After the first league match played against Torino, AC Milan arrived in Parma with the aim of obtaining the first victory of the new season. Coach Paulo Fonseca therefore decided to make some changes, both tactical and in terms of men, compared to what was seen in the previous match. So in defense, Thèo Hernandez and the new acquisition Strahinja Pavlović started.
While in midfield, playmaker Ismael Bennacer was left out and replaced by Yunus Musah paired with Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders. In attack, Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic supported Noah Okafor who was thus called upon to make up for the forced absence, due to a muscle injury, of Alvaro Morata. For its part, the home team has shown, since the pre-season, a splendid state of form. To confirm what was said, Parma immediately found the net for the lead with a simple change of side that found the Rossoneri defensive line completely unprepared.
An overlapping by Paolo Valeri on the left created the assist for the offensive winger Dennis Man who couldn't miss from a few steps from the goal and thus scored his second goal in two games played so far. AC Milan therefore found themselves once again at a disadvantage in the same way as what happened just a week ago.
The reaction of the away team proved to be not very incisive throughout the first half, focusing more on individual plays rather than on prepared collective schemes. Indeed, throughout the first half of the game, the home team created repeated counterattacks that clearly highlighted the lack of balance in the team coached by Paulo Fonseca, so much so that they often found themselves in front of the goal defended by the Frenchman Mike Maignan without encountering any particular obstacles. The single pair of central defenders Tomori and Pavlovic, the latter being the only element that put in a more than adequate performance for the Rossoneri. Thus, a first half of total crisis for AC Milan ended 1-0, without the ability to find a quick solution.
The second half started without any changes from either team. The development of the game basically repeated what was seen in the first half. So Parma waited with a low center of gravity waiting to recover the ball and then quickly restarted on the counterattack, if necessary directly skipping the midfield area with long throws.
On the other hand, the AC Milan players continued to appear slow to react and not very available to participate in an orderly manner in the defensive phase, consequently leaving a lot of space to attack for the eager players of the home team. Nevertheless, the Rossoneri had greater technical quality.
This element was able to at least compensate for the less than optimal state of form and the weak competitive spirit shown. In fact, a play by the duo Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao on the left side of the pitch brought the talented Portuguese into the penalty area and was able to provide an assist for his teammate Christian Pulisic who, freed from the marking, found himself with an empty net and scored the equaliser.
AC Milan thus had the opportunity to restore balance to a match that had not been played brilliantly.
However, the goal did not change the attitude of the team which continued, even after the late substitutions, with little tactical balance and considerable distance between departments, exposing itself to further counterattacks by the opponents.
And in fact, in this way, Parma's winning goal arrived through a play that repeated the same pattern as the home team's first goal. The goal was scored with a long, undisturbed run by new entrant Pontus Almqvist, who passed the ball to his teammate Matteo Cancellieri, who had also just come on, from the other side of the penalty area, and who found himself unmarked and just a few steps away from the opponent's goal.
The defeat against Parma further confirms the significant weakness of AC Milan's defensive phase. This aspect was well known also last season and on which coach Paulo Fonseca was called to intervene. So far, however, nothing positive has been recorded even on the offensive side given the lack of concreteness in the final meters of the pitch. In the next match, against Lazio, AC Milan is called to a response of pride since a possible and further negative result would expose the coach, players and club to further criticism.