AC Milan entered this season fresh off a first Serie A title since the 2010-11 season. The Rossoneri had also enjoyed a productive off-season transfer window in which their most notable signing was Charles De Ketelaere from Club Brugge for a fee of €32 million. Milan were then drawn into a Champions League group containing Red Bull Salzburg, Chelsea, and Dinamo Zagreb; they were expected to top this group without facing too much difficulty.
This has not been the case at all as was shown in Milan's 3-0 loss against Chelsea in their Champions League match at Stamford Bridge. Milan were completely outplayed by the London club in just about every facet - right from opening kick-off, they never really stood a chance. Wesley Fofana, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Reece James put their names on the scoresheet in a match which could easily have seen an even larger margin of victory.
For Milan, an outcome like this was certainly not in the script. This was meant to be the season in which they would establish themselves as a team which would not only contend for a back-to-back league title but also make a deep Champions League run. However, based on what was seen in this performance, the latter might just be out of the question. It was a disjointed, incoherent performance devoid of any substance whatsoever. More importantly, the loss left Milan in a difficult position with regard to qualifying for the round of 16 - something which no one would have seen coming at the beginning of the season.
One flaw which Milan's loss to Chelsea exposed was the team's lack of depth in defense. Starting full-backs Davide Calabria and Theo Hernandez were both absent through injury; thus, their backups Sergiño Dest and Fodé Ballo-Touré entered the starting line-up. Both of them turned in dismal performances well below the expected standard at a club like Milan. Dest has to be singled out for a particularly abject performance. There is a reason why the American was shipped out on loan from Barcelona without a second thought on the Catalan club's part. Again and again, he was torched by Chelsea's attackers and made countless errors. Calabria's return cannot come soon enough for Milan.
Speaking of Barça, the absence a player who left the San Siro for Camp Nou has been keenly felt at Milan. Although Franck Kessié might not have necessarily been Milan's best player, he was arguably their most important before leaving for Barça. A versatile box-to-box midfielder, Kessié was an ideal fit alongside Sandro Tonali. While Ismaël Bennacer, who replaced Kessié in the starting 11, is no slouch himself, his game doesn't pair quite as well with Tonali's, and it clearly showed against Chelsea.
As he has been for much of the season thus far, De Ketelaere was somewhat underwhelming. Upon his arrival at Milan, the Belgian was heralded as one of the league's most promising young talents and seen as a potential difference-maker who could be the key to a successful Scudetto defense. However, thus far he has not been playing up to his transfer fee. While there's still more than enough time for De Ketelaere to adapt to Milan's system and emerge as a key contributor down the final stretch of the season, his "growing pains" are nonetheless evident.
Interestingly, De Ketelaere's slow start to his Milan stint might prove to be a blessing in disguise for Milan later this season. He might end up missing out on a spot in Belgium's World Cup team, which would have the effect of keeping him fresher and more rested for key matches in the coming months.
On the surface, this Milan team appears to be more talented than last year's iteration which ended their 11-year league title drought. It's far too early to write them off - they still stand a good chance of making the Champions League's round of 16 and despite being just fifth in Serie A, lie just three points behind league leaders Napoli. However, it's apparent that this season's Milan team just isn't clicking in quite the same way that last season's did - and that could very well prove to be their undoing domestically as well as in Europe.
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