AC Milan 0-0 Juventus: Five things we learned – concerning mentality puts Fonseca under scrutiny | OneFootball

AC Milan failed in their mission to get themselves back into the Scudetto discussion as they were held to a goalless draw by Juventus at San Siro on Saturday evening.

In truth it was a dire contest between a Milan side who seemed to sacrifice all attacking firepower in making themselves more solid at the back, and a Juventus side who were happy with a draw from minute one.

Milan did not manage a shot on target until the 95th minute and that was a rather tame Theo Hernandez header. The jeers at full-time said it all as the fans are aware of how far away the top four spots are becoming.

Below is five things we learned from what was not a good advert for Italian football.

1. Concerning mentality

The team’s mentality has been very concerning since Paulo Fonseca joined the club. Excluding a couple of games where the Rossoneri really shifted into gear – namely against Inter and Real Madrid – it has been disappointing and frustrating to watch.

Against Cagliari we saw the team lacking the focus and even grit at times that could’ve prevented them from conceding three goals, not to mention the lack of organisation and leadership at the back.

Milan looked good defensively this time around but this shouldn’t be regarded as praise since the Bianconeri came with an injury crisis in the attacking department and still got clearer chances than the home side.

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In the middle Milan were slow and predictable whilst the forwards failed to impose themselves in the game, which was also valid for the substitutes that came on.

The lack of passion and desire to push for the three points was disturbing to say the least given how many points Milan have dropped since the start of the season, and one would think that against a depleted Juventus side Fonseca would’ve instructed his players to go out and try to win it.

2. Defence not bold enough

Containing the attacks of Juventus shouldn’t have been such an issue as we already mentioned given their injuries up front, so it was probably expected that Theo and Emerson Royal were going to be a bit more active down the flanks, but we saw nothing like that on the night.

The Frenchman didn’t seem to want to go on his famous runs forward and most of his passes were simple or backwards. Given the concerns about his physical and psychological state, this wasn’t a particularly reassuring performance.

The same can be said about Emerson, who was even worse as he gave the ball away multiple times even without any significant pressure on him. He found it very difficult to stop Kenan Yildiz, who the media described as having ‘bullied’ him.

We can also criticise Matteo Gabbia and Malick Thiaw a bit. It may be harsh because the creativity should have come from the departments further up the field, yet sometimes the starting point of the build-up needs to be quicker and bolder on the ball.

3. The drought continues

It was the same old story with Alvaro Morata. He did a lot of work in both phases of the game and covered a lot of ground defensively.

It is admirable as he also tracked back and tried to recover the ball when he lost it, and most times he either did that or committed a tactical foul to prevent a dangerous counter for Juventus.

However, it should be obvious by now that this work rate needs to be supplemented with a striker that is actually a threat in the opponent’s penalty box since Morata is rarely there.

We saw the efficiency when Morata and Abraham were both fielded in a 4-4-2 and we haven’t seen that formation since, despite it evidently getting the most out of what the Spaniard can offer.

The issue that Fonseca has is that Abraham hasn’t been fully fit for a while now and there are no other options unless the coach wants to play Francesco Camarda. Some fans are beginning to miss Olivier Giroud, and that says it all.

4. Leao looks lost

Rafael Leao has been scrutinised a lot since the start of the season and whilst some criticism is justifiable it might be fair to say that the winger can’t magically solve all of Milan’s problems by himself.

The teams that Milan face are well aware of the threat that is Leao and unfortunately he’s the only threat a lot of the time, especially when Christian Pulisic is not on the pitch. It makes it extremely easy for his opponents to commit an extra man to mark, limit his space and ultimately neutralise him.

Ideally, in this case the rest of the team can step up and exploit the space which has opened up because of the doubling up on Leao, but the quality seems to be lacking and this never happens.

Photo by Claudio Villa/AC Milan via Getty Images

What actually happens is that Milan’s creativity drops to zero as seen against Juventus. Fonseca’s tactics also seem to fail the Portuguese as we don’t really seem the team play around him even though the expectations are for him to lead the attack.

The movements are slow, the passes are predictable, the players take too long to release the ball and realistically there probably isn’t a player that you can just put in Leao’s spot and expect wonders.

The point is that we cannot expect the winger to produce magical moments every game given the circumstances.

5. Time say goodbye?

We are again at the stage to question wether or not Fonseca deserves to keep his job and given the position in the table. With just 19 points in 12 games, it seems like a logical choice if Milan were to signal they have any ambitions at all to save the 125th anniversary season.

Nonetheless, the issue is that if the coach was to be sacked then who would actually replace him in the middle of the season and will that have a positive effect?

The management missed the train with the likes of Antonio Conte, Roberto De Zerbi and perhaps arguably Thiago Motta, and now are forced to suffer the consequences since the alternatives are limited.

Regardless, if the team continues in the same fashion one could argue that any coach could match Fonseca’s record or even be an upgrade given the negative results the Portuguese delivers.

For the title train to have departed without Milan before the end of November is damning. If the negative run continues fan enthusiasm will drop, and then it might before a financial decision above all from RedBird Capital.