El Capità: a new beginning

22/10/2017
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Six matches unbeaten for Milan who edge past Lazio

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Another close match for AC Milan who have really picked up their form since that poor start to the season. In all competitions, the Rossoneri have not lost since their 2-0 loss to Juventus and have won their last 5 league games. With a massive game against 2nd place Bologna in a couple of days and another Europa League match right after, Milan's schedule looks very heavy but Puyol has done a great job rotating his teams so far, with every single player in Milan's 25-man squad for the Serie A having played at least one game for the club this season so far. Clearly, Puyol has managed to build up a lot of depth and have a lot of quality in that squad depth, as seen through Milan's results as of late. Can the Rossoneri keep this great form up? One thing everyone can say right now though is that it's amazing for football fans around the world to see Milan on the rise again.
 
25/10/2017
Wissam Ben Yedder's best performance in a Milan shirt capped off an incredible match which saw the new Serie A leaders beat Bologna, who were in 2nd place, get smashed 6-0 despite having one extra player for 30 minutes of the game. Paletta was sent off on the hour mark for a second yellow, bringing Milan's red card total to 3 in the league this season, the 3rd highest total. However, Ben Yedder's brace as well as goals from Pasalic, Suso, Bonaventura and Bacca made it all better for the Italian side. With yet another league game for Milan coming up in just 4 days against Empoli followed by a European trip to Scotland to face Rangers in the Europa League group stage round, Milan won this match with a heavily rotated side other than a few key players who stayed in the starting 11 and it looks like this rotated side might be even better than Puyol's main 11!
 
29/10/2017
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Milan keep title race going with Empoli victory

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Does M'Baye Niang ever stop scoring? At this rate, he'll end this season as Milan's top goalscorer with all his goals probably coming in the club's most important games! Iker Muniain also scored to make it 2 in 9 appearances for the club, a pretty poor record considering the hype around the Spanish winger at the time of his arrival. Empoli put in a great fight against the league leaders and it really came down to the wire but Puyol's mastermind tactics once again worked out and Milan pulled off a close win. Up next for the Spaniard's side, Rangers in Scotland. Considering Milan's 6-0 win when they faced the Scottish side at the San Siro, there's no reason to think that Milan won't do it again but away from home, they probably won't score 6 goals. A win would see the Italians qualify for the next round of the Europa League, a fantastic achievement for a club that hasn't competed in Europe in over 3 years.
 
02/11/2017
With 18 goals scored in 4 games and just 2 conceded and 4 wins from 4 games, Milan have secured their place in the Europa League first knockout round. At the beginning of the season, no one would have thought Milan would do so well in this competition. Despite having a very strong squad on paper, it's fair to say the once-European greats have been underperforming since their 2013/14 Champions League exit to Atletico Madrid in the round of 16 and again, no one really expected much from this Milan side. It's fair to say they were handed a pretty easy group but it's still been a very good campaign for them so far and if they're handed yet another easy draw for the next few rounds, who knows, we might seem them in the latter stages of the Europa League! Dynamo Kyiv, who Milan play once again in their last group stage match, have qualified alongside the Rossoneri which was expected. With 10 matches in the next month and a half, Milan have a packed schedule ahead of them but at least they've got the Europa League qualification out of the way now and they can focus on staying at the top of the Serie A until more important European games come along.
 
05/11/2017
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A clean sheet and another 3 points for Milan

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The title race is well and truly on as we're now 12 games into the season, pretty much a third of the whole season. Inter and Milan are so far the only two teams really competing, being a point apart, with Bologna in 3rd about 4 points behind Inter. Juventus aren't having their best of seasons so far but they'll come back into it without a doubt. Who knows though, when they decide to wake up it might be too late and Milan or Inter might already be running away with the title! Locatelli put in a fine performance as he was playing his first match in quite a while and really contributed to the offensive domination from his side tonight. Diego Lopez was of course the goalkeeper for Verona after he left from Milan on pretty much a free transfer and unfortunately for him, he couldn't show Puyol that he was wrong to let him go. Quite the opposite actually, Puyol is probably thinking he's glad that he let him go after such an abysmal performance from the veteran goalkeeper.
 
19/11/2017
View attachment 101742Second defeat of the season for the Rossoneri against hard-working Chievo

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After a great run both in the league and in Europe, Milan have finally lost. They were on course to break the club's record of games won in a row which was 10 and this was the 10th win in a row for Milan or at least could have been. Kucka got sent off late on but despite that, Milan could have earned a draw if it wasn't for Abate's mistake very late in the game which cost them the goal to give the 3 points to Chievo. Milan will now host Slovan Liberec as we come towards the end of November which is packed with some big games against the likes of Fiorentina, Napoli and then Dynamo Kyiv and Inter at the beginning of December. The Rossoneri's disciplinary record is worrying to say the least but Puyol has mentioned it and said that he was working with the players to really just be less aggressive and not get so many yellow cards and red cards which could cost them later in the season.
 
23/11/2017
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Another 5 goals for Milan in Europe in Slovan Liberec thrashing

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Milan fans can now expect one thing for sure, it's that their side can score at least 5 goals every game they play in the Europa League! That's what's been happening so far for the Rossoneri and with now 23 goals in 5 games and just 2 conceded from their very first European match of the season, well it's not like it's going to stop. Bacca has been the main man for the Italian side, scoring 10 goals in those 5 games, taking his tally in all competitions for the season to 15 goals in 16 games, an incredible record following his poor start to the season. Milan will now have to face Atalanta in the league, a side which surprised Italy last year finishing in 8th in the Serie A. Puyol has done a great job so far in Italy, with a record of 20 wins in 27 games and 75 goals scored and 18 conceded. That's one **** of a record for a manager who's first job is the club he's at currently. Hopefully for him and Milan, this form continues and the Rossoneri can bring the Serie A title back home soon enough!
 
26/11/2017
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Milan keep pressure on unbeaten rivals Inter for title race

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Bacca and Suso were the two world-class players for Milan today as their side absolutely destroyed Atalanta, despite the away team scoring first just 8 minutes in. Carlos Bacca has now scored 7 goals in his last 5 games for the club in all competitions. Inter, who are still unbeaten after 14 games in what is an incredible season for them so far, are just ahead of AC Milan, who are 2 points behind their arch rivals and will face them in about 2 weeks in what will probably be the best match of the season so far. Puyol continues his great run and form as the Milan manager in what seems to be a perfect fit for him not only because he supports the club and always has according to his interviews even back when he played for Barcelona but also because Milan seem to be getting better and better week in week out.
 
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