A win is a win? It has to be after this. Milan scored early and sealed it at the end but the in-between left a lot to be desired. Play was anything but fluid but the defense held again and all of the sudden it’s the defense carrying the team. So what has this change meant for the team and how they play? What does this mean as we enter the last month of the season? Let’s discuss.
This game was a weird one. Essentially Milan turned a forced Venezia mistake into the opener (Abraham with the deflected pass that started it!) and then a sleepy Venezia moment at the end to seal it in the dying minutes as Reijnders threw a dart 50 yards (meters?) to Giménez, who hit a cheeky lob over Radu. It was some nice bookends on an otherwise mostly meh performance.
I mentioned in the Udinese-Milan post match that Milan’s success that game was at least partially driven by teams never seeing this Milan in the 3-4-3 formation. This lack of a point of reference and game footage wouldn’t last long if they stayed in it and sure enough the very next game Atalanta devised a gameplan that left Milan’s attack mostly toothless. Since then Inter and now Venezia have essentially done the same thing as Atalanta with varying degrees of success.
So what have teams been doing? Basically a ton of pressing of the ball carrier once they receive the ball. Without a true CAM on the pitch, someone who can handle pressure while on the ball and has the creativity to thread a pass or dribbling skills to beat his man 1 on 1 in a tight space, Atalanta could pressure everyone and not worry that getting beat individually would be penalized by goal since Milan couldn’t get the ball to them.
The only consistently successful attack these last 3 games was when the Milan player could elude the pressing opponent, as there was a ton of space to run with everyone usually closely man-marking their assignment. This is why Milan’s best attacking plays weren’t elaborate ball and player movement, productively building closer and closer to the opponent’s 18 yard box, but rather getting past their guy, running with it, and maybe a little 1-2 give and go or a layoff to a streaking teammate.
This in a nutshell is and has been my issue with the formation and more generally, whenever Milan has lacked a true creative force in the form of a CAM: it can severely restrict tactics and playing approaches. It doesn’t mean going this route doesn’t have its usefulness. We’ve just seen it as it’s helped Milan find some consistency defensively. But it does mean when it doesn’t work you usually have to sub in players and not just change the roles or formation of whoever is on the pitch. And, in a sport that limits substitutions, that also forces the coach to have to factor in, what if the change you make doesn’t work? This isn’t like basketball or American football with unlimited substitutions and the ability to change the characteristics of the personnel on the field routinely throughout the game.
Before we wrap up this editorial section, I’m sure some of you may be thinking, “but wait, you prefer a Leão-centric approach, one that plays one way – wide and with space for Leão to beat his man 1 on 1 – and isn’t that the same thing?” No, because while I do prefer this attacking approach tactically and as the default Milan offense, I also want a true CAM on the pitch so that play can seamlessly transition to one that can play centrally or in tight spaces, pairing with a #9 or RW who can create or finish in the box. The limitations of the current 3-4-3 formation offensively can be overcome but I believe the options to do so are few as described earlier.
I do think Milan should stick to this as long as it’s working for what remains of this season. But I hope they return to a 4-2-3-1 next season if Leão remains and continues to be Milan’s best player. It appears Conceição doesn’t prefer this formation either but he is making the tradeoff in a pragmatic move to get results and stabilize the team. If it in any way provides him better odds to remain on as coach after this season, the better.
What Happened in Serie A
So 4 of the top 8 teams dropped points this round, and things are as tight as ever for that coveted 4th spot in the table and Champions League football next season. Should be a fun 4 rounds.
Starting at the top, Napoli (1st) has returned to the top of the table after beating Torino (10th) 2-0, aided by Inter’s (2nd) 0-1 loss to Roma (6th). Inter turned their back-to-back losses for the first time this season with their midweek loss to Milan in the Coppa semifinal, to their first 3 game losing streak of the season. They appear to be running on empty and even Inter fans on social media seem to be noticing. The smart guess is that they’re going to gear up for one last push in Champions League and sacrifice the league in the process. Napoli on the other hand has only played in like 16 games all season (I kid, I kid…) and this freshness just might put them over the top.
Atalanta (3rd) dropped points, drawing 1-1 with Lecce (17th) at home. After starting the season 7-1-0 at home in league play, earning 21 out of 24 possible points, they’ve gone 1-5-3 since, earning 8 points out of 27. So much for protecting the home turf this season. The loss leaves them up just 3 points up from the final Champions League spot.
