to get them to refocus very quickly to ensure his position is not scrutinized again for the entire break until the next match. Given his obsession with the defensive tactics in Italy in his prematch press conference, it is not only the players who need to refocus.

The players need to recover, regroup, and refocus.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1, AC Milan 0: Built For Champions League?

Tuesday's Champions League match was frustrating to watch. Certainly, this Milan side are improved from the first few matches, where they looked completely lost. Then, there was the Swiss referee, who was anything but neutral, literally endangering out players for 90 minutes. But losing 1-0 to a powerful Bayer Leverkusen side with an incredible record was not the part that hurt. The part that was difficult to swallow was that we have been told by management that this squad is built for winning in the Champions League. Not only have they recklessly removed Milan's literal DNA, they wantonly and narcissistically dismantled the Scudetto winning team, even strengthening our rivals to do so. Based on last season's European performances and these first two matches, how could anyone think this team is built for Champions League?

Champions League mood.

Champions League • League Phase • Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs. AC Milan: In Search of Milan's DNA

After the worst start in decades, Milan have three league wins under their belts. Sure, two were to relegation-level sides, but the Derby win meant more than a match. However, we lost our first Champions League match to Liverpool, and now we are away to Xabi Alonso's side who earned the nickname "Neverlusen" last year for their record breaking undefeated season. While Bayer Leverkusen have lost a match already this season, they still look much more solid than Milan, having played together as a team (and won) longer. And while Fonseca's prematch comments reflected his knowledge of this, he seemed way too overconfident. I don't sense that he truly understands what Milan's history is in this competition, so in addition to looking for the result, we will be in search of Milan's DNA.

This is not a stereotypical Italian defense, they need to find that Milan DNA.