AC Milan managed to pull off a surprise at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday night as they beat Real Madrid 3-1 in the Champions League.
Milan might have started their UCL campaign poorly, losing to Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen in the first two games before beating Club Brugge. That – coupled with inconsistent league form – intensified the necessity to provide a turnaround.
While most were backing Real Madrid to run out easy winners, Paulo Fonseca had other plans in mind and Milan arrived at the Bernabeu with deadly focus and a desire to prove doubters wrong, which they did with a 3-1 win.
It wasn’t just a win against the current holders of the trophy but also a domination in which many players shone. Malick Thiaw got the opener with a header from a corner, Alvaro Morata pounhed on a rebound for the second and Tijjani Reijnders finished off a fantastic move for the third.
The result was a big statement but also a valuable three points in pursuit of qualification for the next stage. Here are five things we observed during the game.
1. Surfing at the Bernabeu
All eyes might have been on Vinicius Jr. with the Brazilian keen to prove his worth following a disappointing Ballon D’or result where he ended up second behind Rodri, but aside from a penalty goal Milan completely neutralised him.
The real show on the night was performed by Leao with virtually every Milan attack going through him. The Portuguese was benched a few times by Fonseca in attempts to provoke a reaction by the winger and the reaction has arrived at the right time.
It was an electric performance in which Leao being involved in all the goals – winning the corner for the first, forcing the save for the second and providing a lovely assist on the third. It doesn’t get much better that.
In addition to the above he also tracked back a lot and also provided some brilliant balls in behind for Theo Hernandez down the flank, not to mention he could’ve been a bit more clinical in a couple of situations. The score could’ve even been better for Milan, but Rafa did more than enough to lead the way for his side.
As much as this win has to be a turning point for the Rossoneri it also has to be a turning point for Leao who must continue in the same determined fashion.
2. Supporting cast doing wonders too
It wasn’t just Leao who did well in attack, because both Christian Pulisic and Morata put in a shift up front. For the American it is pretty much routine at this point that he will be involved in goals, with an assist from the corner kick and the pre-assist on the second goal.
In the second half he continued to get on the ball and combine with his team-mates and he probably could’ve done a bit better on a couple of occasions where both him and Leao needed to be more concentrated, but two goal involvements and high work rates are more than enough.
Morata also put in a shift against Los Merengues, his favourite opponents, and added a seventh goal against them as he left his goal scoring problems behind. The Spaniard worked really hard in both phases of the game and dropped very deep at times, which has been counter productive but worked well in this game.
He helped all across the pitch and got the goal to give Milan back the lead just before the hald-time. On the biggest night this was a strong display by the striker, who hopefully can get scoring a bit more often following this confidence boost.
3. Defensive masterclass
It was truly a magnificent all-round performance from Milan not just up front but at the back too, with Thiaw contributing with a goal and Theo Hernandez causing a lot of trouble going forward too. On top of the impact going forward – Theo, Thiaw and Tomori did brilliantly at the back.
The one flop has to be Emerson Royal as he conceded a very silly penalty which could’ve been easily avoided, but he too – with the help of Musah – managed to contain Vinicius for the large part of the game excluding that one moment.
Mike Maignan was also fantastic between the sticks, making a few crucial saves to keep his side in front or level. Overall it was a masterclass by the rearguard and Fonseca’s tactics to stop this Real Madrid attack, given the talent they have.
Against a team like Real Madrid with all of their attacking riches it is difficult to keep them to not having any chances, which means that a ‘bend but don’t break’ kind of night was needed.
4. Winning the midfield battle
Youssouf Fofana and Reijnders were pivotal in the win with the Frenchman doing a lot of the dirty work, but also making himself a passing option most of the times as well as passed the ball efficiently down the flanks.
Reijnders, on the other hand, was the engine and metronome of the midfield as he dazzled through Real Madrid’s attempts to stop him on multiple occasions. His intelligence allowed him to find the open spaces for himself and creating space for his team-mates too.
Combined with his passing skills (including one amazing near-assist with the outside of his boot) this made him very dangerous when going forward which resulted in him picking up a goal and giving his side a two-goal advantage.
It was another outstanding performance by the Dutchman in the competition. He continues to prove who good he is and Milan must look to extend his contract as soon as possible.
5. Inspired coaching
Finally, we need to praise Fonseca for the approach and players he chose that resulted in this amazing performance. The coach has been under a lot of scrutiny this season, with a poor start both in the Champions League and domestically, with glimpses of the fluid football he expects from his team.
The preparation for Madrid and the execution by the players was almost perfect as everybody seemed up to the challenge and played their part. The Portuguese needs to translate this into a winning streak instead of stumbling as the team did after the huge win against Inter.
Interestingly enough, the view should still stand that he has a lot of work to do. Whilst the display against Los Blancos was fantastic, it is also fair to say that they allowed Milan a lot of space, and in many ways the Cagliari game might be a bigger challenge in that sense.
The improvement in the team was evident during the Napoli game, right now the team is in excellent fitness levels, the team will improve eventually…
Fonseca masterclass, no doubt. Now let’s see if we carry this on to serie a. We proved we have the talent to beat any team, and we’re not that far away from Napoli. But we really need to capitalize on this win. I hope we prepare just as much for Caliagri
The lack of objectivity when it comes to certain players is amusing.
Theo can do no wrong in some people’s eyes.
If we are going to talk about the only flop at the back defensively, then that flop is the fullback playing on the opposite side of Emerson.
We get it. Emerson is not good, and he is obviously the new scapegoat, but we need some objectivity.
Silly penalty, easily avoided?
If Emerson didn’t trip Vini that’s a goal.
