AC Milan head coach Massimiliano Allegri change formations for the game against Udinese, and the result provided a proof of something.
The major news regarding the starting line-up was that Allegri chose to go with an attacking trio that consisted of Alexis Saelemaekers and Christian Pulisic either side of Rafael Leao. That meant Zachary Athekame came into the side, playing at right-back in a four-man defence.
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What followed was a nightmare 90 minutes: Milan’s top four hopes suffered yet another blow as Udinese scored three goals without reply, looking dangerous every time they went forward in transition while keeping the Rossoneri at bay with their defensive organisation.
‘On Saturday I understood why’
Pietro Mazzara published his weekly column for MilanNews in which he spoke about the top four battle and the lessons from Saturday’s game, including regarding Allegri’s tactical approach.
“Returning to the topic of formation, I don’t want to, and I’m not one to, hide it: I’ve written repeatedly here on MilanNews.it how 4-3-3 is the formation I like best and the one I would have liked to see Milan implement,” he said.
“Well, on Saturday I understood why this squad – as it was constructed – can’t sustain this system. Allegri isn’t an idiot, he’s not a fool, and if he launched the 3-5-2 – which could have a more aggressive overall attack – it’s because the back four leads to significant consistency issues.
“So it’s right to publicly apologise. In the hope that a better-rounded squad this summer will give Allegri a better chance, qualitatively speaking, to work better and with more players suited to his ideas.”
Was it even a 433 though? More like a 2-6-crazy…
Nah, it was 4-3-3 and it sucked, because these player aren’t fit to operate in this system. It’s ok to admit you were wrong in your ridiculous rants, just look at Mazzara. We should restore our defensive stability for the remaining six games and going back to 3-5-2 is a must. Whoever finds it boring or whatever, isn’t obliged to watch the games. It’s the only system the work at this point. If you require more, turn to the management, because our roster is closer in quality to the Banter era rather than the 2021/2022 squad.
Exactly it’s wasn’t a 433 on attack at all
Felt like a 442 without the width. Saele always tucked in and was nonexistent defensively. But you’re right – felt like everyone was outside Udine’s back line with a lone person in the middle of a sea of defenders not being able to affect anything. ZERO penetration or quick passing.
Unfortunate that Allegri fell for all clueless journalists and fans calling for 4-3-3 when our defenders arent suited for it. Both Pavlovic and De Winter suffers in a 2 CB line and thrive in a 3 CB one.
Only Gabbia and Tomori can play CBs in a 4-3-3.
Lets hope he goes back to the 3-5-2 vs Verona and start Pulisic and Gimenez up front, or Nkunku and Gimenez. Leao needs to be benched and Fullkrug is best coming on in the 70th minute or so for some holdup play.
I agree with you, especially with who should start next match against Verona, but Allegri switched to a 4-3-3 because the team stopped scoring not because of the fans.
He tried to unblock Puli and Leao and ended up with Milan from last season, when it was bad.
I also agree that Leao should be kept away from a starting place for now , he has way too much pressure at the moment and is in horrible form.
The team has to regroup and get a victory against Verona ( one of our traditional boogy teams) away from home.
Is Pulisic in better form than Leao? or Fulkrug and Gimenez better than Leao even with injury and out of position? the answer is No, he is still the best bet for us to start, if we still want champions league football
I highly doubt that any pro coach with just a grain of self respect listens to what the fans or journalists wants as it basically would mean their own demise and showcase their lack of abilities.
Either way Milan should be able to play more than one formation as we need different approaches from match to match as we wont always be the strongest team on paper not to say that we shouldn’t be able to win comfortably against Udinese either.
“I highly doubt that any pro coach with just a grain of self respect listens to what the fans or journalists wants as it basically would mean their own demise and showcase their lack of abilities.”
OH LOOK! We finally found someone with actual brains! (And not surprised it’s Martin who writes something that makes sense – common sense is clearly missing from many of the “characters” here).
Either Allegri is one joke of a couch who does what media/fans tells him to or he has figured it out that 3-5-2 hasn’t been producing the results that he was paid to deliver. You can decide yourselves which is closer to the truth. 🤷♂️
“Either Allegri is one joke of a couch who does what media/fans tells him to or he has figured it out that 3-5-2 hasn’t been producing the results that he was paid to deliver. You can decide yourselves which is closer to the truth. ”
What will happen to your common sense when Allegri goes back to 352 next game?
Thanks bb
I’ve never been a fan of the 3-5-2 formation but sometimes it works but at the same time we certainly should be open to other formations and solutions but it also depends on the players available and in which form they are in. If Allegri stays the management should offer the players he can use because getting him some half arsed solutions will just add on to development time or leave him with unwanted players and we wont move forward. I hope he stays as we can’t afford to start over from scratch each year as the club and squad needs some stability.
Man, you know you are the joke in most cases. Allegri doesn’t live on Mars, or in a vacuum in space. He has actual friends (of which some are famous journalists) that tell him stuff. So he heard about fans asking for 4-3-3 as many times as you did. And after a few bad results he decided to try it out. It 100% influenced him that people kept talking about it, at least a bit. Just the idea repeated 50 times is enough. Now he’ll return to 3-5-2 because Milan has no players for a 4 man defense. Not even in midfield.
Allegri lost the Cremonese game to make a point about the midfield.
We bought Rabiot immediately after that.
Not surprised that he finally gave 433 a try AFTER the lost to Napoli meant that we effectively dropped out of the title race. Experimenting when you have nothing to lose is a thing. With the games we have coming up, we have enough games to pick up points even if the Udinese match result didn’t go our way.
