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After an impressive pre-season, AC Milan returns to competitive play on Saturday evening, hosting Torino at San Siro.
Both teams are entering the new Serie A season with fresh leadership, with Paulo Fonseca particularly eager to make a strong impression in his new role.
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Stefano Pioli, despite bringing the Scudetto back to Milan two years ago and nearly reaching the Champions League final, saw his tenure come to an end following an inconsistent 2023-24 season. The Rossoneri finished the season with only one win in their last nine matches across all competitions, leading to widespread calls for change.
Now under the guidance of former Roma coach Paulo Fonseca, and with legendary striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic taking on a leadership role in the boardroom, AC Milan is determined to close the gap on city rivals Inter Milan, who finished 19 points ahead of them last season.
Fonseca has already overseen victories against top teams like Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Barcelona in high-profile friendlies this summer. Milan concluded their pre-season with a 3-1 victory over Monza in the Trofeo Berlusconi. Fonseca’s former side, Lille, not only kept the most clean sheets in Ligue 1 last season (22) but also scored the second-highest number of goals, only behind Paris Saint-Germain. This bodes well for a potential Rossoneri resurgence in the 2024-25 season.
The odds favor Fonseca’s debut, as Milan has won their last four Serie A season openers and are unbeaten in their last 28 home league games against Torino.
Torino’s last Serie A away win against Milan was in March 1985, though they did manage a 3-1 victory over the Rossoneri in Turin as recently as May.
Former coach Ivan Juric left the club after a period of relative stability, despite some harsh parting words for the management. Torino narrowly missed out on European qualification last season, recording an impressive 18 clean sheets—their best total in nearly 50 years.
With defensive stalwart Alessandro Buongiorno leaving alongside Juric, new coach Paolo Vanoli faces the challenge of keeping Torino in the top 10. Vanoli, who previously assisted Antonio Conte at Italy and Inter, led Venezia to promotion through the Serie B playoffs last season. After securing a 2-0 win over Cosenza in the Coppa Italia in his first competitive game with Torino, Vanoli now aims to pull off an upset in Milan.
