Foot & Soccer Soccer Match Reports, Football News 
Tensions are working excessive at Milan, and never simply contained in the dressing room. Following the membership’s stunning Champions League exit towards Feyenoord, a wave of hypothesis and controversy has swept by the Italian media. Experiences of clashes between supervisor Sergio Conceicao and key gamers like Christian Pulisic and Youssouf Fofana have added gas to the fireplace. However how a lot of this drama is grounded in actuality, and the way a lot is sensationalism from a press corps annoyed by their lack of inside entry?
The Rossoneri’s early departure from Europe’s elite competitors has left scars which might be onerous to disregard. After dropping the primary leg 1-0 to Feyenoord, they hoped to overturn the deficit on the San Siro, and so they succeeded with simply 36 seconds into the match. Santiago Gimenez netted towards his former facet to convey the mixture rating to a tie.
This impressed Milan to proceed preventing till they suffered a vital blow within the 51st minute when Theo Hernandez acquired a second yellow card for simulation after happening within the field with out contact. Lowered to 10 males, the house facet conceded once more when Julian Carranza discovered the online, sealing Feyenoord’s 2-1 combination victory.
The house crowd’s response was telling: no boos, no applause—simply surprised silence as followers quietly filed out, leaving the Dutch supporters to have fun their surprising triumph.
This defeat was made all of the extra painful by its preventability. Milan had a golden alternative to safe an automated last-16 spot by beating Dinamo Zagreb of their remaining league-phase match. Nonetheless, a Yunus Musah purple card contributed to a 2-1 loss, forcing the Italians into the playoff spherical the place Feyenoord in the end ended their marketing campaign.
Christian Pulisic: “Non ho mai litigato con il Mister e non ho mai chiesto di andare by way of. Io sto benissimo al Milan e voglio continuare a vestire questa maglia. Leggere queste bugie è inaccettabile, ma continuiamo a rimanere tutti uniti e a lottare insieme sul campo, per il Membership…
Rumors of dressing room discord drive Milan and Pulisic to make public assertion
Within the aftermath, Italian media shops started reporting on supposed inside conflicts throughout the squad. La Repubblica claimed that a number of gamers have been sad with Conceicao’s administration fashion, describing a local weather of “excessive rigidity” regardless of the coach having been on the helm for lower than two months. Among the many gamers allegedly at odds with Conceicao have been Christian Pulisic and Youssouf Fofana.
Probably the most explosive declare centered on Pulisic, who reportedly had a heated confrontation with Conceicao throughout halftime of the Dinamo Zagreb match. In response to the newspaper, the American winger even knowledgeable the membership’s administrators that he would search a switch in the summertime if the supervisor remained in cost.
Fofana, in the meantime, was mentioned to be annoyed together with his restricted enjoying time and the coach’s obvious insecurity in him—a scenario highlighted by his stunning omission from the beginning lineup towards Feyenoord.
Nonetheless, the story rapidly took an surprising flip when the Rossoneri’s official X (previously Twitter) account posted a direct response from Pulisic himself. Such public denials are uncommon in soccer, and the 26-year-old’s swift and unequivocal assertion solid speedy doubt on the credibility of the unique report.
Sample of misinformation?
This isn’t the primary time the Italian press has been accused of stirring controversy round AC Milan. In latest weeks, a number of media shops have repeatedly printed incorrect lineup predictions, together with claims that Pulisic, Rafael Leao, and Joao Felix could be benched for key matches—just for them to begin. Even forward of the Feyenoord conflict, sources like TMW, Calciomercato, Sky Italia, Corriere dello Sport, and Gazzetta dello Sport incorrectly reported that the USMNT star would begin on the bench.
Pissed off followers have been fast to name out what they see as a deliberate try by the media to exploit Milan’s struggles for clicks. One supporter wrote: “I’d take something written now with a mountain of salt. Italian media are pissed. They misplaced their Milan supply and they’re just about saved at midnight. They’re attempting to stir the pot however most, if not all, is simply them being sensationalistic and borderline vindictive.”
One other added: “Cease believing every thing that you just learn. It’s clear that the media noticed the chance with our dramatic season and began to stir some pretend information only for the clicks.”
Why the media backlash?
So why has the Italian press seemingly turned towards AC Milan? Some supporters imagine that the membership’s determination to tighten its management over inside info has annoyed journalists who as soon as relied on leaks for unique scoops. With out dependable sources contained in the membership, media shops could also be resorting to hypothesis to fill the hole.
Others level to the broader tradition of sports activities journalism in Italy, the place tabloids and on-line platforms are sometimes pushed by a relentless pursuit of readership. As one fan put it: “There’s no agenda—they all the time function the identical: questionable sources and newspaper editors that wish to promote extra copies.”
