AC Milan head coach Sergio Conceiçao is plotting some major changes to the team ahead of Saturday’s game against Lecce, a report claims.
Milan are going through a very difficult period after three consecutive defeats in the league, which have caused them to slip to ninth place in the standings. Conceiçao’s team wants to try to close the season on a high note, trying to at least reach a European position.
As Di Marzio reports, Conceiçao will have to do without the suspended Mike Maignan and Strahinja Pavlovic after both were sent off in the defeat to Lazio, and in controversial circumstances. The coach is preparing a ‘revolution’ anyway.
In Thursday’s training session, the former Porto boss used a 4-2-3-1 with Marco Sportiello between the posts. Davide Bartesaghi was tried at left-back over Theo Hernandez, with Malick Thiaw and Matteo Gabbia the centre-backs, then Kyle Walker completing the department.
In the midfield it will be Tijjani Reijnders and alongside him Warren Bondo. Rafael Leao and Joao Felix should be benched, with Alex Jimenez and Riccardo Sottil tested on the wings, then Christian Pulisic as the attacking midfielder and Tammy Abraham up front over Santiago Gimenez.
Predicted Milan XI (4-2-3-1): Sportiello; Walker, Thiaw, Gabbia, Bartesaghi; Bondo, Reijnders; Jimenez, Pulisic, Sottil; Abraham.
Gimenez after scoring 3 and assisting 2 is no longer good? Hoe about giving him some service.
Why keep the 4 2 3 1? Hasn’t worked all season.
4 1 2 1 2
Back 4
Bondo
Fofana reijnders
Puli
Abraham or leao gimenez
Or 4 3 2 1
Same back 4
Same mid 3
Puli leao
Gimenez
4-2-3-1 hasn’t worked ever since 2 seasons ago for us…never replaced tonali and kessie properly and because of that our midfield has consistently been left with holes. 4-4-2 or 4-3-1-2 we should be doing or even 3-4-3….4-2-3-1 is always a failure. I swear if we lose to Giampaolo I’ll die
I think Tammy for Giminez is a good move. Giminez is a good finisher but is 100% reliant on service from others and in the state the offense is in he is kind of useless. Tammy at least can create for himself and others even if his finishing isn’t always the best.
Thanks bro
Conceicao has used a perfect lineup but we honestly need chukwueze in the line up over Jimenez but let’s hope the results is wonderful.
I would take Jimenez over chuck, Jimenez can deliver with both feet better and isn’t as predictable.
Flailing
Not a tweak. Not a clear plan to build unity in the core lineup.
This is the behavior of a coach with no clue how to use the players he has.
Torriani should be starting. His performances in the early season showed that. Take into account we haven’t much more to lose and it shows that part of Sarge “strategy” was to not learn from Fonzy’s tenure (see ineffective corners, constant CB rotation, etc)
So we have gone from “Fab4” to Puli who is known to be less that 100% fit.
Benching Gimenez for Tammy says we have no plans for providing consistent service to Gimenez in the box. So why did we buy him?
Clearly Sarge isn’t watching Feyenoord games to see what made Santi effective (see above about not watching what was effective under Fonzy)
Instead of building from a good place on a consistent basis we seem to have adopted a random number generator for our lineups.
I hope this article is the BS I believe it to be.
Yep. And he’s changing lineup every game too. Assuming everyone is healthy and not suspended, I think our starting lineup should be: Mike; Theo, Thiaw, Gabbia, Walker; Fofana, Bondo; Leao, Reijnders, Pulisic; Gimenez. It should be set that way and left. The only exception might be giving Jimenez or Bartesaghi more time at LB because Theo has just been abysmal this season. Then when the season is over we make our changes.
La seule chose que je peux dire il faut qu’on arrête avec le 4-2-3-1 notre équipe avec ce système a atteint ses limites. Pour moi il faut impérativement jouer en 4-3-3 avec comme XI type celui-ci :
Maignan
Walker – Gabbia/Tomori – Pavlovic – Theo
Bondo – Fofana – Reijnders
Pulisic – Gimenez – Leao
With Felix benched this should allow Puli and Tiji to find space again to create. The only problem is we may be at our creative best with Tiji as the 10 but I think Puli still isn’t in shape to really play out wide and Fofana is def not starting this match. I just want to see the players that will be here next here play well and show why they deserve to stay. I don’t remember the figure for Tiji’s renewal but he and some of the others deserve a big pay raise for putting up with all of this.
Wait a sec, if this lineup is true that will be the largest Italian contingent in the starting lineup since idk when, 2020-2021 maybe?
The excellent news is that the majority of the ball movement will now no longer go through Leao for him to try to take on his man and lose the ball. Again….and again.
Abraham gives you more on both ends than Santi, who shines at certain things but was overpriced.
Pulisic needs more touches, period. But also needs to be more aggressive. And for longer periods of the game. He has become too passive.
Most of all, the team needs a system. The attack is purely random. You’ve got your week to practice. Put in a system and try it more than once, even it it’s not immediately producing results.
Finally, the publicity always goes to lack of offense, but scuola media mistakes on defense are losing games. Until this is tightened up, the measures cited above are meaningless.
Yeah but starting both Jimenez and Sottil on the flanks reads like a Serie B team.
Seriously what is wrong with Pulisic? Clearly he was rushed back too soon for a tournament that meant nothing. Now we are going on 3 months of injury. His drop in form has been possibly the biggest difference over the last few months. Is this just going to be the way it is the rest of the season? 60 minutes a game playing at a less than normal level for him?
It’s not just fitness.
He makes runs and gets in good positions. But nobody has been connecting with him since Sarge arrives.
Reinjders is similar. He is at his best when he is in motion.
Watch any Sarge game. Note that the moment the ball goes to Leao on the wing everyone stops. The same is now true with Joao.
Note that Gimenez only touches the ball on the wing or in the middle third. This isn’t his game. He’s a fox in the box. And he is getting no service.
Pulis problem is indicative of the larger problem. Sarge isn’t using the players he has to their strengths
IMO and worse, Sarge doesn’t appear to have “a way”. So I expect more of the same.
MY KIDS PLAY……….. AGREE 100 %
LWF/AMF/RWF’s main task should be giving assist for striker. Milan should change how their LWF/AMF/RWF play.
He knows he’s getting fired LMFAO
Agreed. But, our biggest problem is the final third. We don’t play as a team and everyone looks to shoot instead of making the extra pass. (Real Madrid, Barca, any good TEAM)
We trust the coach. Not the management
why all the sudden so many people suggested “Bondo” on starting line-up? So strange… he hasn’t played a single game
The owner might have some idea of “celebrating black excellence” with the fourth kit. hey, never know 😉