Before the start of the 2023 season, AC Milan was regarded as one of the biggest favorites to win the Serie A title, mainly because of the introduction of Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic, Jovic and other strong reinforcements in the summer window.
After the Milan derby defeat, AC Milan seemed to have lost their spirits, and they were third out of the Champions League group and fell into the knockout play-offs of the Europa League; Serie A dropped the chain early, and the gap with Inter Milan is getting wider and wider, at most the top four are worry-free.
Will Pioli still be at AC Milan at the end of the season?
It's hard to say at the moment.
If you can win the Europa League and avoid a season of four empty, the possibility of staying is huge. Today's AC Milan is reluctant to take out loans to buy players, and it is even more impossible to invest too much money in the manager. If Pioli can be retained to give an account to all aspects, he will naturally not take the initiative to change the coach.
The UEFA Cup, for AC Milan, also has a special significance.
As one of the three traditional giants of Serie A, in the 21st century, the league championship trophy has been thrown away by Juventus and Inter Milan, and the Champions League is still carrying the flag, second only to Real Madrid in Europe. AC Milan have numerous trophies in the Hall of Fame, but not in the League Cup, one of Europe's three major cups. In the past, they have participated in this event few times, and they have never paid attention to it. Before UEFA implemented the Europa League winners to qualify for next season's Champions League, the big teams in the entire top five leagues basically didn't take the competition seriously.
Rennes, who played second-rate in Ligue A in the knockout play-offs, won 3:0 at home in the first leg, and in the second leg of the tight schedule in Serie A, he still attacked with all his main forces, which can be seen that Pioli attaches great importance to the Europa League, so that he returned to Serie A at home to play Atalanta 1:1 draw, and obviously Serie A has given up the championship, and in the case of ensuring the top four, the focus is on the Europa League.
Nature of competition: 2023-24 Europa League 1 8 final first leg.
Time: 4:00 a.m. Beijing time on March 8
Slavia Prague is a team from the Czech First Division, which is considered a first-class team in the Czech First Division, with a predominantly local player, limited quality and lack of competitiveness in the European arena, especially against teams from the top five leagues.
AC Milan has won 6 games, drawn 2 and lost 2 in the last 10 games, and their recent form is average.
Slavia Prague is unbeaten in the last 10 games, with 7 wins and 3 draws, but the opponents are not strong.
The two sides have not previously met each other.
With a strong overall strength and a focus on the competition, AC Milan will certainly be looking to establish a first-leg lead and go all out to get a big win in this game.