Juventus (4th) beat Monza (20th) 2-0, lifting them over Bologna (5th), who drew 0-0 away at Udinese (12th). Lazio (7th) also drew, finishing 2-2 against Parma (16th). Finally in the chase for the top 4, Fiorentina (8th) beat Empoli (19th) 2-1. This means with 4 rounds remaining there are 5 teams between 4th and 8th separated by just 3 points (and only 6 points separates teams between 3rd and 8th).
To round out the round, Como (11th), is just 1 point off of the top half of the table after beating Genoa (13th) 1-0. Heck of a season for the newly promoted club. And finally, Cagliari (14th) beat Hellas Verona (15th) 2-0, earning a massive 3 points, taking them to 33 points on the season. While not mathematically safe from relegation, 33 points is usually enough to stay in the top flight.
Now, ratings.
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
MAIGNAN 7.5 – Another solid game. With Venezia having an expected goal/xG of 1.22, Maignan did well to keep them off the scoresheet. Nice to see this Maignan as we head into a very important summer contract-wise.
Goal Keeping Overall 7.5
Defense
TOMORI 7 – Solid again and played with a passion we haven’t seen since returning to the lineup. It was refreshing.
GABBIA 7 – Didn’t think he was going to play after tweaking his neck last game and needing to come out. Obviously was able to recover in time and deliver a solid performance.
PAVLOVIĆ 7 – He’s clearly the one CB being given some freedom to get forward. Doing it down the left makes me nervous…
Defense Overall 7
Midfield
JIMENEZ 7 – Nice follow-up after the great game vs Inter. Was involved, did his job, and wasn’t in a trailing position much while defending, which is what challenged him vs Atalanta and somewhat against Inter.
FOFANA 8.5 MOTM – Probably his best game of the season. Won back a ton of balls and was generally good at receiving the ball and running with it. Then of course had the nice layoff to Pulisic for the opening goal.
REIJNDERS 7.5 – A lot of running in this game. Running with the ball, running back to cover. And the long ball to Giménez to seal it at the end. A beaut.
HERNÁNDEZ 7 – Solid.
Midfield Overall 7.5
Forwards
PULISIC 8 – Solid game all around and was nice to see him get the early goal after the all the work he’s been putting in the last month. Another great season in the books.
ABRAHAM 6.5 – I was a little disappointed. He didn’t play poorly but I think he could’ve provided more in linking up play. Seemed like he hung back looking to corral long balls and maybe that was by design but I still think he should’ve been an outlet for others as play transitioned from defense to offense.
LEÃO 7 – Similar to the Inter game where he played ok but his biggest impact was just his presence on the pitch. Whenever he touched the ball he had 2 Venezia players rush over and that helped everyone else.
Forwards Overall 7
Subs
GIMÉNEZ 7.5 – I’m still worried that he’s nothing more than a poacher but a hell of a finish to bottle up the win. Surely a relief and a much needed confidence boost.
LOFTUS-CHEEK 6 – Ugh. Reminded me why I want him gone. Completely butchered a great opportunity to put it away with about 10 minutes remaining when he didn’t pass it to a wide open Reijnders and then airmailed one. Even Conceição appeared to reference this in his post match comments.
WALKER 6.5 – Nice return! I don’t know if he has a place on the team next season but I like the guy.
TERRACCIANO NA – He played.
FELIX NA – He also played.
Subs Overall 6.5
Coaching
CONCEIÇÃO 7.5 – As mentioned at the beginning of the post, he’s obviously going the practical route to get results but I know I like the fact that he’s not thrilled with using the 3-4-3. I’m just guessing here but he probably doesn’t like the rigidity of the formation as it makes it difficult for them to play more than a couple of ways. But they’re protecting their goal and that’s a worthy tradeoff considering the results haven’t been coming. Is it too little too late for him? Maybe, but we’ll deal with that later.
Final Thoughts
I wish they were playing like this 2 months ago! Such a frustrating season. But Coppa now has some value and while I don’t really care about Europa qualification, I would like Conceição to stay so I want to see them win it. But up next: Genoa on Sunday.
Forza Milan.
gillis
