If AC Milan want to end the season successfully, it requires a place in the top four after the final day. A hope which has seemed impossible for a while, but it is still mathematically possible.
Against all odds, this season can still be salvaged. Considering the big stories this season have been about controversy and consistency, or a lack thereof, the potential to end the season successfully is certainly a shock.
However, Milan find themselves in a position where it is possible, even if slightly improbable.
The route to success can be found on a long, difficult road. However, there is also an off-street, the Coppa Italia, which could add bonus points to a season where positivity has been rare. Of course, the end goal, though, is the top four, and in turn the Champions League.
So, let’s have a look at what is actually at stake, and how possible it actually is.
When Milan most need a comeback, it is rather fitting that the Rossoneri have mister comeback on their side.
It has become too familiar now for it to be a coincidence, on six occasions under Conceicao this season, the team have started poorly and ended up finding something to celebrate at the final whistle. Like we say, surely not a coincidence.
In the Supercoppa, when it mattered more, there were two instances in two games – Juventus and Inter – then, Parama, Lecce, and both games against Como present more case studies contributing to a larger comeback.
However, it is telling that this side knows how to play until the end, and this is the spirit that the Rossoneri have had instilled in them once again by Conceicao.
Then, there is the coach himself. Yes, the credit deserves to go to the team, but above them is a man who knows when to move to manipulate a checkmate situation. For the end of the season, the Diavolo have that man in the technical area; if he finalises his greatest comeback, maybe he will prepare the board better next season, if given the chance to.
We can also look back at his time in Portugal for a reference to his successes. Conceicao’s Porto always seemed to find an edge in the final stages of the season, consolidating that mister comeback nametag.
During the final stages of the season, the Portuguese always seemed to finish strongly, picking up a minimum of 22 points from the 27 available in all but one of his seasons in Portugal – that one being last season, where rumours pointed towards him leaving.
Once again, he is surrounded by the cloak of the unknown, so whether this will affect his performances remains to be seen. In that sense, he is a mirage, but history tells us that there is something to keep the faith in.
Whether these numbers can be replicated is a fate that the Rossoneri must decide themselves; after all, the future is in their hands and if given the chance, they must control it.
The road ahead
You can only refer so much to the past without losing sight of the future, and in turn the present. So, the road forward begins this weekend, nine games, 27 points.
Given a hand by the fall-off of Lazio and Juventus, the gap to fourth is much shorter than it should be (said with a pinch of salt, considering the Rossoneri’s own status), as Milan News write. Now, they must look to close it.
At present, a six-point gap is in place between fourth-placed Bologna and ninth-placed Milan, a difficult gap to breach, especially when considering the four teams between the two. Nevertheless, the side must try.
So, games against Napoli (2nd), Fiorentina (8th), Udinese, Atalanta (3rd), Venezia, Genoa, Bologna (4th), Roma (7th) and Torino await.
Reports suggest that the Diavolo will need to pick up a minimum of 21 points to reach the Champions League spots, a bold ask considering the last time the club recorded a similar haul was between December 17, 2023 and February 11, 2024, when 23 points were collected in nine games.
In other words, the historical trend does not support the chances massively, but here is where Milan must become a new form of themselves. Especially considering their own futures are on the line in this final run-in.
The international break has offered everyone a chance to breathe and reset, and the Diavolo must take that moving forward; it must inspire something, awaken themselves and allow for something frankly miraculous to occur.
In many ways, the stats and history lend themselves to there being a chance of salvation, but this is normally the part of the season where stats go out the window. Now more than ever, it is a mental battle, and Milan must channel everything if they want to play in Europe’s prestige competition.
It is time for the Rossoneri to prove their worth, indeed. At the most important time, Forza Milan.
