AC Milan began the year in unsurprisingly high spirits. After all, 2022 had been good to them. In May, they won a first Scudetto since 2011. Then, they reclaimed their place among Europe's elite by qualifying for the knockout stage of this season's Champions League.
However, just over a month before their last-16 tie with Tottenham, it's become clear that all is not right at Milanello. Indeed, had it not been for Juventus' week from hell, the always excitable Italian press would no doubt be labelling the Rossoneri as Serie A's crisis club right now.
After all, in the space of 10 days, Stefano Pioli's side dropped four points in the title race, were dumped out of the Coppa Italia by Torino, and then hammered 3-0 by Inter in the Supercoppa Italiana.
Derby defeats never go over well and the nature of Milan's loss in Riyadh has set alarm bells ringing, given they've now slipped 12 points behind league leaders Napoli ahead of Tuesday's must-win meeting with Lazio.
So, what exactly is going on, and is there really a danger of the Rossoneri's season unravelling? GOAL runs through all of the major talking points...