AC Milan were held to a 1-1 draw in their first friendly of the pre-season as Rapid Wien scored a late equaliser in front of their home fans. In truth, however, it was probably deserved and below are three things we learned from the clash.
After two weeks of working with the team, this was Paulo Fonseca’s first game in charge and he was relatively pleased after the full-time whistle. He did, however, admit that the Rossoneri are just at the beginning and have a lot to work on.
Alessandro Florenzi scored the only red and black goal of the game, finding the back of the net with a nice finish, and a few more impressed which we will come to. Below, you can find three key takeaways from the encounter.
A game of two halves
It was very much a game of two halves for Milan as Fonseca decided to field two different XIs, i.e. one for each 45 minutes. The first XI struggled big time, with Rapid Wien piling on the pressure, and the Rossoneri had nothing of substance in possession.
However, there was a significant change to the game with the second XI, perhaps above all because Florenzi and Ismael Bennacer did a much better job than Yacine Adli and Tommaso Pobega in midfield. Daniel Maldini and Alexis Saelemaekers also impressed, which we will discuss more below.
The most important thing was obviously that Fonseca got to see as many players as possible, while all of them also got a taste of football again ahead of the pre-season tour in the US. Fielding two different XIs did, however, make life difficult for some players.
Lorenzo Colombo, to name one example, was more or less invisible as Milan struggled to get past the halfway line – or at least so it seemed. More players in the second-half XI were able to express themselves, in short, but Fonseca has probably realised this too.
Exit-bound players impress
As mentioned above, Maldini and Saelemaekers both looked very inspired and played a huge part in Milan turning the game around. They played with a lot of pace, especially the Italian who successfully made use of flicks, and constantly put the Rapid Wien defence in trouble.
The Belgian nearly scored a goal after a solo run and also should have had a penalty, showcasing his value on the mercato to several clubs. Napoli are believed to have joined the race now as well and although there could be second thoughts on Milan’s end, they will ultimately get more money.
Maldini also has a contract that will expire in 2025, it should be noted, so it would perhaps be a poor decision not to monetise his exit after a positive pre-season. Fonseca will no doubt have taken note of their impressive displays, though, so it remains to be seen what his stance is.
Patience and more time is needed
If anything became clear during the friendly, it’s that Milan need more time to gel under Fonseca, which is understandable given the many changes from Stefano Pioli’s management. It doesn’t take just two weeks, we all knew that heading into the game, so we have to take it with a pinch of salt.
Furthermore, Milan are behind Rapid Wien in terms of physical condition as the Austrian side will begin their season next week. The fact that the Rossoneri looked tired and fatigued quite early, therefore, was far from surprising.
It will take time to get both the tactics and the physical condition to the right standard and everyone is well aware of this. The pre-season tour in the US will also be very important to continue on the right path, especially since some key players might join the squad then.
There were some glimpses of what we might see next season, though, above all one sequence which resulted in a nice counter-attacking move. And the fact that we saw this without several key players is a good sign.