At the start of this season, Stefano Pioli has received mixed feedback regarding his tactics, often correlating with the results. In the defensive phase, the manager stands out compared to the other managers in the league, tactically speaking.
The strong defence we saw in the Scudetto season is long gone as Milan have conceded 14 goals already this season (in 12 games). That’s more than one goal conceded per game on average, which certainly is too high for a club like the Rossoneri.
Speaking at a recent webinar for the Italian Football Coaches Association, Pioli spoke about his tactics and above all the ‘fluid defence’, as he calls it. GauravAnlyst on Twitter has done a good job conveying the overall message of the manager, as you can see below.
Overall structure
First and foremost, Pioli emphasised the importance of conveying a structured method to the players. This is also meant to help new arrivals, reducing the acclimatisation period by making the core principles clear.
But while there is a structured method in place, the manager also wants to get the know the players in this squad to further enhance their qualities. This means that style of play is not always a certainty, as it depends on the opponents and the players in the starting XI for Milan.
The ‘fluid defence’
Pioli, unlike most coaches in Italy, prefers his defenders to step out of position early to mark opponents and prevent them from receiving the ball. This goes against the common emphasis on maintaining a defensive shape.
— Tactics (@Tactics296865) November 22, 2023
This ‘fluid defence’ approach can be seen mainly in the defensive transition phase and also when the Rossoneri are pressing high up the pitch. The latter has really been one of the key characteristics of Milan in recent years.
— Tactics (@Tactics296865) November 22, 2023
This concept benefits the team, using a 4–4–2 with a centre numerical disadvantage. However, it poses challenges since two or three forward players, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic in this example, often conserve energy for possession instead of pressing immediately when possession is lost.
These factors also compel the central midfielders to stray from their defensive position, marking opponents and inadvertently creating space in front of the defence, making them susceptible to easy long ball receptions by the opponent.
This is where the ‘fluid defence’ is supposed to come into play, as we can see the full-backs marking an opponent between the lines, thus prioritising not letting the opponent receive the ball and cutting the opponent’s pass option between the lines instead of protecting the space.
While Full Backs shifting centrally to mark opponents has occurred, it's typically seen in a 5-defender setup; in a 4–3–1–2 formation. Yet, it's uncommon for wide defenders in a 4-man defence to mark in similar areas, mainly due to the absence of an extra Defender for cover. pic.twitter.com/nY2hOIkJsW
— Gaurav (@GauravAnlyst) November 22, 2023
While the full-backs shifting centrally to mark opponents has been done before, it’s typically seen in a five-defender setup. However, it’s uncommon for wide defenders in a four-man defence to mark in similar areas, mainly due to the absence of an extra defender for cover.
One of the bigger issues seen in the videos below is that Milan rely a lot on 1v1 strength, sometimes with little cover, while a lot of space can be exploited by the opponents if the right pass is made (such as when midfielders press high or stray wide).
Can call it what we want, it doesn’t work. Concede way too much
Fluid? Yeah. As penetrable as fluids are, yes. Should be more of a concrete wall though so people wouldn’t just walk in to score.
It is very fluid,we conceded the most goals of all teams in top10, verona on place 19. conceded(16) just 2 goals more than we did