There's Joao Felix Et Al, AC Milan Can Play According To Sergio Conceicao's Expectations

AC Milan forward Joao Felix impressed coach Sergio Conceicao on his debut against AS Roma in the Coppa Italia. (X/@acmilan)

JAKARTA - AC Milan coach Sergio Conceicao shows satisfaction with the new players, Joao Felix, Santiago Gimenez and Kyle Walker. They made Milan play according to Conceicao's expectations when they beat AS Roma 3-1 in the Coppa Italia.

Felix and Gimenez joined Milan ahead of the closing of the transfer market. If Felix is a pnajam player from Chelsea, Milan will officially recruit Gimenez from Feyennoord.

The two immediately made their debut when Milan faced Roma in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia at the San Siro Stadium, Thursday, February 6, 2025 in the morning WIB.

Apart from them, Riccardo Sotti was borrowed from Fiorentina and Warren Bondo was brought in from Monza. Sottil only played for a few minutes in the match. Meanwhile, Bondo has not been fielded.

Previously, Milan had brought Walker, a senior Manchester City defender who returned to be the first choice in the match. Walker himself made his debut when Milan drew 1-1 against Inter Milan in the Derby della Madonnina in the Italian Serie A competition.

If Walker returns to full play against Roma, on the other hand Felix and Gimenez will only be fielded in the second half. However, they immediately made a real contribution to the Rossoneri.

Felix successfully scored a goal that solidified Milan's victory to 3-1. And, Gimenez gave an assist to Felix. Previously, striker Tammy Abraham scored a brace that opened Milan's victory.

Their collaboration led Milan to qualify for the Coppa Italia semifinals. Conceicao also showed satisfaction with Felix and Gimenez's impressive performance.

According to Conceicao, the presence of the two players made Milan's game to suit his wishes. However, Milan is not like Porto who won three Portuguese League titles, the Portuguese Cup four times, the League Cup and the Portuguese Super Cup three times.

"I see the team is not like Porto. But we are more compact and aggressive. We no longer let the opponent approach just like a third of the attack field," said Conceicao.

"We haven't played what I want. But players who are brought in in the transfer market have characteristics that make the team play the way I want. Including the two strikers are able to maintain balance. They not only score goals but try not to concede," said the Portuguese coach.

Conceicao handled Milan in December 2024. He replaced his compatriot, Paulo Fonseca, and assessed that the team could understand very well the desired game design.

"We are trying to tell the team what we want. The reason is we only have one time to practice to face this match. I don't have much time to finalize the details of the match in training because we play every three days," said Conceicao.

"Luckily I have players with high intelligence. This makes them quickly accept what we want. The second goal shows how the team plays according to the instructions and what we have prepared. This makes me happy," said Conceicao, who did not hesitate to praise Felix and Gimenez's performance.

"Joao and Santiago have only participated in training once. But they already understand each other. This shows their intelligence," he said again.

Milan's success in getting rid of Roma made them meet Inter or Lazio who are fighting for tickets to the semifinals. Both Inter and Lazio were strengthened by Conceicao when they were still players.

However, Milan did not think about the Coppa Italia semifinal match because they had focused on facing Empoli in the Serie A match, Saturday the day after tomorrow. Milan, who is currently still stuck in eighth place, hopes to improve their position if they beat Empoli.