What Next For AC Milan?

Going into the fifth – and most important - Derby della Madonnina of the season, most didn’t give Milan a real chance of turning the tie around. In terms of comebacks, history has never been on Milan’s side. Despite possessing a European legacy second only to Real Madrid, Milan have often been on the receiving end of comebacks, think of Coruna in 2004 and a year later in Istanbul, rather than successfully attempting their own ‘remontada’.

They needed an early goal to unsettle Inter. It would’ve given hope of going against their own history and for once overcoming the odds. But any hope was extinguished once Brahim Diaz missed that chance in the 10 minute. Diaz, who had been one of Milan’s clutch performers in the Champions League run, was 12 yards from goal as he latched on to Sandro Tonali’s pull back. The net was gaping and, moreover, he’d time to take a touch with not an Inter player within distance. The Spaniard’s shot, with his weaker right foot, was tame, telegraphed and easily saved by Andre Onana.

Diaz buried his head in the San Siro turf, and that was the moment the dream of winning an eighth Champions League died. After that, Stefano Pioli’s men barely mustered anything of note against a much more experienced and slicker outfit. Inter kept their city cousins at arms’ reach over the two games, comprehensively outplaying, outsmarting and outwitting Milan over the tie.

It’s difficult to be too critical of Pioli and Milan. While Inter have hardened campaigners in games of this magnitude, players like Edin Dzeko, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Onana have all featured in the latter rounds of the competition, Milan are the opposite, with very little exposure to the pressure and the nuances that come with playing in a Champions League semi final.

Yet at the same time, the club has reached a juncture point in their development. Despite their first Champions League semi final appearance for 16 years, Milan have failed to build on last season’s title success. They’re the worst defending Serie A champions since, well, Milan in 1996-97.

Summer signings Charles De Ketelaere, Divock Origi and Sergino Dest have made little to no impact whatsoever. De Ketelaere, who essentially cost the club the vast majority of their summer transfer budget at €35m ($37m), has especially struggled to assert himself, finding the leap from the Belgian Pro League to Serie A too much.

Speaking in his post-match interview, sporting director Paolo Maldini reaffirmed full confidence in the young Belgian, but conceded that he needs to grow and expects bigger things from the 21-year-old in his second season. Maldini pointed to Tonali as an example, who struggled in his first year at Milan but now considered one of the Rossoneri’s best players.

Yet what the two games against Inter demonstrated quite clearly is that many within the starting XI for Milan aren’t good enough at the very highest level. Of the four attackers that started against Inter, only Rafael Leao should still be at the club next season.

Maldini no doubt recognises the limitations of this Milan team, and highlighted after the game that their thin squad simply isn’t built to compete on two fronts. Their poor league form means they are in real danger of missing out on this competition next season. Four points behind Lazio with only three games left for the last remaining spot, RedBird CEO Gerry Cardinale has insisted qualification to the Champions League is vital for the club’s balance sheet.

Milan undoubtedly have the harder fixture list until the end of the campaign, with games against Juventus, Verona and already relegated Sampdoria on the horizon, while Lazio face Udinese, Empoli and Cremonese. Lazio’s own form has been patchy over the past month, but it would be a catastrophic collapse from Maurizio Sarri’s side if they didn’t get over the line and finish fourth.

Should RedBird not invest over the summer and continue to maintain the streamline, budget-conscious ethos previous owners Elliott Management instigated that saw debt reduced to €66m in just over two years, then there is a real chance that Milan could stagnate.

The front end of the pitch is where investment is seriously needed. Milan looked toothless against Inter over the course of the two games, and in fact have only scored twice against their neighbours in the last seven meetings. With an objective eye, Pioli needs two new attacking midfielders and a striker noticeably more mobile than Olivier Giroud, as good as the Frenchman has been for Milan.

The true difference between the two could be found on the bench. Whereas Milan brought on Divock Origi and Alexis Saelemaekers, Inter could introduce the likes of Marcelo Brozovic, Romelu Lukaku, Robin Gosens and Joaquin Correa to keep the game ticking over.

With Leao’s contract renewal all-but-confirmed, Milan have made a promising start to their summer transfer business. Making the next step requires investment on a serious level, and the onus is now on RedBird to deliver, because the Champions League tie against Inter visibly proved that Pioli can only take this team so far.