Milan had one of the best Derby performances in recent memory on Saturday, and the vibes are still going amongst fans. But now they have to make it over their biggest hurdle this season: winning in the Europa League. On Thursday evening, they host Hungarian side Ferencváros, a match that Amorim warned his players about. as they have won all three of their Europa League matches thus far. So, even though it would be nice to rest on their laurels or go into this match thinking this would be easy, this team are under even more pressure to get a result. They won the Derby, now do Europe.
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| The Derby was amazing, now do Europe. |
Ferencváros travel to San Siro sitting in third place in their league with five wins, five draws, and a loss. But in the Europa League, they defeated Celtic 3-1, Viktoria Plzen 2-1, and Portuguese side Toreense 4-1. Their most recent match was a 2-0 win over Paks. For that match, manager Borbély lined up a 4-2-3-1 with Dibusz; Osvath, Raemaeers, Mariano Gómez, Cadu; Habib Maïga, Madarász; Zachariassen, Corbu, Birmančević; and Dele. He seems to only have one player in doubt from his UEFA Europa League squad with an injury, midfielder Otvos.
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| Ferencváros celebrate a goal vs. Celtic, the mutual green and white stripes probably neutralized Celtic. |
Amorim is near the finish line of this ridiculous month with so many matches, but still has to manage his players and rotate his available players from his UEFA Europa League squad to get through one more match on Sunday. Still missing with injuries are: Saelemaekers, Gabbia, Pietro Terracciano, Chukwueze, Loftus-Cheek, Tomori, and Chukwueze, who unfortunately had to undergo surgery this week on his hip, and will likely be out until March. Maignan, of course is suspended, so Torriani will be in goal. Amorim has also opted to give Pavlović a rest for this match, who has played practically every minute this season.
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| The pressure is on Amorim to produce another win in the Europa League. |
As usual, rumors abound as to possible lineups, but expect him to hold back some of the players who he will want as starters on Sunday. Everyone will still have somewhat tired legs from Saturday, but this is one of the longer breaks they have had this month. Still, they have to be ready to play the midafternoon match on Sunday, so I expect him to be conservative with minutes.
After the fantastic Derby win, some of the heat should be off Amorim. However, if this match were to be another Bournemouth performance, I'm sure the toxic Italian media would be right back on his back. One would hope that the delirium from such a big win will provide enough mentality to at least provide a better performance, regardless of result. But this is their real test. They are proving themselves in Serie A, they must now do Europe.
This post inspired by the music of Royal Blood's "One Trick Pony"
Thursday, November 5 • 18:45 CET (12:45pm EST)
Milan Futuro vs. Virtus Ciserano Bergamo
Sunday, November 8 • 14:30 CET (8:30am EST)
Sunday, November 8 • 15:00 CET (9:00am EST)
Reviewed by Elaine
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