Milan Demonstrates Growth Despite Challenging Start In Champions League Matches

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Paulo Fonseca is optimistic about AC Milan's progress in the Champions League. He aims for a victory against Club Brugge on Tuesday. Milan's initial matches were challenging, facing Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen. They lost 3-1 to Liverpool and 1-0 to Leverkusen. Despite these setbacks, Fonseca sees potential growth in his team.

In their opening game against Liverpool, Milan struggled significantly. They managed only two shots on target from eight attempts, while Liverpool had 11 from 23. The expected goals (xG) metric further highlighted this disparity, with Liverpool at 3.09 compared to Milan's 0.61. However, the match against Leverkusen showed improvement.

Fonseca noted the contrasting performances in these games. "We started against two of the strongest teams in Europe right now," he said. "Difficulties against Liverpool, quality against Leverkusen, especially in the second half." He emphasised the need for continued growth and expressed determination to win.

Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez will return to the starting line-up after missing the recent Serie A match against Udinese. Hernandez was suspended due to a red card in a previous game, while Leao was benched after a loss that angered Fonseca. Samuel Chukwueze, who scored against Udinese, will be among the substitutes.

Fonseca took an unusual step by announcing his line-up ahead of time: Mike Maignan, Emerson Royal, Matteo Gabbia, Fikayo Tomori, Hernandez, Youssouf Fofana, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Tijani Reijnders, Leao, Christian Pulisic, and Alvaro Morata are set to start.

Challenges with Striker Availability

Milan faces a striker shortage as Tammy Abraham was injured shortly after entering Saturday's game. Luka Jovic is also absent from the Champions League squad. As a result, Francesco Camarda has been called up from the youth team. If he scores at 16 years and 226 days old, he would become the youngest scorer in the competition.

"This is not a normal situation to have Abraham and Jovic out," Fonseca stated. "Normally we always have solutions." He expressed confidence in Camarda's potential but indicated no immediate need for additional players in that position.

Fonseca remains focused on securing a win against Brugge to keep Milan's hopes alive in the competition. The upcoming match is crucial for their progression in this prestigious tournament.