AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli is battling yet another injury crisis which has made the first game after the international break against Empoli look rather more daunting. There has been an influx is injuries to key players as Theo Hernandez, Davide Calabria, Sandro Tonali and Mike Maignan have all reported problems in recent days, something which is not good news for Pioli ahead of a vital stretch of games.
TRANSFER NEWS: MILAN EYEING MIDFIELD REINFORCEMENT
Italian Serie A giants AC Milan are reportedly keen to boost their midfield options with a new player. Italian publication Calciomercato said the Rossoneri have been forced to look further down on their list of midfield targets after missing out on Portugal international Renato Sanches. AC Milan were seen as favourites to sign Sanches at some point, but the player has opted to sign for French champions Paris Saint Germain (PSG).
MANCHESTER UNITED, AC MILAN RIVAL ARSENAL FOR BRIGHTON STAR
Manchester United and AC Milan are set to rival Arsenal in the race to sign Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Yves Bissouma. A recent report from Fichajes has offered an update on the future of Yves Bissouma. The Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder could be set for a move away from Amex Stadium this summer, with his current contract expiring at the end of next season. It could thus be the final opportunity for Brighton to cash in on the player.
Bissouma is already high on the list for Arsenal. But in addition to the Gunners, the midfielder has been targeted by Manchester United, while AC Milan are involved in the chase as well. Even Aston Villa had expressed the desire to sign the player, but with the Villans already signing Boubacar Kamara, a deal is unlikely. Continue reading MANCHESTER UNITED, AC MILAN RIVAL ARSENAL FOR BRIGHTON STAR
MILAN WANT CHELSEA STAR TO REPLACE DEPARTING MIDFIELDER
According to Italian outlet CalcioMercato (h/t Football.London), AC Milan have identified Chelsea star Jorginho as a potential target to replace Franck Kessie in the summer transfer window. The latter is set to leave San Siro at the end of this season, prompting them to look for alternatives.
Jorginho is tied down at Stamford Bridge until 2023, but his agent Joao Sant Continue reading MILAN WANT CHELSEA STAR TO REPLACE DEPARTING MIDFIELDER
GIROUD DOUBLE BOOST MILAN TITLE CHARGE
Seven-time European champions AC Milan are firmly back in the Italian Serie A title race after their Milan Derby win over leaders Inter Milan at the weekend. French World Cup winner Olivier Giroud was the hero for AC Milan after he came off the bench to turn the game around for the Rossoneri at the expense of home team Inter Milan. His quick-fire brace in the second half overturned the first half strike from Croatian star Ivan Perisic and secured the three points for AC Milan to boost their bid for the Italian Serie A title.
Inter Milan came into the latest Milan Derby meeting on Saturday as leaders and with a four-point lead over AC Milan in third place. AC Milan had the same points with Napoli in second place. Inter Milan have a game in hand over both Milan and Napoli.
Perisic gave Inter the lead in the 38th minute and his goal was enough to give the Serie A champions a slender lead at the break. AC Milan were without star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the latest Milan Derby with Giroud starting in his place as the focal point of their attack and it was the Frenchman who helped turned the game on its head in favour of the Rossoneri.
Giroud has played second fiddle to Ibrahimovic in the Milan attack this season as the Swede has always been preferred to him in attack. However, he was able to shine in the absence of Ibrahimovicin the Milan Derby. Giroud scored the equaliser in the 75th minute off the assist from substitute Brahim Diaz before he scored the winning goal three minutes with a world-class goal. The Ex-Arsenal and Chelsea attacker produced a smart finish on the turn for the winning goal of the game as he secured a comeback win for AC Milan over Inter Milan in the league for the first time in 18 years.
As things stand on the Serie A table, Inter Milan now have a nine-point advantage over Napoli and AC Milan in second and third respectively.
MILAN STUNNED AT HOME BY SASSUOLO
AC Milan suffered a big dent to their quest to win the Italian Serie A this seasonafter they were beaten at home by Sassuolo. The Rossoneri missed out on the chance to secure the summit on the league table after the failure to get a result at home to Sassuolo despite taking the lead.
Milan began the latest round of Italian Serie A games in second place with 32 points from 13 matches. They had the same number of points with league leaders Napoli with an inferior goal difference.
AC Milan were in action before Napoli on Sunday as far as the newest set of league games in the Italian top flight is concerned and they had the chance to move ahead of the leaders with a result. Milan would have moved one point ahead of Napoli with an home draw with Sassuoloand three points ahead of the Luciano Spalletti-led team with an home win at the expense of Sassuolo. In the end, they were stunned 3-1by Sassuolo and even finished the game with ten men due to the red card given to skipper Alessio Romagnoli for a professional foul on 77 minutes.
Italian defender Romagnoli gave AC Milan the lead midway into the first half via a header from a corner kick. Sassuolo were unlucky to go behind as they had been the better team in the opening exchanges and they trailed for just three minutes before star striker Gianluca Scamacca produced an excellent finish to draw level for the visitors.
Sassuolo never looked back after the Scamacca strike as they scored two more goals either side of the interval to secure an impressive win. Milan defender Simon Kjaer put through his own net on 33 minutes for Sassuolo to take the lead for the first time in the game before Italian international Domenico Berardi wrapped up the points with the third Sassuolo goal midway into the second half.
