Defensively, there have been glaring issues for AC Milan so far, but the issues do not lie solely with the defence. Instead, several things must be rectified quickly.
Starting a season with a draw and a loss is underwhelming for any club. With context, it then worsens. Milan drew against a Torino side who led twice and have lost their star this summer and then lost to a newly-promoted Parma squad.
To be brutally honest lost is a very kind way of putting it. In several ways, the Rossoneri were outclassed by their opponents.
Once again, to refer to context, these things would be frustrating for a side who are expected to be in the middle of the pack at the end of the season. For a Diavolo side who are expected to challenge for the Scudetto, this is very worrying.
It could be a case of tweaks, but as Corriere dello Sport (via Milan News) recalls from this weekend’s fixture, several issues caused the loss, and Milan must quickly fix these problems.
The defence was the main problem, but the Rossoneri failed to be consistent with their passing – only 88% of their attempts were successful. Passes in the final third were poor, and consequences come with that, especially when you play high-risk football.
Fikayo Tomori and Strahinja Pavlovic were often exposed, and certain players showed a lack of effort which only hurt the side more.
I think we should drop the idea of playing with a high block, regardless of if we maintain a 4-2-3-1, or if we shift to a 4-3-3 or even a 3-4-3.
Our players (particularly Theo and Leao) simply don’t have the mentality and workrate to effectively apply a press and don’t track back when we lose the ball. So might as well try to not lose the ball too high and not having to run behind the opposition’s forward.
Not every team nowadays play with this trendy “gegenpressing” and some teams have been successfull sitting deep and waiting for a counter.
4-3-3 with counters makes more sense, Leao and Theo specialty…
Bennacer-Fofana with Reijnders can control the midfield with Tomori and Pavlovic at the back… We saw how the latter 2 can be solid duo… Maignan is world class anyway
Maybe he should dress up like Zorro when he won the game back then. So that we can call him The Zorro One, not “The Special One” like his compatriot.
Meanwhile Colombo scored yesterday against Roma.
And assisted too. Also hit the crossbar once.