Make no mistake, Max was experimenting in the hopes that it would work, but he knows the players and how to do his job better than the fans, and the results showed.
If you lot were wrong, just eat your humble pie and admit it like Mazzara. You’ll become a better person for it. There’s plenty of humble pie to pass around.
Nothing wrong with the 4-3-3. Allegri just had “only” half of the players/line-up wrong. Why can’t you admit that e.g. the attacking trident was completely wrong? And the defense line was f’ed as well.
Thus the 3-5-2… the defense is fked with a back 4 and Allegri knew this. He made a point to appease ‘fans’ like u.
“He made a point to appease ‘fans’ like u.”
If he did, he should be sacked for being weak and easily manipulated. That’s not how serious professionals work. Amateurish and incompetent.
I’d say the lineup – not the formation per se – was bound to fail.
This. How could a “journalist” miss that? Can’t be that good at his job if he fails to see the connection.
The main problem is that Pavlovic and Di Winter cannot play in a back four. Only Tomori and Gabbia are able to play in a back 4 or back 3.
So pairing Pavlovic and Di Winter together was a disaster in the making. Secondly, why did Allegri drop Fofana for Ricci?
Ricci is nothing special and a complete waste of money. He’s one of the players I believe should be sold this summer and we should use that money to sign Ederson from Atalanta who will cost around 40m.
I don’t understand how Milan management can choose a player like Ricci over Ederson as a transfer target which just shows they don’t know what they are doing.
Leao regardless of a 433 or 352 should have been sold last summer instead of Theo. That’s another decision that was baffling to me.
Allegri got the lineup WRONG. Leao is not a striker. Playing Leao and Pulisic together is madness because they both occupy the same space as they both like to drift to the left.
It would have made more sense to play Pulisic on the RW and Leao on the LW with Gimenez as the striker.
Fofana should have started over Ricci and we should have played either Tomori and Gabbia or Gabbia and Di Winter as the CB pairing.
We lost against Udinese because Allegri got his tactics and starting lineup wrong.
“We lost against Udinese because Allegri got his tactics and starting lineup wrong.”
And there you have it. The truth. Amen.
I disagree. Tomori/Gabbia are no better in a back 4 than the players you mentioned. Especially Tomori – constant adventure back there. Frankly, none of them are good enough, that’s why Allegri stuck with 352.
Exactly this. People like bb just don’t want to eat their humble pie. Blame everyone else but themselves is the mentality these days.
No wonder this club ain’t going nowhere.
Stay humble, be better.
Well bb thinks if Fabregas was the Milan manager it would be better. And in reality we’d be 7th probably.
Never said a word about Cesc as a Milan coach. You people are so hilarious when you’re putting words to other people’s mouth to support your BS-propaganda. #fakenews
Yes, he wants Fabregas so we can be 7th and play “beautiful football”. Yet, he was the first to jump on Fonseca last season. That was trying to do that. True story 😀
“Yet, he was the first to jump on Fonseca last season. ”
LOL. Nope. Go check the posts.
Some of you just do not get it ! In my opinion Allegri gets a 3 in my ratings . WHY ? Not because of the change in formation but for the choice of certain players in key positions ,again we repeat Leao is not a # 9 nor will he ever be . He cannot win or hold up play, cannot turn with the ball with his back to goal, does not have the skill to dribble or pass in tight space,etc. LEAO is a LW , his strength is 1v1, needs space to operate in. Leao on left ,Pulisic on right ,new #9 and than maybe we give 433 a FAIR chance .One last note ,its the end of the season and we still are making too many changes up front.
Hear hear.
Leao was moved to LW on the 2nd half. In several previous matches he’s also deputized there when there’s a in game formation change. Did he deliver? Nope. After this on and off injury, he just doesn’t have the explosiveness like he used to.
To put him on LW is riskier move than in CF, as he offers nothing in defense. What I really wonder is not about his position, but in why Allegri insisting on playing him on the first place. Without his pace, Leao offers almost nothing to the game.
It’s amazing to see that we’re a better team with RLC and Nkunku on the front:
At what point was Leao moved to the LW? 70th minute i guess, how long did he play there 4? and coach also asked him to switch to the right and Pulisic to the left. All you lot just castigate Leao without been objective and it’s unfortunate. Who has the best numbers of all the attackers we have? Did we loose because Leao made mistakes at the backline? Must we come for Leao each time Milan looses?
Maybe if he won a ball once in awhile the defence wouldn t be so pressured Olumighty. Sell LAZY LAZY LAZY LAZY LEAO !
Bro put down your Leao’s glasses once in a while. I think all the Milanisti already have the highest kind of patience and support when it comes to Leao. But please don’t make him excuses after excuses. Not put in the right position, not the right system for him, not getting the ball he wants, what else next time? Should Allegri tie down Leao’s shoes too before every match?
Who has the best numbers? If we’re talking about this on going season, it’s Pulisic with 13G. Leao 12. But that’s not even the point. Everyone can have a bad moment, but how he reacts tell the whole story. Complained about his teammates just because they didn’t make the pass to him, the unnecessary cooling break tragedy, what else next time. Imagine if Pulisic doing such things, he’ll be executed here.
Yup, gotta go back to a 352 with Puli and Gimenez up front. That 433 looks so bad. The left side is just a disaster when Leao plays the left wing. Pioli used to change the entire team out of possession to accommodate Leao’s laziness. Allegri didn’t do that and we just got ripped apart. 20 more minutes tacked on and it ends 4 or 5 to nothing. I hope Allegri went to the management after that and said “we’ll need at least one copy quality CB, midfielder, and a real striker if you want to win.” and then they probably answered “Well we don’t care about winning as long as we’re profitable so shut up.”