Milan can certainly entertain their fans. Not only with their results (which have been excellent so far) but also with the performance and quality of their players. Players like Pulisic, rather than Saelemaekers, Nkunku or Fullkrug. Against Torino, the Rossoneri played an hour of high-intensity football, creating numerous chances and scoring three goals. All this coincided with Allegri’s decision, assisted by Landucci and Dolcetti, to push Pulisic and Saelemaekers wider with the switch to a 4-3-3 formation. A move that completely threw D’Aversa’s tactical set-up into disarray, having managed to catch the Rossoneri off guard in the first 20 minutes of the game.
Getty Images/CalciomercatoEVOLUTION
In all likelihood, Milan will continue to base their tactical and transfer decisions on the 3-5-2 formation that Allegri has employed since day one to bring stability and a sense of threat to a team that was all too vulnerable and has, for several seasons now, suffered from a significant deficit between goals scored and goals conceded.
The increasingly widespread feeling, however, is that this is a team that performs better with two wide forwards and full-backs and central midfielders free to overlap and attack the spaces between the inside and outside of the pitch. The most striking example is Saelemaekers: crucial, especially in the first half of the season, in providing balance by covering both phases of play, but now running on empty for several weeks. With a full-back behind him, the Belgian international could unleash his creativity and pace to make the attacking play even more incisive.
Allegri and Landucci know the team’s strengths and weaknesses and could soon embrace a natural evolution, building on the initial principles that have yielded so many results (not just in terms of league table positions) in this second spell with the Rossoneri.
7 TIMES OK
Allegri and the statistics are on the same page; pragmatism has always been one of the Rossoneri manager’s key strengths. But in this case, they lend further weight to the argument that Milan are able to turn things around with a 4-3-3 formation, as evidenced by seven instances this season:
- In Cremona, with the score at 0-0, Allegri switched to a 4-3-3 formation and won the match 2-0.
- Against Torino, with the score at 1-1, the switch to three forwards produced a thrilling display and a 3-2 victory.
- In Florence, with the Viola leading 1-0 through Comuzzo, the switch to a three-man attack led to a 1-1 draw, with the equaliser scored by substitute Nkunku.
- Against Lecce, Fullkrug, supported by two wingers in the closing stages, scored the winning goal.
- In Pisa, with the score at 1-1, the change of formation led to a dramatic 3-2 win.
- Again against Torino, but in the first leg, Milan turned the 2-1 deficit around to secure an exciting victory.
- Against Fiorentina at San Siro, with the score at 0-1, the switch to a 4-3-3 formation allowed the Rossoneri to win 2-1.
NOT JUST WHILE THE MATCH IS ON
Pavlovic’s development and Tomori’s renewed confidence mark the next step in Milan’s season. The switch to a 4-3-3 formation feels more like a turning point than a gamble. For the time being, according to what Allegri has reiterated in recent weeks (particularly in his post-match comments at the Zini in Cremona), the Rossoneri coaching staff view it merely as a remedy to be used during the match, when the ailing patient needs to get back on their feet.
Gimenez’s return, however, could raise a few more doubts. Perhaps as early as this international break, which seems to come at just the right time to fine-tune alternative solutions ahead of a season finale that promises to be a nail-biter and a fast-paced affair.
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