| The Archive |
 |
September 2021
Maldini: 'Father is demanding'
26.9 || webmaster
Daniel Maldini assures his father, Milan director and club legend Paolo, is ‘demanding, but only to the right degree’ after the teenager got his debut Serie A goal.
The 19-year-old had quite an afternoon at the Stadio Picco, as it was his debut Serie A start and he scored the opening goal in the Rossoneri’s 2-1 win over Spezia.
Read the rest on Football Italia.
Brahim Diaz thanks Milan fans for Kaka chant
26.9 || webmaster
Brahim Diaz admits Milan ‘got out of a complicated situation’ with their 2-1 win away to Spezia and thanks the fans for their special reworked Kaka chant.
The Rossoneri emerged victors from the Stadio Picco thanks to goals from Daniel Maldini – son of director Paolo and grandson of Cesare – and substitute Brahim Diaz, who had been on the pitch for under five minutes when he scored.
Read the rest on Football Italia.
Serie A: Spezia 1:2 AC Milan - match report
26.9 || webmaster
Scorers: Maldini 48 (M), Verde 80 (S), Brahim Diaz 86 (M)
Olivier Giroud returned and Daniel Maldini got his debut Serie A start, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Simon Kjaer, Rade Krunic, Alessandro Florenzi and Tiemoue Bakayoko were still out of action, with Davide Calabria not fully fit. Spezia had taken the lead against Juventus midweek before capitulating 3-2, but started M’Bala Nzola, as Kevin Agudelo, Ebrima Colley, Martin Erlic, Leo Sena, Victor Kovalenko and Arkadiusz Reca were injured.
Mike Maignan had to parry Nzola’s angled drive at the near post and Theo Hernandez turned a free kick off target.
Read the rest on Football Italia.
What to expect from AC Milan in their next game in the Champions League
26.9 || webmaster
In European club soccer, winning a trophy in the continent’s toughest tournaments is what fans want to see more than anything. Domestic success is, of course, celebrated enthusiastically, but being able to beat the best teams in Europe is considered a far greater achievement than the teams from the same country you play in, week in week out. This is partly due to the novelty of playing these teams, as two top sides might only face off against each other in the Champions League once every five, ten, or even twenty years.
Winning European trophies is also used as a method to judge just how great a team really is. Take Paris Saint Germain for example. They have been the dominant side in Ligue 1 (the top league in France) for many years, winning seven titles out of the last nine. They have also excelled in the domestic cups, winning the Coupe de France six times in the last decade, as well as the Coupe de la Ligue six times in the same period.
However, despite this dominance, they have continually fallen short in the Champions League, the tournament the fans would love to see them win more than any. They have made it to the final once, in 2020, but were beaten by Bayern Munich. So, for all their domestic strength, they haven’t made it count at the top stage, and because of that, they won’t be considered a truly great European side until they do.
AC Milan is an interesting example. Historically, they certainly are considered to be one of Europe’s most illustrious teams. They have won the European Cup/Champions League on seven occasions, with only Real Madrid have lifted the famous trophy more than the Rossoneri. Milan last won it in 2007, where they overturned Liverpool 2-1. The victory was made all the sweeter as it was revenge for the final two years previously, where despite being 3-0 up, Milan conceded three second-half goals and ended up losing to Liverpool on penalties.
Milan has fallen away since ‘07 and had not qualified for the tournament since the 2013/14 season, which saw them knocked out in the Round of 16 to Atlético Madrid. Since then, they have either only played in the Europa League (very much a secondary tournament) or missed out entirely. Thankfully, their form has improved over the last few seasons, and this year sees them return to the Champions League for the first time in seven years.
Milan remains a popular side with fans of sports betting, who will scour their favourite online sports betting apps to find the best odds for each of their games in the Champions League. How will they fare in their next European tie? Let’s have a look at their form to find out.
Mixed fortunes so far
Domestically, Milan has started the season strongly. They won their opening three games, scoring seven while only conceding one. They then came up against Juventus, a side who have dominated the Italian league for the past decade. It was a close game, with Juve taking the lead early on. However, Milan managed to pull a goal back in the second half, and held out for an impressive 1-1 draw.
In the Champions League, they did not get off to the best of starts. They travelled to their old rivals Liverpool on matchday one and were on the end of a 3-2 defeat. To begin with, in this match, it looked like the young Milan side would be torn apart, as Liverpool scored and missed a penalty inside the opening twenty minutes. However, the Rossoneri recovered and pushed back, scoring two quick goals to go into half-time 2-1 up. They couldn’t hold on to their advantage, and goals by Mohamed Salah and Jordan Henderson meant they started their campaign off with a loss.
While the result wasn’t ideal, the performance was certainly positive, as Liverpool are a good side who are tough to beat at home. If Milan plays like that in their next Champions League game, they stand a good chance of getting a positive result.
