In the worst moment of the season and, post lock-down, of the management of Stefano Pioli, the Milan he discovers he has two important allies in the calendar and, paradoxically, precisely in the elimination from Italian Cup. With some of the most important players ready to return – Bennacer above all, but in Bologna they should also be available Tonali and Mandzukic – the Rossoneri are expected from a start of February at least on decidedly soft paper which provides for the transfer of Bologna, certainly the most delicate match, and then the matches against Crotone and Spezia, appetizer of what will later be the first great seasonal crossroads with derby of 21 February anticipated by the sixteenths of Europa League against the Red Star (February 18).
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It goes without saying that the next three weeks will weigh on the real ambitions of the team in terms of the championship. While in fact Pioli is, without too many words, called upon to restore certainties to his team and consequently take home nine points out of nine, on the other side of the Naviglio Inter he will find himself managing a calendar suddenly flooded with double semifinal of the Italian Cup against Juve which will force men to Conte the overtime between the away match in Florence and the home match against Lazio.
In short, the occasion is propitious: if the Milan will be able to do his duty, the distance in the league against Inter could expand just before a derby – 21 February – which will inevitably direct the year of the Milanese. All this while hoping to have solved the injury problems and to finally be able to manage the second part of the season without having to deal with the emergency weekly.
In Bologna Pioli will have to do without Kjaer (a month out?) and of Brahim Diaz | as well as, in all probability, of Calhanoglu, still struggling with the Coronavirus. On the other hand, however, he will again be able to count on Bennacer, missed a lot in these last troubled weeks, and on a squad that the January market has expanded and strengthened. In short, he will be able to manage the forces of the group by preparing for the derby (and the Europa League) without weakening the team and, above all, without running into other missteps.
It goes without saying that the away match in Bologna has an important specific weight. The double defeat with Atalanta and Inter has certainly undermined the certainties of the group which, as never before, must demonstrate its solidity to itself and to the opponents. Versus Mihajlovic, in other words, AC Milan cannot afford to make mistakes. His championship, after all, begins now.
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