A modern Milan team had finally given supporters new heroes and an unlikely first Italian title in 11 years.
But soon after Stefano Pioli’s side were crowned champions, their swagger dissipated and they quickly fell behind this season’s runaway leaders Napoli.
And since the World Cup, Milan have crumbled further still. They have slipped to fifth place in Serie A, 18 points behind Napoli and their season unravelling ahead of the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Tottenham at the San Siro this evening.
“Every player has been in terrible form in 2023,” Carlo Garganese from The Italian Football Podcast tells Standard Sport. “They had a poor transfer market last summer. All of their signings have been failures, weakening the squad if anything. No one saw them plummeting as they have done this year. They went on their worst run for five years before beating Torino on Friday.”
This story is from the February 14, 2023 edition of Evening Standard.
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This story is from the February 14, 2023 edition of Evening Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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