AC Milan's disappointing start: What has gone wrong and what Paulo Fonseca has to change to keep his job safe

After a very promising pre-season tour, AC Milan are now facing a difficult start of the 2024-25 season. The Rossoneri, under new manager Paulo Fonseca, drew 2-2 in his home debut game against Torino with a last minute comeback, but then lost to Parma in their second game of the Serie A season. Those two games that are now raising some initial doubts about the work of the Portuguese manager, and he now has the job to seek an immediate reaction from his team in the upcoming clashes, starting in Saturday's match against Lazio. 

For sure, AC Milan and their coach Fonseca have the all potential to fix their issues, but in soccer there is no time and results have to arrive quickly. The biggest concern, looking at the first two games, are on the defensive side of the ball. The Rossoneri conceded four goals in two games, but more than the numbers, it was concerning to see how they conceded those four. Especially against Parma, the defense was slow and not connected to the other parts of the team. 

The first Parma goal, scored only 90 seconds into the game by Dennis Man, underlines how the full-backs were not focused enough. Captain Davide Calabria and Frenchman Theo Hernandez seemed slow to react and unfocused in the first minutes of the game and it cost them

. 

Sport is never about a single player, especially when the performance of the whole team was so disappointing. However, we can state that players with more experience and leadership, are the ones that are disappointing the most. Starting from the two we mentioned, but also key player Rafael Leao, who despite assisting the goal scored by the United States men's national team star Christian Pulisic, was not as decisive as he should always be. Fonseca's task will also be to make him a more concrete and consistent player every single game. 

We already mentioned Pulisic, and he was one of the few bright spots for Fonseca and AC Milan fans in these two Serie A games. The USMNT striker scored one goal against Parma and played in two different positions already. As he did during the pre-season as well, Fonseca is now trying to play Pulisic as a number ten in the 4-2-3-1, alongside wingers Rafael Leao and Samu Chukwueze, behind the central striker, Alvaro Morata (currently injured). Despite playing in that position against Torino, Fonseca changed his position in the second game against Parma, playing him as right winger, as he mostly did over last season. Pulisic's position is the last problem as of now for the Portuguese manager, though, he's performed wherever he plays on the pitch. 

New signings still have to make the difference, and it's predictable, considering we are just into the third matchday of the Serie A season that the new pieces haven't gelled yet. Morata scored his first goal against Torino, but is currently injured and will be back after the international break. While midfielder Youssouf Fofana and right-back Emerson Royal only played a few minutes against Parma, Serbian defender Strahinja Pavlovic was with Pulisic probably the best player on the pitch against Parma, showing that he could immediately make an impact in his first Serie A game. 

Despite the disappointment of the league's start, there is still time for Fonseca to fix the current situation. The club and RedBird advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic are showing the trust needed to Fonseca, but things have to change quickly. The Portuguese coach has time to revert the disappointing start, but there are some key dates ahead that are already marked in the calendar of both club and fans. In less than three weeks the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League campaign will kick-off, and a few days after that AC Milan will face city rivals, Inter. The Rossoneri lost the last six derbies in a row against Simone Inzaghi's side, and another defeat would never be accepted by the whole AC Milan environment.