The calendar had flipped to September, and Milan's life had officially gone into overdrive. The schedule was relentless, the pressure unrelenting, but the fire inside him burned brighter with each passing day.
The first stop: Austria Vienna on the 14th. A cool breeze danced through the air in Vienna as Milan jogged onto the pitch. Wearing the Europa League badge on his arm gave him a strange kind of thrill.
"Let's make this count," he whispered under his breath.
And count it did.
Milan ran riot on the wings — slicing into the box in the 29th minute to drill a low shot into the bottom corner. Minutes later, he laid off a perfect cutback to Çalhanoğlu, who slammed it home. He capped off the night with a sweet curling finish in the 70th minute before being subbed off in the 75th to thunderous applause.
Austria Vienna 1 - 4 AC Milan.
Two goals. One assist. Statement made.
Back in Italy just three days later, Milan faced Udinese at the San Siro. This time, the game was tight. But in the 54th minute, a clever pass from Bonaventura released Milan on the flank. He danced past a defender, lifted his head, and squared it across to André Silva — tap-in. Then in the 78th, he stole possession and blasted a shot past the keeper.
2-1 Victory.
No rest. SPAL three days later.
Montella decided to rotate. Milan started but only played 60 minutes — enough time to serve two assists, one a cheeky backheel to Kessié and the other a whipped cross to Borini.
3-0 Victory.
The fourth match, away to Sampdoria, didn't go as planned. Milan came off the bench in the 60th minute but couldn't change the tide. The home side stunned AC Milan with two quick goals, and the Rossoneri looked flat. It was a rough reality check.
0-2 Loss.
Then came HNK Rijeka at San Siro. Milan was hungry to bounce back. Rijeka was tough, but the boy wonder came alive again. In the 54th, he found André Silva with a slick reverse pass. Then, with the score level at 2-2, Milan took matters into his own hands in the 84th — slaloming past two defenders before slotting home a cold-blooded finish into the bottom right.
3-2 Victory.
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The fans were eating it up. His Instagram was flooded with highlights. On Twitter, Italian pundits broke down his movement, his decision-making, and his maturity on the ball.
@SkySportItalia: "Milan Martinez Villa has 4 goals and 5 assists in his first 6 appearances for AC Milan. Only 16 years old. Incredible."
@MilanZone: "Passing accuracy: 86%. Dribbles completed: 12. Duels won: 17. He's the real deal."
Fan comments rolled in nonstop:
> "Give this kid the #10 jersey already!"
"He's got the elegance of Kaká with the swagger of Neymar."
"How is he only 16? He plays like he's been here forever."
The Stadio San Siro was already buzzing with chants of "Villa! Villa!" in the crowd.
Montella was still managing his minutes carefully, but the stats didn't lie.
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Match Summary:
Sep 14 – Europa League vs Austria Vienna (Away)
Result: 4-1 Win
Milan: 2 goals, 1 assist (75 mins)
Sep 17 – Serie A vs Udinese (Home)
Result: 2-1 Win
Milan: 1 goal, 1 assist (90 mins)
Sep 20 – Serie A vs SPAL (Home)
Result: 3-0 Win
Milan: 0 goals, 2 assists (60 mins)
Sep 23 – Serie A vs Sampdoria (Away)
Result: 0-2 Loss
Milan: 0 goals, 0 assists (30 mins)
Sep 28 – Europa League vs HNK Rijeka (Home)
Result: 3-2 Win
Milan: 1 goal, 1 assist (80 mins)
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Milan's Stats – September 2017:
Goals: 4
Assists: 5
Minutes Played: 335
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Serie A Standings after Matchday 6:
1. Napoli – 16 pts
2. AC Milan – 15 pts
3. Juventus – 14 pts
4. Inter Milan – 13 pts
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🥇 Serie A Top Scorers after Matchday 6
1. Ciro Immobile (Lazio) – 6 goals
2. Dries Mertens (Napoli) – 5 goals
3. Milan Martinez Villa (AC Milan) – 5 goals
4. Mauro Icardi (Inter) – 4 goals
5. Paulo Dybala (Juventus) – 4 goals
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🎯 Serie A Top Assists after Matchday 6
1.Milan Martinez Villa (AC Milan) – 7 assists
2. Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli) – 5 assists
3. Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus) – 3 assists
4. Suso (AC Milan) – 3 assists
5. Luis Alberto (Lazio) – 2 assists
The month ended with a cool breeze sweeping over Milan as he sat on the bench at training, watching his teammates laugh and stretch. He tied his laces slowly, soaking it all in. Montella jogged over.
"You've done well this month," the coach said in Italian. "But now... Roma."
Milan smiled. "Bring it on."