Stefano Pioli he remained firmly in the lead in the storm that led to Maldini’s farewell this summer. The owners decided to bet on him and let go of the head of the technical area. The team was built following his indications. The first matches had given exciting results, to the point that there was already talk of a new winning cycle and of the coach’s ability to reshape the team. Then came the derby. After the four consecutive losses last season between the championship, the Italian Super Cup and the Champions League, it was expected that the remodeled Milan would have a different attitude compared to the past. Which didn’t happen.
The law of 5
The derby came with Milan and Inter tied at the top of the table with full points. Milan were very confident, thanks to the signing campaign conducted and a sprint start, culminating with the victory at Roma’s home ground. A hard-fought derby was expected, perhaps decided by an invention of some champion, but instead Inter won the fifth consecutive derby, with a resounding 5-1. This is the Nerazzurri’s largest victory since the 0-4 in the 2009-2010 season signed by Thiago Motta, Milito, Maicon and Stankovic.
To return to a derby lost by 5 goals, one must instead go back to 24 March 1974. Then Milan were playing at home and lost with the exact same success as yesterday: 1-5 with a Rossoneri goal by Chiarugi and Nerazzurri goals scored by Oriali, by an own goal by Sabadini, and by Boninsegna, Mazzola and Mariani.
Pioli’s team took to the pitch once again softly, letting Inzaghi’s team dictate the pace and changes of play. The Thiaw-Kjaer pairing was a disaster, but it was the whole team that didn’t arrive.
There is a fact that should make us reflect: in three of the five derbies lost, Milan conceded a goal in the first 10 minutes, a symptom of a wrong approach to the match.
Pioli’s words
What infuriated the fans even more were the words of Pegs. The coach began with “in the first 4 minutes we were the only ones who had the ball”to continue with “until 3-1 we were in the game” and with “Apologies to the fans? No, we didn’t lose on purpose.”
What critics and fans accuse the coach of having deployed a defense that was too high, effectively exposing himself to Inter’s deadly counterattacks and that of not having an alternative tactical plan.
Then there are two facts that nail it. Pioli has coached Milan since 9 October 2019 and has played 14 derbies. Of these they lost 9, won 3 and drew 2. Furthermore, in the last eleven derbies, Milan have gone behind ten times. The only time this didn’t happen was March 1, 2022, when the match ended 0-0.
The fate of the coach
After the derby, the hashtag #pioliout has gone viral, but is the coach really at risk? Not at the moment, also because it cannot be a knockout, however painful, that calls into question everything that has been planned for the season. However, after the pharaonic summer signing campaign the company will not accept further defeats like yesterday’s. The club’s goal this season is to fight for the scudetto and be competitive in the Champions League. If the team strays from these goals, then sensational decisions could come. From this point of view, the match against Newcastle could already be an important watershed. If Calabria and his teammates were to lose in England too, then the Rossoneri’s first mini-crisis could already begin. At that point Pioli’s fate may not be so secure.
Davide Luciani