GdS: ‘Who the hell is defending?’ – Fonseca’s worries about Cagliari proven right

AC Milan conceded three goals against Cagliari last night and it meant they dropped two crucial points, with questions asked of the defence again.

La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) talk this morning of a ‘Pioli-like’ performance yesterday from Milan. After initially going behind they twice led through Rafael Leao and Tammy Abraham, but it wasn’t enough for three points.

The front page reads: “Milan, who the hell is defending? The crazy draw in Cagliari. Leao show and 3 goals conceded. Fonseca’s anger: ‘Theo must improve’.”

From Zortea’s goal in the first two minutes it was clear that something was wrong in the defensive phase for the Rossoneri. It was proven by the fact they were unable to protect the two leads that they had.

In the end, Paulo Fonseca was right about what he said in his pre-match press conference about the Real Madrid game being a bigger motivation. Davide Nicola’s side do not boast the same stars, yet with man-to-man marking and deep crosses they scored three times the goals Real did.

Not only that, the Rossoblu also exploited the countless holes left by Milan’s defence, with Zappa arriving at the back post to score a brace. It would be wrong to focus solely on Fonseca’s faults even if he does shoulder some responsibility, because the players are the ones switching off.

Just as they have done the previous two, Milan will face this international break in a whirlwind of criticisms that could be calmed only when a bit of consistency is finally found.