AC Milan finished one place and a couple of points worse off than last season but there seems to be more optimism around the club at the end of this campaign - which is surprising given the way it started.
Marco Giampaolo was appointed manager after overachieving at clubs like Empoli and Sampdoria but the Milan hotseat proved a little too much for him. The warning signs came in the first game of the season as the Rossoneri limped to a defeat at Udinese without having a shot on target. Giampaolo failed to reproduce the attractive football his previous sides had displayed and lost 4 of his first 7 Serie A matches before being shown the door.
Stefano Pioli was the surprise choice to replace Giampaolo and his appointment was met with disdain by the Milanista - having previously managed bitter rivals Inter and never really turned up any trees at his previous clubs. Pioli initially struggled - losing 3 of his first 5 games but those were all against top sides. The coach then managed to steady the ship and, aside from an embarrassing 5-0 defeat to a rampant Atalanta, Milan went unbeaten in 11 games across all competitions before another poor result in a big game when they surrendered a 2-0 lead to lose the derby to Inter.
The Coronavirus break came at a good time for Milan who won just once in 7 games before the lockdown. When action resumed in June - Il Diavolo were a completely different animal and didn't lose a single game across all competitions (W9 D4). They began scoring goals for fun and the slayed the demon of the derby capitulation by coming back from 2-0 down themselves to beat champions Juventus 4-2.
A huge catalyst for Milan's change in fortunes was the return of the prodigal son Zlatan Ibrahimovich. His departure from the club in 2012 led to the Rossoneri's decline from the summit of Italian football but the Swede lifted spirits when he arrived from the MLS in January. His personality both on and off the pitch gave Milan some much needed character. Despite only playing half the season - no one made a bigger impact than Ibrah who scored a very respectable 10 goals in 18 games. He made others around him better including Ante Rebic who ended the season as the club's top scorer. Franck Kessie started to show glimpses of the powerful box-to-box midfielder he was at Atalanta whilst Theo Hernandez was the best summer signing, providing thrust from left-back with 7 goals and 5 assists.
Milan's late season run saw them qualify for Europe but it was still largely expected that Pioli would only be a temporary solution until former RB Leipzig coach Ralf Rangnick arrived as the new manager. However, the club made a sudden u-turn and decided to offer Pioli a new contract. No one can say he didn't earn it but they must now back him in the transfer market if they want to return to former glories.
