Let me tell you something — I really thought I was about to see AC Milan hit rock bottom today against Lecce. Two goals down against a team that literally hadn’t scored a goal in all of February and is currently sitting 16th in the Serie A table, not to mention the risk of adding a fourth straight loss to their record this season, which would’ve been an all-time low for the club. Luckily, Conceição and his men showed some character after conceding the second goal and were able to pull off a comeback and eventually secure the win. But the question remains: is it necessary to suffer like this against teams such as Lecce? Couldn’t they have taken control of the match earlier and shown the dominance befitting a historic team like AC Milan?
Conceição on The Edge
It’s no secret that Conceição is a fiery and confrontational manager—that’s his style, and he seems to thrive in a chaotic atmosphere. It was hard to argue against it, after all, his methods did bring a trophy home for AC Milan in his second match ever as coach, and against their historic rivals Inter, no less. Recently, however, it seems to be a different story, as results leave a lot to be desired. Today, they managed yet another second-half comeback, just like they’ve done a few times under Conceição, that final against Inter included, and a memorable late winner against Parma. But how long will they be able to keep up this approach and remain afloat in Serie A? Currently, they sit in eighth place and are miles away from a Champions League qualification spot, which would cost them a lot—both financially and in terms of morale for the squad.
Is sacking Conceição the Answer?
I personally do not think so. A third manager in one season would yet again put the players through another adjustment period and bringing a new face into the locker room at the final stretch of the season holds no guarantees of changing results. If the decision is made to swap Conceição for another manager, it should be done in the summer, ahead of the new season, and with a rebuild in mind. Massimiliano Allegri is reportedly on the list of possible replacements. He himself is a livewire of a man and an intense manager, but one with a crucial feather in his cap: knowing how to win in Italy. After all, he has 3 Serie A titles with Milan and another 3 with Juventus.
The Squad
Some changes were made by the manager for the starting eleven ahead of the match. Leão was dropped, as was João Félix. Magic Mike Maignan was serving a suspension, so Sportiello replaced him between the sticks, and Conceição went with the CB pairing of Malik Thiaw and Matteo Gabbia, both of whom seemed nervous and insecure at the back. Strahinja Pavlović missed the match due to the red card he received against Lazio, and Conceição in spite of latest performances by players in that position refuses to give Fikayo Tomori any playing time. A mistake in my opinion.
I said it last week, and I’ll say it again: Sergio Conceição insists on starting the youngsters Alex Jiménez and Yunus Musah to rather diminishing returns. Both are promising players with a high work rate, but more often than not, they are wildcards in both possession and decision-making. For the second half, the coach was forced to bring on Leão and Félix, rotating Pulisic to the opposite wing, which resulted in all three of them having goal involvements, showing character and resilience, and bringing home the win thanks to a brace from Captain America himself, Christian Pulisic.