Despite getting the 2-1 victory over Sassuolo, manager Siniša Mihajlović and his Milan side have struggled to find their form early on this season. Desperate for improvement and a fanbase growing impatient, how much time will Mihajlović be given at Milan?
Just four months into his tenure, Milan’s new leader Siniša Mihajlović has found it difficult to bring his successes of last season with Sampdoria to the San Siro.
The club opened up the 2015-16 Serie A campaign with a 2-0 road loss away to Fiorentina and aside from two-consecutive wins against Palermo and Udinese, they have looked nothing like a contender for Italy’s most wanted positions in the league table.
Newcomers Carlos Bacca, Luiz Adriano and Alessio Romagnoli have all been pretty solid for the rossoneri thus far, however the inability to make the preferred 4-3-1-2 formation work has caused some concerns amongst the supporters. The 20 million euro Italian Andrea Bertolacci, despite improving as of late, has been highly underwhelming in the midfield. Then, you factor in the suspect play of anyone deployed behind the strikers and you have an inconsistent, mid-table side. Simply put, the 7-time Champions League winners are not off to the start most expected given the influx of fresh faces.
This season was expected to be one of the most competitive in recent memory. Juventus have struggled a bit to adapt to life after Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Carlos Tevez while city rivals Inter have improved thanks to a strong summer mercato, proving to be legitimate candidates to dethrone the bianconeri as winners of Italy. For Milan, it was always going to be a challenge making it into Europe given the shift of power in the league. However, the mere 90 million euros spent this summer along with a massive restoration lead Milanisti everywhere to believe that one of Europe’s most prestigious clubs would find themselves competing for European qualification. It appears that it will be a lot tougher than expected.
MILAN, ITALY – OCTOBER 25: Head coach AC Milan Sinisa Mihajlovic reacts during the Serie A match between AC Milan and US Sassuolo Calcio at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on October 25, 2015 in Milan, Italy.
After nine rounds of play, Milan sit in 10th place on 13 points. That means out of a possible 27 points, they have earned less than half. Fortunately for them, just 5 points separates them from Napoli for the 5th and final European slot. But will Mihajlović last long enough to see if Milan can find a way to climb into the top 5? First, let’s compare his first nine matches as Milan manager to Pippo Inzaghi’s last season.
Inzaghi through 9 matches in 2014/15: 4 wins, 1 loss, 4 draws= 16 points
Mihajlović through 9 matches in 2015/16: 4 wins, 4 losses, 1 draw= 13 points
Now despite that hot start, Inzaghi’s squad fell apart and ultimately finished in 10th place with 52 points. As a result of the collapse, Silvio Berlusconi elected to sack the former Milan striker as manager after just one season at the helm and appoint Mihajlović to that same role. But what makes these two situations totally different is the investment.
Inzaghi rode the likes of Jérémy Ménez and Diego Lopez who both arrived for free whereas Mihajlović has been given a more expensive squad. If Mihajlović continues to stumble week in and week out, Berlusconi could be left contemplating whether or not to sack the former Serbia manager.
Whether it’s been attractive or not, Milan has responded since the 4-0 romping from Napoli a few weeks ago by earning 4 points from Torino and Sassuolo. When you factor in their distance from the coveted five spots in Serie A, there is still a glimmer of hope that much better football is left to be played and Europe is still a possibility.
At this time, it’s unfair to jump the gun and sack a manager just nine matches in. Remember, this Milan has undergone quite a facelift, but at the same time Mihajlović should not get too comfortable. The leash is short at the San Siro.
The post How much time will AC Milan give Mihajlović? appeared first on IFD.
from IFD http://ift.tt/1LVDnWn
via IFTTT berita selengkapnya Follow @jadwalliga
