AC Milan beat Stade Rennais 3-0 at San Siro last night and in doing so they sent a message to the rest of the contenders for the Europa League.
As this morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes, Stefano Pioli remarked before the first leg of the play-off tie against Rennes that Liverpool, Leverkusen and Atalanta are the favourites to win, but Milan might just join them.
Milan have never won the Europa League or even the UEFA Cup but, continuing like this, they can scare everyone. They played a Rennes side full of confidence after eight wins in a row across all competitions, making them look inferior in pretty much every department.
There wasn’t a second in which Milan were not in control, and there was not a moment in which Rennes sent a signal of recovery, resigned to an almost sacrificial role.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek scored two headed goals as a centre-forward would and Rafael Leao netted a masterpiece goal that he deserved for a long time. The Rossoneri were superior in mentality too, because they didn’t stop chasing more goals.
Pioli side exhibited a tactical richness that suggests that they are fully out of a dark period which put the entire season in question. It is better not to have any illusions domestically because Inter are traveling at such a pace, but a top four spot should be in the bag.
In Europe, however, everyone starts from the same line and – if Milan don’t mess up – they certainly won’t be an object of desire when they get ready for the round of 16.
From December to today: 11 wins, two draws and two defeats (both against Atalanta) who the Rossoneri will face again on 25 February.
