AC Milan Vs Udinese: Tijjani Reijnders Warning

Midfielder Tijjani Reijnders said AC Milan were aiming for victory in the match against Udinese. (X/@acmilan)

JAKARTA - AC Milan must remain united and maintain solidity in order to improve its ranking in the Italian Serie A standings. The warning was conveyed by midfielder Tijjani Reijnders as Milan hunted full points in the match against Udinese at the San Siro Stadium, Saturday, October 19, 2024 evening WIB.

Milan still needs time after changing coaches. Only Paulo Fonseca as the new Milan coach has been under pressure. He had received a warning of his dismissal following a bad result after losing 3-1 against Liverpool in the Champions League and winning in a domestic competition.

Luckily, Milan managed to get back up by winning a brilliant 2-1 victory over Inter Milan in the Derby della Madonnina. This victory means a lot because the Rossoneri were able to beat the one-city rivals who were on fire and were defending champions.

The trend of winning continued when Milan beat Lecce 3-0. Only, Milan failed to maintain performance and lost two consecutive defeats against Bayer Leverkusen and Fiorentina. The defeat to Fiorentina put Milan stuck in sixth place with 11.

The bad result against Fiorentina is clearly disappointing. Moreover, Milan had the chance to win because they received two penalties. However, all the penalties were saved by goalkeeper David de Gea.

"Our last game was not the best. But we have to stick together because we have the quality to make changes this season," Reijnders was quoted as saying by Football Italia.

"Of course. The next match is very important for us. I also fully believe in the ability of this team. Only, we really need adjustments. But we have actually shown good progress. What is clear is that this team is strong enough and has quality. So we also want to win in every next match," he said.

Milan also took aim at their first win after the competition break. Moreover, they played at home. If they lose again, then Fonseca set an embarrassing record. The reason is, Milan will lose five defeats from the first 10 matches in various competitions. This has never happened since the last time they experienced it in 80 years ago.

In that match, Fonseca only lost defender Theo Hernandez who was banned from playing after receiving a red card in the match against Fiorentina.

In addition, a number of players such as Marco Sportiello, Ismael Bennacer, Alessandro Florenzi and Davide Calabria still have not been able to appear. They have not recovered from their injuries.

However, Fonseca can still field the best squad. Striker Tammy Abraham is the first choice in the front line. He was supported by Alvaro Morata, Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic who have scored a goal in the last four matches. Pulisic also equaled the achievements in the next line legends Milan, Olivier Giroud, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Filippo Inzaghi, Andriy Shevchenko and George Weah.

Meanwhile, Udinese again relied on striker Lorenzo Lucca who had a duet with Florian Thauvin. Both of them showed their sharpness and each had three goals.

It's just that veteran striker Alexis Sanchez was forced to miss out. Sanchez, who started his career in Europe by playing at Udinese, suffered a calf injury and had to pull over first.

Udinese actually showed consistency that made them become tough opponents of Milan. In the last match, Kosta Runjaic's team managed to win 1-0 over Lecce. The victory that brought Udinese up to fifth by shifting Milan.

Forecast Of AC Milan's Lineup (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Emerson, Gabbia, Tomori, Terracciano; Fofana, Reijnders; Pulisic, Morata, Leao; Abraham

Udinese (3-5-2): Okeye; Kabasele, Bijol, Giannetti; Ehizibue, Lovric, Karlstrom, Ekkelenkamp, Zemura; Thauvin, Lucca