Milan, Saelemaekers show (also) with Monza: Fonseca takes him off the market
Milan also wins the Silvio Berlusconi Trophy against Monza at San Siro (“Two teams. One president forever in the heart”) closing the summer of friendlies undefeated under the eyes of Gerry Cardinale: It ends 3-1 with Saelemaekers opening the scoring in the 11th minute (Carboni’s decisive deviation), Daniel Maldini’s equaliser (34′) in the first half, while the second half opens with theone-two signed by Jovic (46′) and Reijnders (56′) which knocks out the team coached by Sandro Nesta.
On the night that saw Alvaro Morata’s debut in the Rossoneri shirt (with Pavlovic and Emerson Royal presented to the Meazza crowd before the match), the one who enchanted everyone, once again, was Alexis Saelemaekers. The Belgian never misses a ball, creates quality plays, targets his man, accelerates and runs all over the pitch: the Milan fans applaud his 45 minutes on the pitch (Chukwueze comes on in the second half) and the strong feeling is that he has definitively earned confirmation in the Rossoneri (with all due respect to the transfer scenarios that would have him heading towards Juventus with Chiesa or Milik on the way to Milanello). Paulo Fonseca’s words in the press room are clear: “It’s the first time I’ve worked with Saelemaekers, everyone says he’s different. I don’t know if it’s true, but I like him. He works in multiple positions and always well. He makes good choices with the ball, I want him to stay with us”.
Milan, Fonseca: “Missing the midfielder? It’s Fofana, we all know it”
For a player who should stay at Milan (the market’s avenues are infinite, at least until the last moment before closing), one who is likely to land at the Devil’s court: the famous midfielder who will act as a dam in front of the defence; here, for weeks, the first name on the list is Youssouf Fofana, born in ’95, one year before his contract with Monaco expireson which the Principality club has so far put up a wall, keeping the valuation away from Milan’s offers (will the agreement be found around 20 million, also taking into account the player’s desire to wear the red and black shirt?). “Is the midfielder missing?” Paulo Fonseca is asked in the press room after the Milan-Monza match. And he: “The midfielder is Fofana, we all know it.”
Fonseca on Jovic, Kalulu, Liberali and the youth of Milan Futuro
While waiting to see if there will be any openings in the final hours of the market on the Tammy Abraham front, in the meantime the number 9 shirt has been taken by Jovic. The Serbian striker also scored against Monza. “I didn’t know Jovic well, he surprised me in these weeks. He’s a player who can help the team a lot in the area. The way he worked these weeks, I really liked him”, the words of Paulo Fonseca.
Kalulu-Juventus front: as is known, the Bianconeri are aiming for a loan with an option to buy, in an operation worth around twenty million if completed. “We are seeing what is best for the team and for the player,” explained the Milan coach.
On Mattia Liberali, 17-year-old attacking midfielder who has shown flashes of class in this pre-season: “Young players like Liberali, Zeroli etc. are part of the first team. We work together at Milan Futuro, the problem is that we have so many players now. We don’t have much space for players like him. But when we have space it’s important to let them play with us, it helps them grow. I think they have quality. Everyone has shown it in these five weeks. We have to be careful with them”.
Gerry Cardinale: “I pay homage to Berlusconi, we have the responsibility to bring Milan back to the top”
Gerry Cardinale, Founder and Managing Partner of RedBird, pays tribute to Silvio Berlusconi: “It is with deep respect that I join the Berlusconi family – and all those who have had the privilege of sharing their story – in paying tribute this evening to the memory of an extraordinary figure such as Silvio Berlusconi. We all have the great responsibility to preserve his legacy and contribute to bringing Milan back to the heights represented by the trophies that dazzle all visitors to the Casa Milan Museum. It is clearly not possible to take on this responsibility without being “obsessed with victory” ourselves, but more than ever at this time we are also aware of the importance of honoring the tradition, values and spirit that have made Milan a symbol of excellence and pride for so many generations.”
MILAN – MONZA 3-1 SCOREBOARD
Markers: 10′ st Saelemaekers, 34′ pt Maldini, 2′ st Jovic, 12′ st Reijnders
MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan (1′ st Torriani); Calabria (1′ st Jimenez) (17′ st Zeroli), Gabbia (1′ st Tomori), Thiaw (1′ st Pavlovic), Terracciano (1′ st Theo); Musah (1′ st Bennacer), Adli (1′ st Reijnders); Saelemaekers (1′ st Chukwueze), Loftus-Cheek (1′ st Liberali) (28′ st Pobega), Leao (1′ st Okafor); Morata (1′ st Jovic). Available: Raveyre, Cuenca. Coach Paulo Fonseca.
MONZA (3-4-2-1): Pizzignacco; Izzo (15′ st Caldirola), Marì (15′ st Bettella), Carboni (38′ st D’Alessandro); Pereira, Bondo (15′ st Gagliardini), Sensi (22′ pt Pessina) (40′ st Valoti), Kyriakopoulos (1′ st Birindelli); Maldini (1′ st Mota Carvalho), Vignato (25′ st Diaw); Marić (15′ st Petagna). Subs: Mazza, Sorrentino, Machín, Marras. Coach: Nesta.
Referee: Giua from Olbia
Assistants: Bercigli-Rossi
IV MAN: Tremolada
Ammonites: Nobody
Recovery: 2′ 1H – 0′ 2H
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