Juventus 1, Milan 2: To the Final!

After a season where Juventus have struggled to be decisive in matches, in this Supercoppa Semifinal, they decided to score the winning goal... for Milan. Milan defeated Juventus 2-1 in Riyadh to set up a Derby final with Inter on Monday. Despite the fact that Sergio Conceição had only arrived Monday afternoon and was ill with a fever, he pulled the team together (some of whom were also sick,) and got an immediate result to help bring smiles back to Milan players and fans alike. The first match post-Fonseca, Milan got the win and in just four days, Conceição already visibly has the team united and fighting for him. Now on to the final!

A team united and winning after just four days...

First I would like to say that I have previously referred to Fonseca's manipulation in the media as well as his lineups and substitutions as gaslighting. I do not use this word lightly. Since the Lazio match at the end of August, Fonseca has benched our players, telling them, the fans, and the world various different stories about why, from "tactical reasons" to outright saying the players were not working hard enough for him, etc. This led to players doing things we have never seen them do before, particularly openly defying him during the Fiorentina match, or Calabria, our captain, refusing to acknowledge him when he was subbed off against Crvena zvezda. But it wasn't true. And throughout the season, increasingly, the players began to publicly speak out and support one another via social media to try to tell us the truth about what was really going on.

Theo Hernández was back in the starting lineup, no drama.

I have long held that this was a Fonseca problem, even if he was perhaps not exactly set up for success by management. Time will obviously tell the truth for sure, but his lack of respect for his players, specifically his captains, meant that he never kept their respect in return, either. People don't like using strong words like abuse, because most people associate it with physical violence. But gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse, and Fonseca was psychologically abusive to our players. He made everyone believe (I think even the players themselves) that everything was the players' fault, but it wasn't. He took zero accountability for anything, and kept saying that he would never stop. So creepy. And there was no way he was ever going to get consistent results when he was behaving like that. 

Again, watching the players greet Pioli said it all without needing any words. And even though Conceição admitted to yelling at the team at halftime (which worked, by the way,) he also made a point to hug each player at the end of the match. More telling, they hugged him back, which we almost never saw with Fonseca, not even after seven months. Although Conceição has only been here four days, he had the team huddle up at the end of the match for a quick motivational talk. We are already back to having a Milan family again. Conceição dispenses tough love, and the players are already responding. Fonseca used a lot of tough, but he forgot the love.

Pulisic back from injury, he scores, is Player of the Match, and Milan's MVP.

The first half was not ideal. After a couple of chances for each side, Yildiz scored for Juve in the 21st minute. 1-0 Juventus. In the 37th minute, Koopmeiners caught Bennacer in the face with the back of his boot as his leg swung back, that looked brutal. But Bennacer has waited too long to return to the pitch, we was not going to let getting kicked in the face stop him. Fofana had a shot wide, Maignan had a save on Yildiz, and McKennie was shown a yellow for also fouling Bennacer, and that was the entire first half.

In the 53rd minute, Conceição subbed Musah on to preserve the newly returned Bennacer. Fofana had another shot wide, and Theo Hernández had a great chance right in front of goal that he sent over. The coach subbed Tammy Abraham on for Jiménez in the 61st minute, and things were starting to click (the halftime yelling was working.) Reijnders had a shot saved in the 67th minute, then Thiaw nearly broke Tammy Abraham as they collided, but after treatment, Abraham was able to continue.

Tammy Abraham had a fever and took a beating, but was still committed to the team.

In the 70th minute, former Milan player and traitorous lifelong Juventus fan Locatelli fouled Pulisic in the box. Hahahaha... Karma. Conceição had to look at his notes to see who his penalty taker was, that's how new he is. But Pulisic knew, and after the penalty debacle vs. Fiorentina, the players knew it, too. So Pulisic stepped up and converted the penalty like he always does. 1-1 all. 

Just a few minutes later, Musah sent in what looked like a cross, and I guess Gatti thought that this was a good time for a teeny bit of retribution for all of the wrong calls Juventus has benefitted from over the years. He deflected into the back of the net for the winning goal. 2-1 Milan.

Musah for the win.

Emerson Royal earned himself a yellow card in the 79th minute. Because he was one card away from suspension, he will be suspended, but not for the final, due to the recent changes to the Supercoppa rules. So he will be suspended for our next league match vs. Cagliari. 

Conceição did not get the memo that Fonseca had not been using all five subs lately, so he subbed Gabbia on for Emerson Royal and Terracciano on for Morata in the 81st minute. Pulisic accepted a yellow card for a technical foul on Yildiz in the 82nd minute. Then Maignan had a nother save, this time on Koopmeiners. Gatti had a last minute shot go wide, but the final whistle blew, and Milan had beaten the team who was undefeated so far in Serie A (they had also lost one match to Stuttgart in the Champions League.) 

Conceição has arrived.

Fans are so angry at management, and with this instant and dramatic change of environment for the players (as well as the win,) they are quick to point out that Conceição was available in the summer as well, and that the Club chose wrong. This was pointed out to Ibrahimović during Conceição's welcome press conference, and he did apologize to Fonseca for the way they handled his dismissal. (Now if only the FIGC would apologize for having the Supercoppa in Saudi Arabia.) It does seem quite wasteful, but we cannot change the past. For now, we have to worry about winning another Derby, which will be a much bigger test for both Conceiçao and the team. To the final!

This post inspired by the music of Muse's "Stockholm Syndrome"

Our next matches are:

Campionato Primavera 1 Week 17

Milan Primavera vs. Lazio Primavera

Saturday, January 4, 2025 • 11:00 (5am EST)

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

Serie C Week 21

Athletic Carpi vs. Milan Futuro

Sunday, January 5, 2025 • 17:30 CET (11:30am EST)

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

Supercoppa Final 

Inter Milan vs. AC Milan

Monday, January 6, 2025 • 20:00 CET (2pm EST)

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

or use a VPN to access better coverage