AC Milan 2018/19 Season Review

Date: 29th May 2019 at 11:50pm
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Despite improving on their final league standing of finishing fifth instead of sixth the 2018/19 campaign represents the latest in a host of disappointing seasons for the AC Milan. Missing out on Champions League football in their final game, losing both Derby della Madonnina fixtures, and a wretched Europa League run saw the Rossoneri fall far short of expectation.

While there are certainly positives to draw on such as an admirable Coppa Italia stint and ambitious additions in the form of Krzysztof Piatek and Lucas Paqueta, the negatives firmly outweigh the positives. The campaign may have ultimately been too much for Gennaro Gattuso, and it could easily be argued he did the best he could with an underwhelming squad.

Player of the Season: Alessio Romagnoli

The Milan captain could be seen to epitomise the Gattuso spirit of grit and determination as he lead by example. His contribution to the side saw an improvement on the number of goals conceded and scored a late match winner in back-to-back games against Genoa and Udinese. His emphatic slide tackles, interceptions and blocks brought him the affections of the Stadio San Siro throughout the campaign; a relationship which seems likely to continue beyond the summer.

Best Signing: Krzysztof Piatek

Genoa were undoubtedly the side to benefit the most from the Pole’s services this season, but the Rossoneri urgently needed a reliable alternative to Gonzalo Higuain and found it in the former Craicovia man. His 19 goals in 21 games for the Grifone convinced Milan to splash out €35 million on the striker in January, and he then added a futher 11 goals to his tally before the conclusion of the season. While his form may have dipped toward the latter stages of the campaign, he has more than proven his worth.

The Coach: Gennaro Gattuso

The less cynical of fans would perhaps conclude Gattuso did the best he could with an ill-disciplined, injury prone and largely inexperienced squad. However, throughout the campaign questions were raised as to whether the former Rangers man was indeed out of his depth. Certainly, he struggled to establish much of an identity to his side’s style of play on the pitch, struggling to breakdown opponents and kill games off. His departure did nothing but to enhance his status as a true Milan legend.

Memorable Moment

The injury time match winner in their home tie against Genoa courtesy of Alessio Romagnoli. The ball punched clear of the area by the Grifone shot-stopper Andrei Radu was volleyed delicately over the Romanian and into the net by the Milan captain. Romagnoli would repeat the feat in the next match when he scored the only goal of the game against Udinese; once again in the dying moments.

The Bad

Ugly scenes on the touchline as Tiemoue Bakayoko is told to sit back down by Gennaro Gattuso having been preparing the Frenchman to come on. Bakayoko can be seen to say “f*ck you” in the direction of Gattuso when his back is turned. The spat was later played down and Bakayoko even featured in the last game of the campaign for the Rossoneri, but the damage looked to have been done.

 

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