Forgotten man Tammy Abraham has kickstarted AC Milan’s new era – & his own career

Sergio Conceicao’s AC Milan have lift-off – and they’re up and running thanks to a spectacular Derby della Madonnina comeback capped off by Chelsea old boy Tammy Abraham.

Ignoring the somewhat stale staging post of the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – a grim glimpse ahead to 2034 – this was undoubtedly A Moment.

Milan have beaten Real Madrid away and remain the only side to score against Liverpool in the Champions League, but domestic matters have been altogether more underwhelming.

This season we’ve been treated to a thrilling tussle towards the top end of the table, with surprise packages Atalanta, Lazio and Fiorentina slugging it out with Juventus, Antonio Conte’s Napoli and reigning champions Inter.

But the Rossoneri find themselves observing the fun from a distance, down in eighth. For that, and having struggled to inspire the fans from the offset, Paulo Fonseca was never going to last.

Understandably in those circumstances, summer signing Abraham, on loan from Roma, has struggled to kick on after stagnating a little in his latter, injury-hit seasons at the Olimpico.

”It’s not that I lost confidence at all, but the fans know how important Roma is to me,” Abraham told reporters at his San Siro unveiling back in August.

“But sometimes in life there are cases where you have to go to the next level, set the bar higher, and I thought this was the right opportunity.

“I wish Roma the best, but now I’m focused on Milan.”

All the right noises. And there have been some bright moments for Fonseca’s stuttering side, including goals in vital Champions League victories over Slovan Bratislava and Crvena Zvezda.

But half of his Serie A starts this season have been off the bench, and he’s only scored two. It feels a long time ago now that he was banging them in for fun at Roma and being linked with big-money moves back to top Premier League clubs.

But there’s still half a season to go and this can yet prove a fruitful loan for the striker. Milan have inevitably binned off Fonseca for his considerably more impressive, charismatic Portuguese compatriot Sergio Conceicao.

Maybe it’s just vibes, but Milan already feel like a different beast with the cigar-smoking don sitting in the dugout.

They showed great spirit to come back and beat Juventus 2-1 in the Supercoppa semi-final; the Old Lady have been dour viewing under Thiago Motta, but they’re a tough nut to crack – the only still-unbeaten side across Europe’s five major leagues.

And they repeated the trick in the final against their great city rivals and hot favourites Inter.

Quickfire goals either side of half-time from Lautaro Martinez and Mehdi Taremi put the Nerazzurri into a commanding two-goal lead, but Milan soon came roaring back – Theo Hernandez got them back into it in the 53rd minute, Christian Pulisic equalised in the 81st and super-sub Abraham capped off the comeback deep into added time.

Tammy Abraham in added-time!

The Englishman is the hero for AC Milan in the Supercoppa Italiana Final pic.twitter.com/USggxkfXtG

— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) January 6, 2025

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In truth, it was a tap-in for the striker. A great ball from Pulisic and a clever run by Rafael Leao were responsible for breaching the Inter backline and from there Abraham simply couldn’t miss.

But finding yourself in the right place at the right time is the hallmark of any great goalscorer. And being in the right place at the right time at that very moment – the third minute of injury in a Milan derby final – is the kind of divine intervention that can kickstart a carer.

The San Siro has been good to his old Chelsea team-mates Pulisic, Fikayo Tomori and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Now 27 and a good nine months on from his return from his ACL injury, the time is now for Abraham if he’s to reach his full potential and get back into England contention.

Abraham now has a second piece of silverware in Italy to go with the Conference League trophy he lifted with Roma. Conceicao has taken just two games to deliver.

And who knows what’s to come? Milan have one foot in the Champions League knockout stages and may yet finish in the top eight with a bye to the last 16.

There’s a mouth-watering Coppa Italia tie with Abraham’s parent club Roma to come and the gap behind Serie A’s top four is not insurmountable.

“He’s someone that’s very passionate and wants to win, and he passes that down to the players,” Abraham said of his new boss in his post-match interview with CBS Sports Golazo.

“Today we didn’t want to leave here without lifting the trophy.”

Conceicao’s Milan immediately look as though they have the right mentality. Let’s see what that brings. It could be a beautiful new chapter in Abraham’s career.

By Nestor Watach

The post Forgotten man Tammy Abraham has kickstarted AC Milan’s new era – & his own career appeared first on Planet Football.

Author Of article : Nestor Watach

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