Champions League qualification would represent a successful season for AC Milan
By Harry Symeou
It's been a week to forget for AC Milan. Last Saturday, they were comprehensively beaten at San Siro by Atalanta, handing the opportunity to their title rivals to reduce their lead at the top of Serie A and just days later, Stefano Pioli's side were eliminated from the Coppa Italia by their fiercest rivals.
The loss at the hands of Gian Piero Gasperini's side was the Rossoneri's heaviest of the season so far but although both Juventus and Roma picked up maximum points at the weekend, they could take some comfort from the fact Inter were held by Udinese.
The Coppa Italia quarter-final represented an opportunity for Milan to get back to winning ways immediately but despite taking the lead through Zlatan Ibrahimovic (who was later sent off) Pioli's team were beaten by a 96th minute free-kick from Inter's forgotten man Christian Eriksen.
Despite still sitting top of Serie A, the recent results have prompted many to question the team's title credentials as they look to win their first Scudetto since 2011. The criticism coming Milan's way, while some of it is justified, feels largely unfair given at the start of the campaign Champions League qualification would have been classed as a major success.
The last time the Rossoneri participated in Europe's premier competition was in the 2013/14 campaign and for a club of their stature, size and history, it's simply not acceptable. Therefore, understandably, a top-four finish is Stefano Pioli's primary objective and while those looking in may have gotten carried away with the Scudetto talk, even at this point, having been crowned as winter champions, it still feels premature.
The reality is, Milan are going through a re-build and the first step of that process is to re-establish themselves as a Champions League club which would subsequently strengthen them financially.
In terms of the title race, Antonio Conte's Inter remain hot on the heels of their city rivals and their superior strength-in-depth is likely to prove a key factor in the race between the two. You'd also be foolish to rule out Andrea Pirlo's Juventus, the reigning champions, who have a game in hand and perhaps more significantly, Cristiano Ronaldo in their ranks.
Milan's performances so far this season have seen them play their way into the Scudetto conversation and deservedly so but that shouldn't distract from the fact they've significantly over achieved. At the start of the season, they were the sixth favourites to be crowned champions, behind Juventus, Inter, Atalanta, Napoli and Lazio - that in itself, demonstrates that very point.
For the aforementioned reasons, if Milan, as predicted, begin to fall away as the business end of the season approaches, it should be seen as more of a levelling than a collapse.