MN: Why the shortcomings of Milan’s squad have been exposed by pendulum-like form

AC Milan fell to their first defeat of the Serie A season on Wednesday night, losing to Bologna, and it exposed some obvious shortcomings.

MilanNews have chosen to focus above all on the squad available to the head coach Ruben Amorim. With matches every three days due to the two competitions to be played (hopefully) throughout the season, the pendulum-swing nature is becoming harder to digest.

The reason is quite clear: the squad is too small to be competitive every three days in both the league and the Europa League. It is objectively limited in quantity and poor in quality, especially in the reserve options. Amorim even said he could sense the fatigue from minute one.

Rossoneri rollercoaster

It’s no coincidence, therefore, that Milan struggles to maintain a steady course for more than two consecutive matches. With fixtures so close together, when the opponent’s level rises (Bournemouth and Bologna are significantly stronger and more organised than Salzburg and Udinese), the squad’s limitations and the quality of its players come to the fore.

This is clearly exacerbated by the numerous injuries and the need to deploy players out of position to cover for absences. It will take at least a couple of transfer windows to more or less sort out the squad situation, giving Amorim the right players for his ideas and for all the matches he faces.

However, it’s equally true that more should have been done this summer, starting by supporting Amorim with a proper Head of Football/technical director, someone with experience to oversee the necessary overhaul.

The key for now though is to face reality. While trying to recover the injured players, we must wait until January, when – according to Cardinale’s promise – some more reinforcements will arrive. Amorim deserves time and trust, but he can help himself with some selections too.