With the departure of Stefano Pioli at the end of the 23/24 season, AC Milan would start the search for a new manager and had a handful of managers to choose from, including current Juventus manager Thiago Motta and Napoli boss Antonio Conte, ultimately landing on the appointment of ex Roma manager Paulo Fonseca; however, his start at the Rossoneri has left little for fans and the club to be happy about.
The appointment of any manager often brings in a wave of promise alongside it, and generally, some are able to get the players up and running playing their style of football.
Teething problems can happen at the beginning of a manager's time at a club, however for a powerhouse of the Serie A such as AC Milan, only taking 5 points from the opening 3 games is unacceptable, including a 2-1 loss away to newly promoted Parma, leaving them sitting in 10th place.
With Milan also losing their first match of the Champions League season against Liverpool, The Derby Della Madonnia awaiting this Sunday against fierce city rivals Inter could potentially see Paulo Fonseca's time as manager come to a premature end.
The reality is that when any team goes through a bad patch of form, whether it's at the start, middle or end of a season, there is often that one game that many teams win and, in turn, helps build confidence among the players, management staff and the board members.
Often such a victory marks the start of a positive streak and on paper after a closely fought match against Lazio, one that Milan felt they could have won, hosting Venezia the first matchday after international break must have given the team hope that they could start something from this result and ultimately gained their first win of the season at home.
Still, ultimately this result was expected as Venezia are one of the newly promoted teams and seem to have struggled to adapt to the Serie A so whilst it was a good victory in the sense of gaining 3 points and giving everyone involved a confidence boost it was a given that they would gain a result especially with it being at home.
They would be returned to reality a few days later as their Champions League campaign kicked off against Liverpool. Despite Christian Pulisic's early goal, Milan ultimately struggled for much of the game and has undoubtedly worsened any form of realtionship that was already tense between a handful of players and Fonseca as well as Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Advisor to Redbird) who is a prominent voice in the recruitment structure at AC Milan making it clear his position on the matter.
On the face of it, losing 3 - 1 to Liverpool isn't a shameful result at all, but given the nature of the first two Liverpool goals, those on the red side of Milan were furious with the lacklustre defending from their side.
The Milan Derby could not have come at a more challenging point in the season for AC Milan. For the fanbase, ownership, and stakeholders, patience is wearing thin after a string of underwhelming performances, particularly the recent defeat to Liverpool, which intensified the calls for change.
The fanbase, once optimistic about Fonseca's appointment, has grown increasingly disillusioned, with many questioning whether he has what it takes to lead the team moving forward.
Ownership and the board have supported Fonseca so far, expressing their desire to maintain stability at the club and avoid a mid-season managerial change. Yet, Tuesday night's Champions League result has created many more questions about what the right move should be for the club.
Matters are made worse by the fact that Inter come into the derby on a high. Despite a disappointing draw with Monza in their last league game, Inter have made a flying start to the season. Their 0 - 0 draw with Manchester City marks just the second game in which the English champions have been kept out in 2024.
While the derby is vital to have pride and bragging rights over the other, the broader implications of the match loom over AC Milan. A win could buy Fonseca the extra time to regroup and turn around the Rossoneri's start to the season.
A loss, however, may mark the end of his tenure, leaving Milan searching for new leadership. Depending on the result of Sunday's derby, a list of managers is already in mind to take over the job. The pressure will certainly be on Paulo Fonseca this weekend, with a defining 90 minutes that will determine the direction of the club and, hopefully, the rest of the 24/25 season.
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