Milan job leaves club icon Inzaghi on the brink

MILAN: The AC Milan coaching future of the club’s former iconic striker Filippo Inzaghi is hanging in the balance after the struggling Italian A giants sunk to a historic low in Serie A at the weekend.
Stung by a 1-0 home defeat to lowly Atalanta last week, Milan’s 3-1 humbling by Lazio in a bad-tempered Stadio Olimpico clash saw the Rossoneri drop to 10th place at 23 points behind leaders and champions Juventus.
Milan’s sixth league defeat meant the Serie A giants have failed to win a single league game in January for the first time since 1941.
To make matters worse, it was capped by the late expulsion of French defender Philippe Mexes, who after a fit of madness had to be pulled off Stefano Mauri after grabbing the Lazio captain around the throat.
Mexes’s violent reaction to what he later claimed was “constant provocation” by Mauri arguably reflects the frustration Milan and the club’s fans are feeling amid another underwhelming season.
Inzaghi, the club’s former youth team coach who took over from Dutchman Clarence Seedorf last summer, admits his future could now hinge on Tuesday’s Italian Cup quarter-final tie with Lazio at the San Siro.
“On Tuesday we have a chance to make amends: at this point, it’s decisive,” said the weary-looking Italian after Saturday’s defeat further dented his side’s hopes of qualifying for Europe next season.
If Napoli beat Genoa to move up to third later on Monday, Milan, and city rivals Inter, will sit 10 points behind the third and last Champions League qualifying spot.