Champions League, Fonseca: "Too soft start. We improved with the substitutions"

Milan, 22 October 2024 – The Milan who, after the defeats against Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen, collects the first three points of the season in the Champions League beating Club Brugge 3-1 at San Siro. The courageous choices made in the second half by coach Paulo Fonseca were decisive: the Rossoneri approach was too soft and in the first minutes Bruges came close to scoring on several occasions. A goal found instead by Pulisic, directly from a corner, in the 34th minute. Despite the advantage and the numerical superiority due to Onyedika's expulsion before the interval, Milan suffered the Belgian equaliser from Sabbe at the start of the second half. A shock that led Fonseca to the changes that later proved to be the key to Milan's success: New arrivals Okafor and Chukwueze provided the assists that a sumptuous Reijnders transformed into the goals for 2-1 and the final 3-1. A result that could have been even more rounded if Francesco Camarda had not started slightly offside in the action that led to the 4-1 scored with a header and then disallowed.

He dedicated words to honey to the class of 2008 mister Paulo Fonseca on Sky Sport microphones: “I think Francesco and the team deserved the fourth goal. The goal was disallowed but it was still a great moment for a young player who deserves to be here, in this group, because he worked so hard to have this opportunity. I was disappointed but he will score many goals in the future. He must not be disappointed because this is just the beginning”. The Portuguese coach then underlined the too soft start and the notable improvements after the substitutions: “We played without intensity. We started without intensity, with the ball circulation too slow. We didn't understand what to do against a team that plays deep in defense. With the arrival of Okafor and Chukwueze the game has changed. They brought more energy and intensity. After the second goal we did very good things”. Despite the substitution, however, there is no failure for Leao: “There is no problem with Rafa. It was not a punishment. I understood that we needed Okafor and Chukwu. Rafa must see these changes with the right normality and work to help the team like all the players”. At least initially, the numerical superiority did not bear fruit: “Our intention was to do better already with 11 against 11, even more so in numerical superiority. I think that until the second goal we were not aggressive enough. After that, yes, we saw a team that pressed higher up and that conditioned an opponent who likes to play. We must be more aggressive in pressing”. The conclusion: “I think we improved with him and Okafor, but above all when Pulisic went to play more in the middle, not as a winger. He does not have the preponderance on the wing that he has in the middle of the three-quarter line. When we changed I think the team was completely different." Now let's focus on Bologna: “I haven’t studied it yet. Now I will do it and try to understand who to field to face a difficult team like Bologna.