I wanted to space these shots out a bit more time-wise, but I liked the action in the next few shots too much.

Milan midfielder Tijjani Martinus Jan Reijnders (born in Zwolle, Netherlands in 1998 making him 25 at the time of this match) is desperately trying to find a way through our defensive line of Chris Smalling (#6), Dean Huijsen (#3, facing the camera), and Evan Ndicka (#5), with midfielder Bove (#52) thrown in for good measure and Diego Llorente not far off either.

Backup goalkeeper Pietro Boer (#63) is poised for the strike, should it come.

The 6'1" midfielder (who tends to play as a Mezzala (from "half winger")) played for several Dutch clubs (2017-2023) before moving to Milan in 2023 where he has scored 3 goals in 36 appearances. He played most of his time in the Netherlands at a club called AZ which stands for... oh who are we kidding, I have no chance of pronouncing that. You can do a web search. Refreshingly (considering how many we've seen who haven't), he has opted to play his international career with his nation of birth, playing 3 matches for Netherlands U20 and 9 for the senior squad. (His mother had Indonesian ancestry making him eligible to play for either country.)

On the right, 24 year old striker Noah Okafor (#17) (born in Binningen, Switzerland) looks on nervously.

On the left we see Álex Jiménez (#74), who turned 19 earlier in the month. Despite being a fullback, he does seem to like to be up front. Born in Madrid, Spain, he spent most of his junior career with Real Madrid (2012-2024), though he was loaned to AC Milan for 2023-2024 before joining them permanently until 2027 for a transfer fee of €3M, albeit with a buy back clause.