FULL TIME
1-1
MATCH PREVIEW & MORE INFO
AC Milan possible starting lineup: Sportiello; Calabria, Tomori, Thiaw, Florenzi; Bennacer, Loftus-Cheek; Chukwueze, Maldini, Romero; Nasti
Match Preview
Rapid Wien possible starting lineup: Gartler; Oswald, Raux-Yao, Hofmann, Auer; Sattlberger, Grgic; Jansson, Sangare, Schaub; Burgstaller
Match Preview
The Paulo Fonseca era begins on Saturday for Italian heavyweights AC Milan, as they travel to Austria to face Rapid Vienna in their first pre-season friendly.
Rapid Vienna, in contrast, have already played three pre-season matches this summer, securing two victories and one defeat. Although Stefano Pioli earned the respect of AC Milan fans by guiding the team to Serie A glory in the 2021-22 season, a poor run of results at the end of last season made a change inevitable.
Milan managed just one win in their last seven Serie A matches, finishing as runners-up to Inter Milan. Additionally, they suffered a Europa League quarter-final defeat to Roma and were knocked out of the Coppa Italia at the same stage.
Following Pioli's departure, former Lille manager Paulo Fonseca took over, signing a three-year deal with the 2021-22 Italian champions. The appointment came after a personal endorsement from the Rossoneri's new advisor, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Preparing for their return to the Champions League, Milan have yet to make significant moves in the transfer market, focusing instead on outgoings. They have seen the departures of Charles De Ketelaere, Olivier Giroud, and Rade Krunic. Furthermore, Divock Origi has been relegated to training with the Under-23s as Milan brace for a challenging pre-season, which includes matches against Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Barcelona during their USA tour.
While Milan have not yet played a pre-season match this summer, Rapid Vienna will wrap up their preparations on Saturday, having started early due to their involvement in the Europa League qualifiers.
Rapid Vienna's pre-season began with an 11-0 victory over SC Herzogenburg, followed by a 3-0 defeat to Slavia Prague. They then staged a remarkable comeback to beat Debreceni VSC 3-2, with Furkan Dursun scoring the winning goal in the 105th minute.
After the friendly against Milan, Robert Klauss's side will enter the Europa League second qualifying round, facing either Llapi or Wisla Krakow. These fixtures will bookend an Austrian Cup opener against Neusiedl on July 28.
The Green-Whites face a tough start to the Austrian Bundesliga season, hosting champions Sturm Graz—who ended Red Bull Salzburg's dominance—at the Allianz Stadion on August 4.