Upcoming European fixtures
The next game sees Milan travel to Madrid, to take on Atlético. The Spanish side could only manage a draw in their first-round tie and have had a mixed start to their defence of the Spanish league title they won last season. On current form, Milan certainly appear to be the stronger team, so will be hoping to pick up some points at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium.
From there, their travel to Portugal to face Porto. Sérgio Conceição’s side has looked strong recently, winning 5-0 in their most recent fixture. If Milan want to progress to the knockout stages of this competition, it is the games against Porto that will prove crucial, so they really are must-wins.
We have a lot of Champions League action to look forward to this season, and hopefully, Milan will still be participating once the group stages are complete, when the real fun begins.
Return of the Rossoneri: all the latest AC Milan news
26.9 || webmaster
Milan is one of the most visited and famous cities in all of Italy. It is widely regarded as one of the four fashion capitals of the world, with hundreds of thousands of visitors flocking to the city for the Milan Fashion Week each year. It has many museums, and the art galleries contain some of the most recognisable paintings known to man, such as several works by Leonardo da Vinci.
While Rome is the capital, Milan is much more than a second city, which can be seen by the huge number of tourists who turn up each year; in 2018 alone, 10 million people headed there, mainly from the United States, China and other European countries. For the culture and architecture alone, it is well worth spending a few days there.
If you are keen on sport, then you have even more of a reason to visit. Olimpia Milano, one of Europe’s top basketball teams are based there, and over the years have wowed fans by lifting 28 Italian Championships, 3 Euro Leagues, and an Intercontinental Cup. Not only that, the city is to host the 2026 Winter Olympics, where the world’s top athletes will compete for the gold medals in Bobsleigh, Curling and Ice Skating.
While the basketball and Winter Olympics are impressive, if you are into sports then there is one that stands above all others in Milan. Soccer. Milan has two of Italy’s most famous and well-supported clubs, FC Internazionale (more commonly known as Inter) and A.C. Milan (usually just referred to as simply Milan. The two sides both play at the San Siro, with Inter clad in Blue and White stripes, with AC in Red and Black. Between them, they have won 37 Serie A titles, with Inter just ahead on 19 after winning the most recent campaign.
Milan have struggled in the past decade to make any real impact on Italian or European football. The great teams from the 90s and the 00s were not sufficiently built upon, and slowly they have faded away, as other Italian sides such as Juventus began to dominate things. But, as football moves in cycles, the last few seasons have been much more positive for the Rossoneri, with things looking positive for Stefano Pioli and his squad for the first time in a while.
Milan are incredibly popular with fans of online betting, and any time they have a fixture their supporters will google ‘best bets for today’ to find all the latest odds on their team. With the season having just begun, let’s analyse the position they currently find themselves in.
Squad evaluation
The main man in the Milan squad is undoubtedly Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swedish striker might be 39 goals, and in his second spell with the club, but he is still a real threat in front of goal. He missed the recent Champions League fixture with Liverpool, but the fans are hoping that was just a precaution, and that he’ll be back in the squad for the upcoming fixtures.
The club has had a lot of dealing with Chelsea recently. They have signed Oliver Giroud from the London side on a permanent deal, while they’ve also loaned Fikayo Tomori and Tiemoue Bakayoko from the Blues too. All three are shrewd signings, and will hopefully help push Milan further up the table this season.
They also have Daniel Maldini making the first-team squad on a regular basis. He is the son of Paolo Maldini, who is a legend at the club, having made 902 appearances for them. The Rossoneri will be praying he has the same impact as his father did, and can bring back the success Paolo achieved in his career.
Strong start to the season
Milan fell away towards the end of the 2020/21 campaign, going from title challengers to holding on to second place on goal difference, just above Atalanta and Juventus. It appears they’ve put last season behind them, and have a perfect record in the league so far, winning all three games.
An opening day win against Sampdoria was followed up with a 4-1 smashing of Cagliari. Then came the first real challenge of the season, with Lazio visiting the San Siro. Milan were on top for the whole game, with Ibrahimovic and Rafael Leao scoring to secure a 2-0 victory at full time.
In the Champions League, they faced Liverpool in their first game. At first, it looked like Milan would be torn apart, but they rallied to lead 2-1 at halftime. However, they couldn’t keep it up, and eventually lost 3-2.
Upcoming fixtures
The next league fixture is a huge game against Juventus, which even at this early stage looks like a must-win for Milan. Following that, the league is a bit kinder to them, with games against Venezia and Spezia following the game in Turin..
In the Champions League, Atlético Madrid are up next. Atlético are the Spanish champions, so will be a tough opposition to break down. However, Milan certainly have the firepower, so they will be hoping to get their Champions League campaign up and running with a victory in that game.
Italian style vs Spanish flair: AC Milan vs Atlético Madrid preview
26.9 || webmaster
There is no arguing that domestic soccer is great. It is the staple, the bread and butter, the old comfortable sweater. Week in, week out, fans will travel across their country to support their teams against other sides from the same nation, hoping that the long journey will be made worthwhile with a victory at the end of it. Season tickets for the top clubs cost hundreds of pounds, dollars or euros, but fans will continue to pay these prices, because of their love for their clubs.
