AC Milan suffered a tough defeat against Atalanta on Saturday evening and as highlighted this morning, they were not helped by their head coach. Tactical changes, despite a serious injury crisis, created too much confusion.
As highlighted by Gazzetta dello Sport this morning (see photo below), identity is a serious thing that cannot be changed too often in football. Milan won against Fiorentina and Frosinone thanks to a more pragmatic style, which seemed like a logical choice given the many injuries.
However, against Atalanta, Pioli decided to ‘revive’ some of his tactical ideas. Alessandro Florenzi had a very central role, almost alongside Tijjani Reijnders, and Theo Hernandez tried to find paths on the inside. Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Yunus Musah, meanwhile, had more advanced positions.
A 4-3-3 on paper, but one with a lot of movement that increased the risk of misunderstandings in the defensive phase. It would have been better for Milan to go back to the basics, especially given how pressing-oriented Atalanta are.
The first Milan goal came from a corner, having nothing to do with the aforementioned ‘positionalism’, as Olivier Giroud headed it home. When Atalanta then re-took the lead in the second half, Pioli put his ambitions aside and subbed on Ismael Bennacer as well as Luka Jovic.
Instead of the fluid 4-3-3, Milan shifted to a 4-2-3-1 of sorts and it paid off with the 2-2 goal from Jovic. And then, it almost seemed like the Rossoneri could snatch all three points, gaining some momentum and finding ways through all of a sudden.
Davide Calabria’s sending-off changed everything, receiving a very low score in our player ratings, and Luis Muriel’s winner was deserved in many ways. For Milan, Inter are now nine points ahead and the Scudetto race is looking almost impossible.
Many are convinced that this Milan team is better than what the league standings show, and now a compromise must be found between technique and strategy. Pioli’s positionalism perhaps shouldn’t be the go-to.
