Despite having several waves of injury problems to contend with, Stefano Pioli continues to find a way to keep AC Milan competitive.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
Tuttosport (via MilanNews) writes how Mike Maignan is the latest to join Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Davide Calabria, Alessandro Florenzi and Alexis Saelemaekers on the list of players out until 2023, but Pioli does not give up and is not looking for excuses.
Instead, the Rossoneri head coach is constantly creating tactical innovations to stem the injury emergency. The last came in the 4-1 win over Monza on Saturday as Brahim Diaz moved from the position of attacking midfielder to more of a mezzala role.
Before Saturday there was the inverted Christmas tree against Juventus – a sort of 2-3-4-1 formation for build-up play – as well as the use of a 4-1-4-1 and the shift of Theo Hernandez into the middle of the field.
There are other examples too concerning individual players such as the transformation of Kalulu from full-back to centre-back (and now he can play both), the advancement of Franck Kessie into the role of playmaker and the deployment of Rafael Leao on the left after having tried him as a striker and a second striker.
With fewer injuries Pioli’s life would certainly be simpler, but he still knows how to make up for absences.
