Zlatan Ibrahimovic takes swift action after Liverpool defeat leaves AC Milan boss on brink
AC Milan advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic is said to be weighing up the future of head coach Paulo Fonseca in the wake of Tuesday night's 3-1 loss against Liverpool in the Champions League
by Dan Marsh · The MirrorAC Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca's job is in jeopardy after the Italian giants were beaten 3-1 by Liverpool in the Champions League.
Milan took an early lead against the Reds through Christian Pulisic but were soon overpowered by their Premier League rivals, who went on to win comfortably.
And it turns out that defeat has put Fonseca in a perilous position ahead of this weekend's Milan derby, where he could be sacked if AC Milan suffer another poor result.
That's per a new report which also claims the club's senior adviser Zlatan Ibrahimovic has already been in contact with former Borussia Dortmund head coach Edin Terzic. The 41-year-old remains unattached after leaving his previous in June, despite being linked with clubs over the summer.
Sky Germany outline that Terzic - who was also on the shortlist of AS Roma - is a live candidate for the role should Fonseca be sacked - just months after he was appointed by Milan's top brass.
Ibrahimovic has held an executive role at his former club since December 2023. Speaking ahead of the match against Liverpool, the Sweden legend clarified his position by saying: "I am the boss and I am in charge, all the others work for me."
Fonseca landed the AC Milan job in the summer but has endured a troubling start to life in Italy. He's taken just five points from his opening four Serie A matches and Tuesday night's loss is another setback for the former Lille boss.
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Speaking post-match, Fonseca didn't hold back with his criticism. He even went as far as to say his team "stopped playing" after Virgil van Dijk plundered Liverpool's second goal just before the half-time break.
"We played against Liverpool, who are a huge team. We started well, both attacking and defending, but then we conceded two goals from set plays that changed the game," Fonseca told Sky Italia.
"We lost our mental balance because when the team lacks confidence, we develop problems and don’t do what we prepared in training. I told the players, you cannot make those mistakes in this kind of game. At the same time, I have to admit Liverpool are more of a team right now than we are, we need to keep working to have not 20 good minutes, but 70, 80, 90 minutes playing our football. After we conceded the second goal, the team stopped playing, and it became difficult after that.”
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