Napoli played shortly after the Rossoneri game on Sunday and they were able to move three points clear of AC Milan thanks to the 4-0 thumping of Lazio at home.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: LIVERPOOL MAINTAIN TOP SPOT
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Liverpool are the team to beat in the Group of Death after they started their campaign with two straight wins. The Reds are in the Champions League’s Group of Death this season alongside Italian Serie A club AC Milan, Portuguese side FC Porto and Spanish La Ligateam Atletico Madrid.
In the first round of games in their group (Group B), Atletico Madrid were forced to a goalless draw at home by FC Porto, while Liverpool ended on the right side of a five-goal thriller against AC Milan. Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson was the recipient of the winner in the second half. His goal gave the Reds a 3-2 win over Milan. Croatian attacker Ante Rebic and the in-form Brahim Diaz were on target for AC Milan in the first half, while FikayoTomori (own goal) and Mohamed Salah were on target for Liverpool. Continue reading CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: LIVERPOOL MAINTAIN TOP SPOT
CAN MILAN WIN THE LEAGUE THIS SEASON?
A lot of people have been assessing AC Milan’s squad quality in order to find out whether or not they have a solid enough credential to win the Italian Serie A title this season. The Italian giants have not been able to win the league crown in a long time now and even though they keep making good use of the transfer window to sign new players to the squad, they have still not been able to prove that they have a squad strong enough to win the title. It’s a new season already and as the Italian league will kick off its season officially this weekend, Milan know that they must start on the front foot and maintain that consistency if they want to become champions.
Over the last few years, Juventus were the dominant force in the league as they maintained a title-winning streak which was started by their former manager Antonio Conte. Since then, they’ve had managers like Maurizio Sarri who continued the trend but after his departure and the appointment of their former midfielder Andrea Pirlo as manager, the streak was ended by Conte, the man who started it as Inter Milan manager.
Inter Milan and Conte were superb last season as they used the help of star striker Romelu Lukaku to complete their league triumph. However, with Conte and Lukaku both leaving the club already, they have lost some firepower and many people believe that they may not be strong enough to win the league this season. If that’s the case, then the race could be between Juventus, Milan, Lazio, and Napoli.
Juventus survived a scare and had to wait until the end of the season to confirm that they would be playing Champions League football this campaign. They may derive motivation from their troubles last season and mount a serious title challenge this season.
MILAN EYEING MOVE FOR ITALIAN INTERNATIONAL
Rossoneri as the backup right-back option for Davide Calabria.
Calabria established himself as the first choice right-back at AC Milan last season as the club returned to the Champions League stage after finishing the latest Italian Serie A campaign in second place. Milan are said to be in the market for a new right-back to complement Calabria whenever he needs rest or he’s injured and Florenzi has been discussed. The interest of AC Milan in Florenzi was revealed by Italian publication La Nazione.
Italian national team utility player Florenzi is available for a transfer this summer after French giants Paris Saint Germain (PSG) failed to take up the option of signing him permanently after his loan spell at the club. Florenzi spent the whole of last season at PSG on loan from AS Roma and he’s now expected to return to his parent club. AS Roma have a new manager in the controversial Jose Mourinho and it remains to be seen whether Florenzi will figure in his plans though the expectation is that the Italian international will leave the capital club again this summer.
Florenzi is a target for the Italian duo of Inter Milan and Juventus apart from AC Milan. The aforementioned report said the AS Roma is valued at €13m which is an affordable for the three Italian teams interested in him.
Manchester United defender DiogoDalot was the backup option for Calabria at AC Milan last season and he’s expected to return to England after his loan spell. The priority for Milan is to sign Dalot but failure to do so could see them turn to Florenzi who has been with the Italy squad at Euro 2020.
UNITED DEFENDER WANTS PERMANENT AC MILAN STAY
Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot has reportedly expressed his wish to continue his career at AC Milan after the expiration of his loan deal at the club this summer. The young Portuguese right-back left Olaf Trafford during last season’s summer transfer window and joined the Italian Serie A giants on a loan deal that saw him spend the entirety of this season at the San Siro.
However, he wants to further explore Italy and has been reported to be highly open to the idea of sealing a permanent transfer to the Milan outfit. Manchester United manager Olé Gunnar Solksjær has already revealed that he would love to welcome the defender back to Old Trafford as he wants to continue building a team capable of winning the Premier League next season, and that means having at least two top players for each position in the squad.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka is currently United’s first-choice option at the right-back position and the England international defender has been in tremendous form this season. The former Crystal Palace star’s fine form was the major reason Dalot was sent out on loan because he could not keep up with the competition for the right-back spot.
AC Milan’s club director has also revealed that he would love to keep hold of Dalot beyond this summer and has said that he is willing to sit and have talks with the Red Devils in a bid to try to convince them to sell Dalot. Although United will be reluctant to let go of one of their prized assets, they could still listen to offers for him if they get a bid that matches their valuation of the player.
A bid in the region of £25 million is reportedly enough to trigger the Red Devils’ interest in selling the defender this summer.