AC Milan travel to lowly Verona on Friday looking for some festive cheer as the seven-time kings of Europe battle inconsistent form and fan anger while local rivals and Serie A champions Inter Milan hit their stride. Expectant Milan supporters demand excitement and trophies and this season has so far provided very little of the former and is unlikely to end with the latter. Paulo Fonseca’s side sit eighth in Italy’s top flight, 14 points behind league leaders Atalanta — albeit with a game in hand — and are in disarray, with the coach seemingly at the end of his tether just six months into his San Siro tenure.
The Portuguese has had open conflict with senior players and questioned his squad’s commitment, repeatedly going after countryman and star winger Rafael Leao and dropping France full-back Theo Hernandez for a teenage academy player in last weekend’s dismal goalless draw with Genoa.
Meanwhile fans are on a war footing, attacking the owners on Saturday when a celebration of the club’s 125th birthday was marred not just by a poor match and the very obvious absence of Paolo Maldini among the iconic players parading on the pitch, but also chants demanding US investment fund RedBird sell up.
Supporters then turned up outside a private party for the anniversary, barracking most of the arriving players and displaying banners with messages like “a club with no ambition, you’re not worthy of our history”.
A by-product of those vociferous protests is that Fonseca takes Milan to Verona with his job reportedly on the line, with Italian media floating the likes of former national team boss Roberto Mancini as replacement should they leave the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi with anything less than three points.
That may not be a simple task as Verona were only denied a win at Juventus by a penalty in stoppage time last time out.
Milan’s troubles have been made worse for fans by Inter’s 6-0 hammering of Lazio, a statement win which showed that they are not going to give up their league crown lightly.
Third-placed Inter are three points behind Atalanta with a game in hand and host Como on Monday night, the final Serie A match before Christmas, with signs Simone Inzaghi’s players are ready to kick into another gear.
Inzaghi will be without injured star midfielder Nicolo Barella and defenders Francesco Acerbi and Benjamin Pavard but has strong deputies who have shown they can slot into the coach’s well-established system.
Atalanta host Empoli on Sunday defending a two-point lead on Napoli fresh from hammering Serie B outfit Cesena 6-1 in the Italian Cup and with a club record-extending 11th successive league win in their sights.
Player to watch: David Neres (Napoli)
Brazil international Neres has largely been left in a back-up role behind Khvicha Kvaratskhelia since signing from Benfica in August but has always impressed in his outings from the bench.
And Kvaratskhelia’s knee injury led to a rare start for Neres at Udinese, where he showcased his direct running and dynamism.
Neres will be in Antonio Conte’s starting XI for just the fifth time at Genoa on Saturday evening, where the hosts will be playing their first match since being acquired by Romanian business Dan Sucu on Wednesday.
Key stats
10 – Atalanta’s current winning streak in Serie A, a club record.
11 – The number of points that separate Milan from Inter.
Fixtures (times GMT)
Friday
Verona v AC Milan (1945)
Saturday
Torino v Bologna (1400), Genoa v Napoli (1700), Lecce v Lazio (1945)
Sunday
Roma v Parma (1130), Venezia v Cagliari (1400), Atalanta v Empoli (1700), Monza v Juventus (1945)
Monday
Fiorentina v Udinese (1730), Inter Milan v Como (1945)
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