Of all the seasons in Rossonero history that have ended trophyless, the 2019/20 season stands out as one of the most eventful. Summer brought new arrivals, starting with the coach, with Marco Giampaolo taking Gennaro Gattuso's place. Signings were made that would prove to be useful additions in seasons to come: Bennacer and Krunić from Empoli, Hernández from Real Madrid, Leão from Lille and Rebić from Eintracht Frankfurt. After a tour in the United States, AC Milan started the season in an extremely poor fashion, with four defeats in the first six matchdays; this led to Giampaolo's dismissal and Stefano Pioli's arrival. Even with the new coach, the team struggled to find a rhythm or consistency in terms of results, with two good away wins at Parma and Bologna followed by a 0-0 draw with Sassuolo and a tough defeat in Bergamo in the final match of 2019. However, the turn of the year saw a turn in AC Milan's fortunes. Just before the end of the year, AC Milan announced the return of the great Zlatan Ibrahimović, who promised to propel the team to success. After a draw in Ibra's second debut against Sampdoria, Pioli's men revitalised themselves with 14 points from the following seven games. The defeat against Genoa on 8 March 2020, however, marked the last game before Covid-19 brought things to a halt. The world changed as a result of the pandemic, as did AC Milan's season when football resumed three months later. An unlucky 0-0 in Turin in the second leg of the semi-final ended the team's Coppa Italia adventure, which saw AC Milan go unbeaten in matches against SPAL, Torino and Juventus. From 22 June, however, the league restarted and the Rossoneri went on an incredible run, gaining points in twelve consecutive games. Nine wins and three draws brought AC Milan up to sixth by the end of the season, securing Europa League football the following year as well as a contract extension for Stefano Pioli.