That makes European competitions the little something special, the tasty dessert, or the fancy dress. It doesn’t happen quite so often, so automatically it feels that much more exciting. It offers fans the chance to visit a city or country they’ve never been to before, to soak up a different culture, to eat different food, and to consume different beer, wine, spirits, or soft drinks that they can’t at home.
It also is incredibly lucrative for the clubs to make it to the top European competitions. Just to make it to the group stages alone is worth €18.6 million, which, to one of the smaller sides from Bulgaria, Moldova or Belarus could fund their entire season. So while fans get a lot out of it, the clubs equally enjoy the extra revenue the big European nights bring with them.
The draw for the Champions League always brings with it a lot of excitement for fans, players and executives, to see which stadiums their sides will be visiting, and who they in turn will be hosting. In this year’s draw, the stand out group for sure is Group B, which sees Liverpool, AC Milan, Atlético Madrid and Porto drawn together. Liverpool have won the competition six times, most recently in 2019. Milan are seven times winners, with their last victory coming against Liverpool back in 2007. Atlético have twice made it to the final in the last ten years, being very unfortunate to lose to their close rival Real Madrid each time, while Porto" won the trophy back in 2004 under Jose Mourinho. It truly is one of the most competitive groups in recent memory.
The first round of fixtures saw Liverpool entertain Milan at Anfield, while Porto travelled to Madrid. Liverpool v Milan was an absolute thriller, with five goals scored on a night where both sides had plenty of opportunities to win it. The English side came out on top, and currently sit top of the group with three points. In the other game, the points were shared, as neither side could score a goal. These results set up the rest of the group perfectly.
In the next round of fixtures, Liverpool will make the journey over to Portugal, while Atlético will travel to Milan, in what should be a fascinating matchup. All the top-rated bookmakers will offer a sportsbook bonus, so make sure to check them out.
Will domestic form affect the outcome?
Ignoring the matchday one results, it might be better to see how each side has started the season, to see if that gives us a clearer picture of what might happen when these two sides meet on the 28th of September.
Milan have to date started the 2021/22 Serie A campaign very brightly, with three wins from three. They began the season away to Sampdoria, where a Brahim Diaz goal was enough to secure a 1-0 win, in what was a very close game. They then eased past Cagliari 4-1, with new signing Oliver Giroud looking very promising on his home debut with two goals, one from the penalty spot. Then, in their most recent league fixture, they won 2-0 over Lazio, a side who could also be competing near the top of the Italian league this season. With such a positive start, only behind lead leaders Roma on goal difference, confidence will be high when Atlético visit.
The Spanish side have also started well, with two wins from three in their first La Liga fixtures. The one poorer result was a 2-2 draw at home with Villarreal. Villarreal are a good side, but these home fixtures are ones Diego Simeone will be eager to win if they are to retain the league title come the end of the season.
Key men to watch out for
Milan will be hoping their prolific goalscorer and talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be back for their next Champions League tie, as he is always a threat in and around the penalty area, scoring numerous important goals for the Italian side since his return in 2020.
For Atlético, they welcomed back Antoine Griezmann to their ranks over the summer, who performed so well for them in his first five-year stint with the club. Alongside Luis Suarez and youngster João Félix, they have a lot of firepower at the attacking end of the pitch, so could pose a real threat to the Italian defence.
Whatever the outcome, we are confident this will be the standout tie of the next round of fixtures in the Champions League.
Bakayoko racially abused by Lazio fans
13.9 || webmaster
Milan midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko was allegedly racially abused by Lazio fans before entering the pitch in the second half at San Siro.
Bakayoko made his Milan return in the summer, moving from Chelsea on an initial loan deal with an option to buy.
Read the rest on Football Italia.
Milan's new stadium ready in 2025?
13.9 || webmaster
Milan President Paolo Scaroni hopes the Rossoneri will soon have their new stadium: ‘It could be ready in 2025.’
Scaroni provided updates on the Rossoneri’s new stadium in an interview with Radio Anch’io where he also discussed the club’s targets and Franck Kessié’s contract extension.
Read the rest on Football Italia.
Serie A: AC Milan 2:0 Lazio - match report
13.9 || webmaster
Scorers: Leao 45 (M), Ibrahimovic 67 (M)
Ante Rebic provided assists for both Rafael Leao and returning hero Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as Milan beat Lazio despite Franck Kessie missing a penalty, maintaining their perfect start.
This was a top of the table showdown between two teams who won their opening games with plenty of goals and will be challenging for the Scudetto this season. Franck Kessie was back in the starting XI, Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the bench for the first time after four months, but Olivier Giroud unavailable after a spell out with COVID. The Aquile had Manuel Lazzari only ready for the bench.
Read the rest on Football Italia.
|
