The Rossoneri are reeling once again after a self-inflicted loss to Feyenoord that has thrown the future of several key figures into doubt
Feyenoord legend Pierre van Hooijdonk put it best. His former side had arrived at San Siro "in bad shape, with many injuries and were 1-0 down after less than a minute… And then, all of a sudden, that idiot arrives!" The 'idiot' in question was AC Milan left-back Theo Hernandez, whose stupid second yellow card for simulation completely changed the complexion of Tuesday's Champions League play-off second leg.
Up until that point, Feyenoord had failed to get a foothold in the game. They were still level on aggregate thanks to their first-leg win in Rotterdam, but a second Milan goal appeared inevitable. The hosts were dominating possession and Feyenoord weren't carrying any goal threat whatsoever, which was understandable, given they'd sold their star striker, Santiago Gimenez, to Milan during the January window. Watching him open the scoring at the Giuseppe Meazza looked like a blow from which they'd never recover.
Theo's dismissal changed everything, though, and a thumping, 73rd-minute header from Julian Carranza sent Feyenoord into the last 16 – and Milan into meltdown.
The Rossoneri had sacked Paulo Fonseca and strengthened significantly in January in order to turn their season around but, on Tuesday, it only descended further into crisis, casting considerable doubt on the future of several high-profile players, the coach, Sergio Conceicao, and "the boss", Zlatan Ibrahimovic…
AFPTheo Hernandez
Ibrahimovic tried to make out that Szymon Mariniak's decision to give Theo a second yellow card for diving was "harsh". It wasn't, though. It was the correct call, the kind that more referees should make when a player quite blatantly tries to con them into giving a penalty.
Ibrahimovic's ludicrous argument was that the significance of the circumstances should have been taken into account: "A yellow for simulation in a match like this… At least give a warning first." A yellow is literally a warning, though. It's hardly Mariniak's fault that Theo had already been booked for a stupid foul earlier in the game. He was merely enforcing the law.
The cold, hard truth is that Theo's dismissal was wholly justified and also, even more damningly, utterly unsurprising. The Frenchman's focus and conduct has already been called into question several times this season, so while Ibrahimovic understandably tried to defend his player, nobody else was in the mood to do likewise.
"The second yellow card is absurd," former Milan midfielder Zvonimir Boban fumed on . "It is indecent, unsporting. You don’t do that, there’s no ifs and buts about it. But Theo Hernandez has been doing this for years and I am stunned that nobody has already told him this or corrected his behaviour."
Interestingly, there are already rumours coming out of the club that leading figures have also had enough of Theo. The defender is, on his day, one of the best left-backs in the world, and he was immense during their Serie A title triumph in 2021-22. However, he has less than 18 months left on his current contract and it's already been claimed that Milan were open to selling him during the winter window to Como, who offered €40 million (£33m/$42m) for his services, as the club is not willing to give him the raise he's demanding.
As a result, the is now insisting that Theo will be fined for his costly red card against Feyenoord and then sold during the summer if another acceptable bid arrives.
AdvertisementAFPRafael Leao
Theo may not be the only big name to leave San Siro at the end of the season. Rafael Leao is undoubtedly Milan's most gifted player, but he's also come to personify the team's maddening inconsistency.
The hope was that the 25-year-old's fluctuating form this season was the fault of Fonseca. It was wishful thinking, though. While Leao was quick to pile praise on Fonseca's successor, Conceicao, he's still struggling to produce world-class performances on a regular basis.
As the pointed out in their match ratings, Leao was "disastrous" in the first leg against Feyenoord. Not only did he waste his team's one good chance, he also contributed absolutely nothing from a defensive perspective.
He wasn't any better at San Siro. Leao didn't create a single chance for his side and lost the ball more times (24) than any other player on the pitch. It did absolutely nothing to shake the suspicion that Milan might be better off cashing in on their highest-paid player and most valuable asset this summer in order to raise funds for increasing the overall strength of the squad.
Getty Images SportKyle Walker
Kyle Walker has made a positive impression on Milan fans since joining on loan from Manchester City in January. He's looked fit and focused after his recent struggles on and off the field at the Etihad, receiving plenty of praise for his professionalism and positioning.
However, there's no denying that his performances in the two games against Feyenoord sparked further fears that the Englishman can no longer quite cut it at the highest level. Walker was given a torrid time at De Kuip by Igor Paixao, while it wasn't lost on anybody in attendance that the cross that led to Carranza's killer equaliser at San Siro came from an unmarked Hugo Bueno on Milan's right-hand side.
Clearly, there were mitigating circumstances, with Milan down to 10 men at that stage, while Walker was also being commended for being the first to speak to after such a devastating 'defeat'.
It is that kind of leadership that could well convince Milan to sign the 34-year-old on a permanent basis this summer, particularly as the option to buy is for such a small fee (€5m) – but he'll definitely need some far more impressive performances between now and then to seal the deal.
AFPJoao Felix
Joao Felix may have only just arrived at Milan, but then that's precisely why Milan's embarrassingly early European hit him so hard.
"On a personal level, I wanted so much to play in the Champions League for Milan, but I only got to experience two games," the forward lamented in his post-match interview with . "But we are still in the Coppa Italia semi-finals and then we also have the objective of finishing in the top four in Serie A. Win the Coppa Italia and finish in the top four – that can save our season."
Helping Milan do so would also go a hell of a long way towards ensuring that he's still at the club next season. Felix may have marked his Rossoneri debut with a goal, against Roma in the Coppa Italia quarters, but the Portuguese still has so much to prove, especially after two painfully ineffective performances against Feyenoord.
When he broke through at Benfica, Felix was touted as a generational talent. Six years on, he's regarded as one of the game's great unfulfilled talents, a serial flop still searching for a permanent home at the highest level because he's not actually shown himself to be worthy of one.
In that sense, these final three months of the 2024-25 campaign are probably as important for Felix as anyone else on Milan's roster.
