After a strong pre-season showing, AC Milan will resume competitive play on Saturday evening as they host Torino at San Siro.
Both teams are entering the Serie A season under new management, with Paulo Fonseca eager to make a swift impact in his new role.
Even though Stefano Pioli secured the Scudetto for Milan two years ago and nearly led them to a Champions League final, his tenure was expected to end after a lackluster 2023-24 season that saw the team falter towards the end.
The previous season concluded with Milan winning only once in their last nine matches across all competitions, leading to significant demands for change.
Paulo Fonseca, formerly of Roma, has taken over, and with iconic striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic now influencing decisions from the boardroom, Milan aims to close the gap to their city rivals, Inter Milan, who finished 19 points ahead last season.
Fonseca has already steered his team to victories in high-profile friendlies against Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Barcelona this summer, culminating their pre-season with a 3-1 triumph over Monza in Tuesday's Trofeo Berlusconi.
Fonseca's Lille side not only recorded the most clean sheets in Ligue 1 last season (22) but also scored the second-most goals, trailing only Paris Saint-Germain. This suggests a potential revival for Milan in the 2024-25 season.
The Portuguese coach has a positive precedent, as Milan has won their last four Serie A season openers and is unbeaten in 28 league matches against Torino at home.
In fact, Torino's last away win against Milan in the top flight dates back to March 1985, although they did secure a 3-1 victory over Milan in Turin earlier this May.
Former manager Ivan Juric, who left with some dissatisfaction towards the club's leadership, had maintained stability during his tenure.
The Granata fell just short of European qualification last season, achieving 18 clean sheets— their best defensive record in nearly 50 years.
Defensive stalwart Alessandro Buongiorno also left with Juric, and new coach Paolo Vanoli now faces the challenge of keeping Torino in the top 10.
Vanoli, who was Antonio Conte's assistant with Italy and Inter, guided Venezia to promotion through last season’s Serie B playoffs. Having won his first competitive match in charge of Torino—a 2-0 Coppa Italia victory over Cosenza—Vanoli will now look to make an impact against Milan.
Alvaro Morata, who arrived at San Siro after his finest scoring season to date—21 goals in 48 games for Atletico Madrid last season—replaces Olivier Giroud, who is off to the Major League Soccer.
Christian Pulisic, who should be able to get beyond a small ankle injury that kept him out of the recent Trofeo Berlusconi, will be joining Spain's captain, who won Euro 2024, in the final third.
Alessandro Florenzi and backup goalkeeper Marco Sportiello are both long-term absences, so Morata's fellow newcomers Strahinja Pavlovic and Emerson Royal could have to settle for a spot on the bench.
Since Italy's Alessandro Buongiorno joined Napoli, Torino's Perr Schuurs, currently recovering from his ACL injury, should be replaced by summer acquisition Saul Coco.
The last game that AC Milan played was at home against Salernitana. At San Siro, it ended in a 3-3 tie. With 12 shots on goal and a 66% possession rate, they scored goals through Davide Calabria, Olivier Giroud, and Rafael Leao.
Torino's last game ended in a loss. They lost 3-0 at Gewiss Stadium on the road against Atalanta. They had 61% of the possession and one shot on goal.
In their most recent meeting, Torino prevailed. The score at Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino was 3-1 over AC Milan. There has only been one tie in the last ten head-to-head matches. Torino has won three games, while AC Milan has won six.
With LOSC Lille in Ligue 1, the Portuguese manager enjoyed an outstanding season as they kept the most clean sheets and scored the second-most goals in France. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who now occupies an upper seat at San Siro, handled his assignment with great care.
Ibrahimovic has a significant task ahead of him to bring AC Milan back to life, make them a contender once more, and most likely challenge teams like Juventus and Inter Milan. At San Siro, Fonseca takes the helm for the first time as AC Milan takes on Torino, a team that has had difficulty at this stadium for almost thirty years.
Specifically, Torino's last away victory over AC Milan occurred in March 1985, therefore Paolo Vanoli, the new manager, has his work cut out for him.
