AC Milan have a tough run of games coming up and Paulo Fonseca knows how important it will be to fix the defensive phase, which could mean opportunities for other players.
This morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes that Fonseca is preparing his Milan side for a week which sees them face Venezia, Liverpool and Inter. The first commandment is very clear: take care of the defensive phase.
Milan cannot continue to let in two goals per game, to concede so many chances and to make mistakes. During the international break the coach has been able to work with Davide Calabria, Emerson Royal, Matteo Gabbia and Fikayo Tomori, all not called up to their national teams.
Who will play? The starting centre-back pairing is clear: Tomori and Strahinja Pavlovic. Tomori was considered the leader of the defence even with Pioli meaning that when he was available, he played, while Pavlovic arrived in the summer to offer a left-footed solution to the department.
Not only that, but he is a physical, aggressive defender who often takes risks: he is second for duels among Serie A defenders, second for recovered balls, sixth for dribbles and fifth for progressive passes.
Pavlovic takes risks, he has been decisive several times and in Parma he was Milan’s best player. In Rome against Lazio he scored early on but also made mistakes more than once, so against Venezia – after passing the test against Lamine Yamal over the break – he must get back on track.
Tomori and Pavlovic, however, cannot be recharged by the sun and must be managed in terms of workload. In the middle of next week Milan will meet Mo Salah, Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Liverpool, then Lautaro-Thuram a few days later.
It is natural that Fonseca will have to use Matteo Gabbia, the other available central defender, who has not yet made his debut this season. Gabbia is less quick than Tomori, less physical than Pavlovic, but he has the footing to build and in the first five months of 2024 he made very few mistakes.
In fact, he was concentrated, precise and even dangerous in the other area. He may get some playing time against Venezia or Liverpool: it will depend on how Pavlovic returns from the break and how Fonseca sees his three central defenders in the middle of the week. Malick Thiaw, meanwhile, a still recovering.
