What a difference a week can make in football.

Following back-to-back victories over Lazio (3-1) and Parma (5-4) in their first two league outings of the season, Milan entered Saturday’s clash with Juventus brimming with confidence.

Juventus themselves had started the season strongly, beating modest Chievo (1-0) and Udinese (2-0) in the Serie A and Malmo (2-0) in the Champions League.

The Bianconeri, now under the charge of former Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri, represented the ideal yardstick for Filippo Inzaghi to gauge his team’s potential.

Milan did try to put up a stern challenge to the Italian champions but it was Juventus who took the honours on the day as a Carlos Tevez goal handed them a 1-0 win.

The two-times European champions, shorn of arguably their best two players in Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal, dictated matters for long stretches as Milan struggled to keep the pace with their more-quoted opponents.

Despite their brave showing, it was clear that Milan are nowhere near Juventus in terms of quality and strength-in-depth.

In the close season, the Rossoneri made seven major signings in Fernando Torres and Marco Van Ginkel (both Chelsea), Giacomo Bonaventura (Atalanta), Diego Lopez (Real Madrid), Alex, Jeremy Menez (both Paris SG) and Pablo Armero (Udinese).

These transfers were financed by the high-profile departures of Mario Balotelli (Liverpool) and Bryan Cristante (Benfica).

There was also a major change in their technical staff as Inzaghi was brought in to replace Clarence Seedorf in the hope that their former striker can re-establish the team among the top sides in the division.

Inzaghi was a success story wherever he played due to his commitment to the game and he is adopting the same approach at Milan.

Winning mentality

Inzaghi has always displayed a winning mentality and in his masters thesis to attain his UEFA licence he encourages coaches to foster a competitive environment.

His no-nonsense approach has yielded him rich dividends during his coaching days at youth level.

In 2012, immediately after his retirement from professional football, he was appointed coach of Milan’s Under-17 team, leading them to victory over Zenit St Petersburg in the final of the Scopigno Cup.

Only last February, Inzaghi, who formed part of Marcello Lippi’s World Cup-winning side in 2006, led Milan’s youths to victory in the prestigious Viareggio Tournament for the ninth time – the first after a 13-year absence, following a 3-1 win over Anderlecht in the final.

Although he is still in his early days as a Serie A coach, Inzaghi seems to have already transmitted to his players his hunger for success and never-say-die attitude.

Moreover, there is a spirit of unity within the Milan dressing room which augurs well for the future.

As things stand at present, Juventus are expected to be engaged in a duel with Roma for the 2014-15 scudetto.

On the other hand, Milan are likely to be among five teams who are expected to challenge for a top-three finish and a place in next season’s Champions League.

To achieve this goal they need to show a high level of consistency throughout the season.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.