Sergio Conceicao’s Porto sides were known for their resilience and organisation, yet he has not managed to recreate that with AC Milan yet.
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Conceicao’s experience with Milan has only lasted for just over two months, but he has experienced a rollercoaster of emotions. From the Supercoppa Italiana win to the disappointment of being eliminated from the Champions League and three consecutive league defeats seeing fourth place slip away.
As Corriere dello Sport (via MilanPress) report this morning, Conceicao’s Milan have not yet shown the defensive solidity he expected, so much so that they have only recorded three clean sheets in 18 games played (against Girona, Empoli and Hellas Verona).
The Rossoneri have conceded 23 goals, eight of which came in the last four Serie A games (conceding twice against Torino, Bologna, Lazio and Lecce). The Portuguese has yet to find the right balance and against Como he could try a new experiment.
There is talk of potentially trying a three-man back line, thus playing with three central defenders and pushing Theo Hernandez plus potentially Alex Jimenez up as wing-backs. However, the paper mentions that first he may try Youssouf Fofana and Warren Bondo in front of the back line.
As Sky highlighted in an analysis piece yesterday, the problem is that Milan keep conceding in transition, which exposes the balance issue between the possession and non-possession phases that has plagued the team for a long time.