Rebounding after dropping the first leg last week, Milan bounced back and beat Hellas Verona over the weekend. It was a better performance than what we saw vs Feyenoord, with some encouraging signs. But Milan will need to be better than that today, as they look to erase a 0-1 deficit and advance to the next stage of Champions League.
The first leg saw a howler by Mike Maignan that ended up being the difference. I think Milan stand a good chance to overturn the tie if they can avoid costly mistakes like in the first leg and vs Dinamo Zagreb to end the league phase. Time to see what Conceição has planned and if his men are ready.
LAST FIVE
MILAN: WLWWD
FEYENOORD: DWWLL
FORMATIONS
MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan (C); Walker, Thiaw, Pavlovic, Hernández; Musah, Reijnders; Pulisic, Felix, Leão; Gimenez
FEYENOORD (4-3-3): Wellenreuther; Read, Beelen, Hancko, Smal; Moder, Milambo, Timber (C); Hadj Moussa, Ueda, Paixão
TIME/LOCATION
TIME: 12:45pm EST/5:45pm GMT
PLACE: San Siro, Milano
WHERE TO WATCH:
Paramount + has your Champions League action in the US. Check your local listings.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
FEYENOORD
FEYENOORD
Santiago Giménez’s transfer from Feyenoord was the main story for the first leg, and it’s still a major storyline here. He didn’t do much in that first game, but then again neither did the rest of the team. Still, that didn’t stop a few of the Feyenoord players from talking, saying they knew what he was going to do. I think it was dumb of them to talk but I don’t think they were completely wrong either. We’ve seen Giménez struggle to dominate games even if he has already bagged a few goals for Milan, as him and the rest of the team are still getting acclimated to each other and Conceição. Feyenoord is going to do all they can to keep Giménez from burning them and let’s hope that extra attention ends up being their undoing.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
ATTACK
As we all witnessed, winger IGOR PAIXÃO led the Feyenoord attack and was a busy torn when Feyenoord ventured forward. He shouldn’t have scored on the shot he did but it wouldn’t have surprised any of us had he gotten a goal at some point. Walker did ok against him but Milan might need to cheat that way if we begin to see it again (Tomori’s speed will help). Midfielder IN-BEOM HWANG is still out with an injury and I don’t think there’s anyone else in particular Milan should worry about except maybe ANTONI MILAMBO, who has been their best Champions League player since Giménez is no longer there. As we saw in the first game and mentioned here in the matchday, Feyenoord get offensive production from their CBs and set pieces were some of their most dangerous possessions in the first leg (probably why Thiaw and Pavlovic started). So Milan will need to watch out for them again in this game.
DEFENSE
The whole Feyenoord defense was solid but as I mentioned in the post match from the first leg, I think the tactics they employed was the real factor (clearly, credit to the players for executing it). The tactics? A very low non-pressing block with tight lines. Expect more of that this game as I think Feyenoord is going to hunker down and try to get one on the counter to put this to bed. One last thing: in addition to the sh*t talking about Giménez, RB Read also was yapping about Leão not being very fast. Not sure bulletin board material is the smartest way to go…
MILAN
MILAN
Conceição is running with basically the same lineup as the first leg and I’m most happy with it. Fofana is out and Musah is in. Considering Fofana’s recent drop in form (unsure why), I’m not terribly surprised by the move. I’m sure if Milan get the lead in the tie then we’ll see Fofana come in to close the door. The other thing I’m meh about is Tomori sitting again. I’m with Lisi in that if you’re going to press and chase goals then having speed back there is a huge help. The concern still seems to be Feyenoord’s dead ball situations and their big CBs.
I’m very happy, however, with the Fab Four starting again. I think this gives Milan the best chance to breakthrough what is very likely a packed-in Feyenoord side but we need to see all that wonderful movement we saw in the last 25 minutes of the Hellas Verona game over the weekend. Giménez in particular is going to need to really get in there and occupy the CBs and Reijnders needs to make smart timely runs and be the unmarked man.
João Felix and Pulisic will need to pull the strings and sometimes that means finding Leão, getting him into isolation situations, and then making themselves available. I expect Leão and Giménez to be extra motivated after that Feyenoord’s sh*t talking I mentioned above.
PREDICTION TIME
Milan will need a breakthrough to crack this thing open. I’m fully expecting a parked bus inside of another parked bus from Feyenoord. The sooner this happens, the better. If Feyenoord keep it tied or within 1 late, that’s when weird freaky sh*t happens so let’s try and avoid that at all costs. I hope to see a 2-0/3-1 win and no extra time, but really I’ll take ANYTHING that gets Milan through.
Michael Lisi says: I think we scrape it 2-0. Leão goal. Guy has been a machine in Champions League. Pulisic assist. We dominate the first half and hold on to push through.
Let’s go take this!
Forza Milan
gillis