Massimo Ambrosini believes that AC Milan are being penalised by the decision to constantly change the centre-back pairing.
Less than five minutes into the game, the league-leaders took the lead and it was Romelu Lukaku who returned to haunt Milan. The Belgian striker made a run between the two central defenders, received the through ball from Zambo Anguissa, shrugged off Pavlovic and finished into the bottom corner.
Two minutes before the break, the sucker-punch came as Napoli rather undeservedly made it 2-0. Kvaratskhelia hadn’t scored in six previous meetings with Milan, but he broke that duck with a precision shot into the far right corner after cutting inside from the left.
After speaking with Paulo Fonseca at the end of the match against Napoli, Ambrosini gave his thoughts on the constant chopping and changing of the two central defenders.
“There is also another issue to address here. It is true that Milan concedes that first goal, but it is also true that Milan always change the two central defenders,” he said (via Radio Rossonera).
“In addition to the issue of Tomori’s exclusion, the fact that Gabbia is now, in my opinion, the most reliable defender for this team has become an issue.
“And continuing to change the central defenders, a bit in the long run, especially in that area of the pitch, for me you pay for it. Having harmony with your teammate in that area is fundamental.”
Ciro Ferraro was alongside the former Milan midfielder and he stated his belief that Milan still do not know their best line-up.
“The feeling, and then maybe the standings also say it, is that if you look at Napoli you know who the starters are. If you look at Inter, you know who the starters are,” he said.
“Juventus, for example, change a lot in midfield. Today Milan also had many injured players, but Fonseca still made different choices. The feeling is that when you have a team you focus on a group and move forward with that. Then those who come in must be decisive, obviously.”
Max Ambro is spot on. The chemistry between all the players in the squad is an obviously important factor, but regarding the two central defenders is something even more decisive. The coach must rely on a stable first squad formation.
They can’t stay healthy..and theo getting carded all the time doesn’t help.
Only trash royal is a regular in our defense
It’s true in theory, but who are the two CB that Fonseca should rely on in every game? Not an easy question to answer, right? Even Ambro himself only counted one and he wasn’t even available last night.
The point is for Fonseca to drum out consistency out of all of his CB’s, instead of counting on Gabbia and gambling on his partner. It’s almost November…
Was scared when I saw the back pairing, but, the truth is that even Tomori has fumbled in a lot of games this season. I like Tomori, but, I’m glad that the coach made the bold move to drop him. We should be able to play with our second team, in the face of injuries. They did well after conceding the first goal. In my opinion, our biggest worry is finishing. The defense and the middle have improved. Regardless of the result, I’m happy we don’t have to depend on any individual player to do well. I’ve not seen any team pin down Napoli like Milan did.
Too much rotation is damaging. The coach should figure out who should be the starting CBs and play them until they gain experience playing together. If the 2 CBs don’t read each other’s mind, a team can’t go far.