AC Milan has a new boss in town. After things failed to work out under Paulo Fonseca, the Rossoneri decided to sack him and bring in another Portuguese tactician, Sergio Conceição. Although it has been just a few days since the managerial changes at San Siro, Christian Pulisic claims to have already noticed significant differences.

It was just a night before the New Year that the Red and Black continued with their average form, enduring a 1-1 draw against AS Roma. That somehow seemed the breaking point for Milan as they decided to kick start the new year with a fresh approach, bringing Conceicao. In fact, the replacement seemingly impressed within the first day at the office; on Friday, Milan flew to Saudi Arabia to play their Supercoppa Italia semifinal clash against arch-rivals Juventus.

Luckily, a 1-2 win was secured by The Devils at Al Awaal Park, home to Juventus’ former star player Cristiano Ronaldo. The result signaled a positive start under their new manager which saw Christian Pulisic heap praise over the new boss. Speaking to SportMediaset.it after the crucial victory in the cup game, the USMNT star said, “We’ve only worked together for 2-3 days. He’s a strong one, very strong.”

Notably, Milan secured a perfect comeback, as Pulisic himself had a part to play in helping his new manager make a mark in the team. The American winger scored from the spot in the 71st minute to equalize Juventus’ Kenan Yildiz’s 21-minute opener. Later, an effort for a cross pass from Pulisic’s teammate rather turned into a horrendous own goal from Federico Gatti, helping Milan secure the much-needed win.

Of course, a single match isn’t enough to suggest that Sergio Conceicao has truly turned things around. However, these words of praise from Pulisic, who himself has been playing a crucial role this season for the Serie A giants, do suggest that the new manager does seem to have made an instantaneous impact on the team. In fact, the biggest question for now would be to see if Milan is able to keep such a pace under their new man!

Christian Pulisic and AC Milan shall aim for glory under Sergio Conceicao

The former Porto manager might not have secured a win over Juventus in a dominant fashion. Then again, a win is a win and Milan supporters would surely love to take it rather than a poor draw or a defeat. The victory over the Old Lady now sees them in the finals where they will be facing arch-rivals Inter, a Milan derby, if you will. They are coming off a rather clean 2-0 win over Atalanta, so expect the city rivals to give their best.

Certainly, this raises the pressure for Sergio Conceicao to help his side secure the title this coming Monday. Failure to do so is hardly an option for the recently hired 50-year-old tactician. In the meantime, one shall also remind the former Nantes and Braga manager about Milan’s poor domestic standings, who currently occupy 8th place with a tally of just 27. Perhaps Milan would hope the least to sort Serie A as well.

Then again, it all rests on how Sergio Conceicao is able to build the much-needed connection with Christian Pulisic and Co. in order to term it a successful season. But one thing is sure, the earlier praise from Mr. Captain America about his new manager does give a hope to many!