Carlos Bacca and Kevin Prince-Boateng are the big names from Sunday night’s victory over Fiorentina, but have AC Milan finally turned a corner? Such a saying is becoming a little dated, says George Rinaldi.

First off, welcome back to Forza Italian Football’s AC Milan Club Focus for 2016. The first-half saw huge scrutiny placed on almost every member of the Rossoneri squad at times, with the same old queries worryingly reappearing after Bologna ousted Milan at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, prior to two vital victories against Carpi in the Coppa Italia and last Sunday’s impressive 2-0 win over the Viola.

But what has changed then? Quite frankly, nothing. Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side are still inconsistently consistent: a win here, a loss there, with no real continuation of form. Maybe now, as we have debated so often, it is the time to kick on. The same was said after impressive wins over both Lazio and Sampdoria previously, but perhaps this time the Diavolo may have finally learnt their lesson.

January saw the return of the 28-year-old Ghanaian: Boateng, and it really was ‘Goodnight sweet Kevin-Prince’, as he put in an effective performance against the Gigliati. Is the signing of the former Schalke man going to change things however? No.

Then one must ponder what do Milan actually need? Firstly, let us look at the line-up on Sunday:

It was a straightforward but efficient 4-4-2 setup from Mihajlovic. There was nothing special in the line-up, and as a matter of fact, there were only five changes from the opening day loss at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. All of those five changes as well: (Donnarumma/Lopez, Abate/De Sciglio, Alex/Ely, Montolivo/de Jong and Niang/Adriano) were all Milan players at the time with M’Baye Niang the only one of those listed to have not sat on the bench that day due to an injury.

It is not as if Mihajlovic has brought about a notable change of personnel, but more so with his tactics. He drew away from the 4-3-1-2 and has been comfortable with the old-time standard formation of any team. Luiz Adriano’s exit is not unexpected as he jets off to China’s Jiangsu Suning, leaving the 21-year-old French striker alongside main man Bacca, with Mario Balotelli waiting in the wings.

What the coach has done is brought about some stability to a club that disregarded two of their finest recent players so soon after being appointed. They played as, funnily enough, a team on Sunday, displaying the necessary unity.

Even so, some supporters of other Serie A clubs have voiced their laughter toward a few Milan fans for overreacting to the win over Fiorentina, but was it really an overdone celebration by the Milanisti? They are not the club they once were, and they should fully well know fighting for the Scudetto is but a dream in their current state.

Take Giacomo Bonaventura for instance, arguably the Rossoneri’s best player this season, ahead of Bacca. He has been lauded, myself included, for his performances but is he Milan standard? Of course he is, but he the right standard for a struggling Milan side, not a Scudetto winner.

Look to the midfield that lifted the Champions League back in 2007: Clarence Seedorf, Kaka, Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso. Would Mr Bonaventura make it into that team at his current best? No. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Some Milanisti have rightly accepted their club’s current fortunes, and should celebrate the victory over Fiorentina as some sort of advancement in their endeavours.

Most teams believe they should be fighting for the Scudetto, but it does not mean they deserve to be. This season, only four teams: Napoli, Juventus, Inter and Fiorentina deserve to be fighting for it, and arguably only the former two deserve to win the Championship.

This season, as hard as some of those Milan supporters will admit, is where there team should be in their predicament. If Silvio Berlusconi cannot see that as well, and the Rossoneri go on to replicate the average at best results in Autumn, Mihajlovic will be removed from his post. It would be undeserving, but it would happen. He may not be Massimo Cellino, but he would happily sack another coach if he did not get what he craved: Champions League football and a Scudetto fight.

Give him time, as we have constantly outlaid. If Milan lose to both Empoli and Inter in the Derby della Madonnina then the whole debacle starts again. Take a breather, enjoy the victory and relax in amongst the mercato (albeit a very slow and uneventful one).

Milan have bigger problems to worry about anyway. They are suing a former “youth” player Yusupha Yaffa, who is apparently 28, not 19-years-old. I’ll use whatever ageing cream you yourself purchase, Yusupha.