AC Milan’s defensive department has once again come under the microscope after six goals conceded in three games, continuing a negative trend from last season under Stefano Pioli.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) recall this morning, head coach Paulo Fonseca addressed the defensive worries in his first press conference, stating with confidence: “Ee will defend in a different way, I don’t want to say better or worse than in the past, but different.”
Defensive decline
Instead, now the pitch reflects a script worthy of a nightmare, with all six goals conceded in the same way. Milan let in 31 goals in the Scudetto season in 38 games, an average 0.81 per game, with the icing on the cake being two conceded in the last 11 matches.
Pioli had found harmony with Pierre Kalulu and Fikayo Tomori in the centre then Davide Calabria and Theo Hernandez on the flanks. Kalulu left Milanello a dozen days ago, but for two years all four of the protagonists mentioned. The result: 43 goals conceded in the 2022-23 Serie A, 49 last season.
Yes injuries played a part, but if the faces of the rearguard were always the same and Malick Thiaw was even added to the group (along with an improved Matteo Gabbia), why did the Milan vessel begin to take on water?
Balance issue
It is certainly not (only) the fault of a decline in the performance of the individuals in the department. The title-winning defence enjoyed the protection of Franck Kessie, Rade Krunic and Sandro Tonali in midfield, plus the work in coverage of Alexis Saelemaekers or Junior Messias on the right.
In short, that Milan was perhaps less endowed with quality and attacking endeavour than the current one, but it had balance. They won games by scoring less on average, yet the history books show it is the teams that defend best that win the league.
With Kessie, Tonali and others leaving, Pioli was no longer able to maintain that happy balance between the attacking and defensive phases, looking for solutions such as inverted full-backs and even a three-man defence, without ever finding consistency.
Despite this, he always started the season well and there were signs of hope. Fonseca, on the other hand, is already struggling after three days in the grip of the same problems that have plagued Milan for some time and which have even worsened at least since the end of last season.
The fix(es)
So we come to the present day, with the results showing one win in 12 games across all competitions stretching back to the end of last season.
The six goals conceded are a mass of (repeated and similar) collective and individual errors, which start – as Fonseca himself says – from the pressing phase of the attackers and end with the positioning and attention of those behind.
From the passive attitude of some (Leao and Theo above all in Parma) to the enthusiasm (Pavlovic and Tomori were very aggressive against Lazio, sometimes erratic) of others, adding in some individual calamities (Thiaw against Torino), it is not a good recipe for success.
Strahinja Pavlovic, the latest reinforcement in the centre of defence, admitted after the draw at the Olimpico that there will be work to do to find solidity. The Serbian giant has been promising, but the question remains? will the work be enough to fix a situation that now seems almost endemic to the Rossoneri galaxy?
The fix is pretty simple. Start with the basics, so that’s basic football nothing fancy and after they have this down he can start implementing his playstyle..
Everything all that once is overloading the feeble brains of our brave players, so they get confused and f up. They think 2 much and the game doesn’t flow
I agree with you that this team has to start with the basics and keep it simple, but actually implementing and achieving this will be anything but simple.
Even the great Tassotti has warned that it will take time. The management have a major fault taking too long to give Fonseca his new recruits and underestimating the task at hand.
Personally, with time very limited and big games looming I would go for a 3-4-2-1 to shore up this defence and make the team more compact , even though I’m no true fan of back 3’s.
The fullbacks on both sides are suspect and Theo as a LWB can be a bit more free whereas on the RWB we have Musah(who can run up and down all night) ,Calabria & Royal.
Bennacer & Fofana should be stationed in centre midfield with Leao/Tammy/Puli .
Hire jaap stam to put fear into our defense. You wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of him. If they mess up he can stand over them while theyre sleeping. And calmly tell them if you fk up again im breaking your legs.
Jaap Stam the coach/manager hasn’t exactly made a habit of winning.
I watched the Lazio match against last night again. It seems the problem is both technical and mental.
How about we put gabbia in cb with pav. We know tomori is only good when it comes to making recovery challenges. If you have to rely on that, that means positionally you are fucked up every time. Gabbia has more iq, technique and overall better defending than anyone we have. But he is Italian so I’m sure that would leave a bitter taste
It’s been said Emerson was bought because he’s a defensive fullback and Fonseca wanted one. He said himself that one fullback must stay behind to support defence. Funny cause Emerson played every match high up the pitch where he got easily beaten.
Now I don’t believe Emerson is that stup*d and he did not understand his instructions. Fonseca is just lost.
Ure lost , not Fonseca… Emerson was high cause Terraciano was stayin behind…as soon as Theo came in, our RB stayed behind… Thats what Fonseca was saying… A lot of comments here, without any footballing IQ 🫣🫣🤫
MILAN JE ODLIČAN U IGRI UNAZAD !! PREMA SVOM GOLU !!
The problem is the double pivot. Fonseca has one of the wingbacks go forward and join in attack. At the same time one of the mids in the double pivot gets forward more to help in attack as well.
That leaves 2CB’s, Emerson and Fofana high up to defend. Neither of these is fast enough to close down the space on a counter. So we look out of balance in transition.
Add to that Theo and Reijnders trying to track back and help in defense (who will never get there in time) and you have a recipe for disaster.
The solution should be either the switch to 433, OR if you insist on a double pivot, You have to have Fofana positioned closer to the right wing no help close that passing lane and make sure the other mid doesn’t venture forward.
Altogether though, the high press Fonseca is trying to institutionalize here doesn’t work well for the team, firstly because our most dangerous players need space to run into and secondly because we don’t have the effective players for the double pivot…