ŠK Slovan Bratislava 2, AC Milan 3: Empty Calories

Have you ever eaten something that was not even satisfying? Something that left you feeling worse than before you ate, something that did not even provide nourishment, but was just empty calories? That was kind of how this win was. Sure, Milan got the 3-2 win over Slovan Bratislava. And it was even the third win in the Champions League, which pushed Milan way up the table. But allowing Slovan Bratislava to double their goal tally from their first four matches in just one match was alarming. And Fonseca's obsession with benching Leão, but his insistence upon starting others is not only hypocritical, it's actually harming our performances and results now. So even a win doesn't feel like a win, or even satisfying anymore. It just feels like empty calories.

Victory never tasted so... empty? Unfulfilling?

This one started out with a foul on Chukwueze in the box in just the 4th minute, but no call, despite a VAR review. Neither Sánchez Martinez, the Spanish referee, nor del Cerro Grande, his head VAR referee wanted to make any calls early on. Pavlović had a block on Strelec, then Takáč saved a shot from Pulisic. But in the 21st, Pulisic broke through and scored, with an assist from Abraham. 1-0 Milan. 

Pulisic goal with an Abraham assist to kick things off... not bad.

That lead did not last, though, as Barseghyan pulled one back for the home side just three minutes later. 1-1 all. Reijnders had a shot that went wide, and our old pal Kucka met our new friend Pavlović just before the half, too, an acquaintance I think he regretted. However, it was a largely dull first half, even with the two goals.

A big reason for the lack of intensity or creativity from Milan was the fact that Fonseca benched Leão. Again. Ahead of the match, he said that he could not rest Fofana. But he had no problems resting Leão, That is because he has some kind of pathological need to prove that for him, "Leão is the same as Musah or Loftus-Cheek." The double standard of not being able to rest some players, yet consistently resting your best player is absolute insanity. And it has not gone unnoticed. Yet match after match, since he first benched Leão at the end of August, Leão comes on and changes the game, like nobody else. In fact, he was given UEFA's Man of the Match award because he changed the game so much.

I don't see Musah and Loftus-Cheek with 6 of these, so not the same, Mister.

And that was the case again in this match. Leão replaced Okafor at the half, and everything changed. Okay, there were a couple of yellows, such as Chukwueze's yelllow for a foul on Metsoko that may have been retaliation for some overly physical contact a few minutes prior. Or Calabria's yellow for a foul on Barseghyan. But chances began to be created, and in the 68th, Leão himself scored, from a Fofana assist, to make it 2-1 Milan.

Three minutes later, Tammy Abraham scored as well, bringing the tally to 3-1 for Milan. Unwilling to allow his team to actually succeed, Fonseca stacked the deck against them once again with his subs, bringing on Loftus-Cheek for Pulisic, Emerson Royal for Calabria (even though the former reportedly had a sprained ankle and was not going to play this on,) and Musah for Fofana. I know we need rotation, but it's like Fonseca is personally undermining his own team between his lineups and subs. Like overtly undermining them.

Abraham with the goal and the assist.

Tomori got a yellow card for fouling Ihnatenko, then Camarda replaced Tammy Abraham. It does not seem like Fonseca is using him well, either, not putting him into games where there are good chances for him, or the mentality is positive. He only uses him when he has no one else. And sure enough, just a few minutes later, Marcelli scored a screamer to keep Slovan Bratislava's dreams alive. 3-2 Milan. 

It was all Milan could do to ward off the 36th place team from equalizing and grabbing a point. The team that had only scored two goals so far in their entire campaign had two goals in this match and were looking for a third. But they got a little too frustrated, and in the 90th minute, Tolić got upset about a call and earned himself back to back yellow cards for dissent, sow was sent off, leaving his team on ten men for the rest of stoppage time. And in fact, after the final whistle, Bajrić was shown a yellow card, apparently for something he said as well. 

Pavlović had a stunning goal line clearance to save Maignan's back, too.

Kucka was honored by the traveling Curva Sud members after the match, which was deserved, and really heart warming to see. But other than that, this was a disappointment for everyone. Even the players said that it didn't feel like a win. It didn't stop Fonseca from claiming whatever it was he said we did well, I honestly have to forget his press conferences now for my mental well being. It may look like Milan are doing well in the Champions League now, but if you watched two out of three of our victories, you would be very concerned. And especially for this one, which felt like empty calories.

AC Milan Primavera Get the 3-2 Win Over ŠK Slovan Bratislava U19

A win worth celebrating

Guidi's U19 boys got their first UEFA Youth League win of this season with a 3-2 win over Slovan Bratislava's U19 side, but this one actually felt like a victory. Milan conceded a goal in the 26th, but equalized when Liberali converted his penalty in the 43rd minute. 1-1 all. In the 60th minute, Slovan Bratislava U19 had a player sent off, so were on 10 men. Then Scotti scored an incredible backheel flick on the volley in the 62nd minute. Bakoune followed that up with a great goal in the 83rd, with an assist from Scotti, 3-1 Milan. They did concede again almost immediately, in the 84th minute, but were able to hold onto the lead for the win. Highlights of the match are available. 

Milan Futuro Defeat Torres 1-0 in the Coppa Italia Round of 16

Sia scores his first goal for Futuro and is the hero of the Coppa Italia Round of 16

After a very rough league season that sees Bonera's side in the relegation zone, one goal from Diego Sia was all they needed on Wednesday to see them through to the quarterfinals of the Serie C Coppa Italia. Torres did have a players sent off in the 79th minute, but the goal in the 54th minute was the game winner, as some heroics from Nava kept the clean sheet and sent them through. There are highlights available, and Milan Futuro will face Caldiero Terme on December 18th in the next round. 

In the meantime, they have a big matchup with Abate's Ternana on Sunday afternoon in the league. Abate's side currently sit in third place in the league, while Bonera's Futuro are in 18th. It will likely be quite emotional, as Abate managed many of these players for several years as they came up through the Milan youth system.

This post inspired by the music of Bow Wow Wow's "I Want Candy"

Our next matches are:

Serie A Week 13

AC Milan vs. Empoli

Saturday, November 30, 2024 • 18:00 CET (12:45pm EST)

In the U.S., this match can be streamed on Paramount+,

or use a VPN to access better coverage

Serie C Week 17

Ternana vs. Milan Futuro

Sunday, December 1, 2024 • 15:00 CET (9am EST)

This match is not being televised in the U.S.

Campionato Primavera 1 Week 13

Milan Primavera vs. Roma Primavera

Monday, December 2, 2024 • 18:45 CET (12:45pm EST)

This match is not being televised in the U.S.