One subject that keeps arising is the possibility of Stefano Pioli switching to a three-man defence, with the coach having admitted he has tried it.
La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Milan’s structure in the win against Red Bull Salzburg on Wednesday night actually resembled a three-man defence, something which certainly surprised Pioli’s opposite number Jaissle who found himself facing a tactically different Milan from the one he had seen in the first leg.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
The position of Theo Hernandez seemed to cause particular problems because he went from his usual left-back position to take up a role as a winger, as a midfielder and at time almost as an inside forward with his darting runs.
The beauty of Pioli’s move is that it arrived with no warning, without being preceded by signs. Reading the formation, he seemed to choose the usual 4-2-3-1, with Pierre Kalulu and Theo full-backs and the Kjaer-Tomori pairing in the centre of the defence.
Instead, as the minutes went by, it was obvious that the difference between the two full-backs is that Theo was almost permanently ahead of his compatriot Kalulu, who instead played more of a covering role alongside the centre-backs.
Of course systems and formations on paper count for little, but the occupance of certain areas on the field can give a sign. It is not the first time a three-man defence has been seen during a game, as after Leao’s red card against Sampdoria, Pioli ran for cover by removing Messias and inserting Tomori along with Kjaer and Kalulu.
At the end of the game, the Rossoneri coach explained that that choice had been dictated by the situation, but was not improvised: “I’ve had it in my head since summer preparation, it’s an alternative we can use.”
Kjaer also spoke on the subject: “We have many players who could do well with that system. Maybe Leao would have a bit of trouble right now with his quality.”
The Portuguese winger may have some trouble finding a natural role but the heat map suggests he was playing up front almost alongside Giroud at times. Calabria and Florenzi – who are currently injured – might struggle as wing-backs, while the impression is that it is very suitable for Krunic’s style and a little less for De Ketelaere and Diaz.
It is already an open secret that Milan often switch to 3-man defense midgame while fielding 4-2-3-1 on paper, isn’t it?
This is the reason why the left flank has better offensive output than the right flank. They thought they are comparing LB+LW with RB+RW while in truth it is mixed by LW+SS with RCB+RW.
Truth.
Especailly visible last game with Kalulu basically playing RCB and Theo LWB whole game.
All it takes (if someone was aspleap last game and didnt notice) is to look at the heatmaps. Kalulu was pretty much symetric to Tomori. And similarly Theo – symetric with Rebic.
But we’ve been playing similarly for a long time, jus maybe a little more subtle.
IMO this is also a big contributor to our big success relative to our spending. This setup allowed us to play without the need for TOP left-footed winger, who are usually very expensive, being a rare commodity.