The penalty would have never happened if Theo Hernández didn’t pass the ball to a Real Madrid player in a very dangerous area. After that pass Emerson was by himself surrounded by 2 Real M players, one of them the best player in the world, and yes he made a poor tackle but it would have not happened if Theo didn’t do what he did.
Just like last season vs Bologna, when everyone blamed Terracciano for causing a penalty after Theo got destroyed by Orsolini. If Terracciano didn’t pull Bologna player, it would have been a penalty.
Real other great chance, when Diaz was left wide open for a header happened, you guessed it, because of Theo lack of defensive awareness. Just like vs Monza he got bailed out by Maignan.
Theo defense is a big problem, and blaming Emerson for Theo’s mistakes will not make that problem go away .
Agreed. Emerson was inches and 1/2 second from a great block. He had to react because of Theo pass.
In this game for all the good, the weight of our passes the first 20 min or so looked like training pitch. The mistake by Theo appeared to be something of a wake up call to all of the team. Good team reaction.
Something to work on.
I don’t blame Emerson much in that PK. He was 1v2 because the coverage failed. Not really Theo’s fault either – he was clearing the ball, not passing it to someone specific.
Emerson had no choice but to dive into a tackle as Mendy and Vini were both running to the line. In fact Emerson was pulling out of the tackle with his legs bent back. But Vini made most of it.
Not every contact in the box is a PK. But that’s what football has come to these days.
People should stop focusing on one play of the match, regardless. Emerson had a good game, Theo had a better game. Despite his mistake leading to the goal
Mistakes happen and agreed Theo has more of a fault than Emerson for that penalty.
Emerson actually played solid before and after the penalty.
Milan fans just love a good scapegoat.
1.PARK
2.THE
3.BUS
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5.COUNTER
Honestly though it wasn’t a true parking the bus type of play, as we didn’t sit so much behind like we did against Bayer Leverkusen. We did however had a very low block in the defensive phase and we relied mostly on counters to score.
The problem though is that we won’t be able to play like that against every team in serie A.
Players also need to understand that they can’t just perform well against big teams and then go back to sleep, we need TITLES, not just few good games here and there.
That’s not the problem though. Real left a lot of space for us to play into. Mid to bottom table teams in Serie A don’t. They clam up and sit deep.
Then countering clearly doesn’t work. I like the blueprint from the Real game md if anything it should be the poster for a 433 play.
I don’t know how you sit deep against provincial teams. LOL!!!
Ask Allegri
A 3 men midfield with Fofana, Reijnders and Musah does seem to be the best option for now (that or a 4-4-2). During the winter, we’ll have to purchase Ricci at any cost to make it more sustainable.
We should also try to give more time to Vos, Liberali and Zerolli.
To be sincere, I’ve never been a fan of Fonseca from the onset. So, I take back my wrong judgement.
Back to the matter, Fonsesca has proven to be dynamic in deploying tactics based on the opponent we are up against. He did that against Inter and Madrid and we won.
He also did that against Napoli which we outplayed but someone lost. Same can be said against Liverpool who had set piece to settle the score.
Looking at things right now, the team is improving and they are playing according to Fonseca’s plan which is quite good. Nevertheless, Fonseca needs to come up with plan against teams that defend deep with low block.
Kudos to Fonsesca
The title of these is 5 thing We Learned.
Taking the article one at a time …
1. We learned that Leao can have a great game?
We have know that for years. One-in-a-row is not a trend.
How about we emphasize that we learned he can contribute in all phases of the game when sufficiently motivated. We’ve been seeing more and more of this.
This relates to number 5. Did we learn that Fonseca needed to get his message across with a bit of tough love and ensuring the difference maker was fresh for this huge fixture.
I learned Fonseca is thinking more than one move ahead. Seems to me he’d only do that if he was confident he had the time to do so granted by the full confidence of the management.
2. Pulisic is “supporting cast?”
Pulisic sets the standard for what is expected of the front line players and he is supporting cast.
I learned the bias so many point out in the comments appears to be a truth.
What I learned is that we can score and create from every position across the front line.
3. Defensive masterclass?
I love the way we defended. But with 23 shots, 10 of which were on target it was anything but a master class.
Again I find the bias mentioned in the comments becoming evident. Emerson is weak but was just short of saving Theo’ bacon on a pass that should never have been made let alone at that pace in that area.
What I learned is even with a good result there is work to do in defense. I don’t mean buying players or sacking the coach. I simply mean we need to see more of this team concept become fewer saves by Mike.
4. We won the midfield battle
Yes we did but the details is all about individual quality. What I learned in the right combination of personnel in a three man line made us more effective than we have seen in months.
Yes Fofana and Reinjders are growing right in front of us. But I learned their quality is better used with a given tactical setup.
5. Fonseca deserves credit
Does this mean we will not see 2/3 of articles calling for him to be sacked after 3 months and give him some patience like Pep, Arteta, Insaghi et al?
Or are we just bandwagoning?
Well said.
Most of the times the “things we learnt” was just a recap of the game. The one actual thing I learnt is that we’ve played big teams very well when they are not at their best. I also learnt that the guys can play way better than what they normally show us in the league though there is massive difference between league and UCL. And lastly I also learnt that Fonseca can keep his job for a few more games. That’s it really
“Big teams when they are not at their best” – well, you may be overlooking that there was merit in Milan MAKING them be not at their best. It’s by outplaying them thoroughly that we made them look bad. See, Inter for example looked great today against Arsenal, and they beat them 1-0. Against us they didn’t look so hot, and I think that was our merit too.
I think both against Inter and against Madrid, Fonseca outcoached the opponent’s coach (who are both hugely competent coaches). As a big critic of Fonseca who has called him a clown and a mediocre loser, I confess that Fonseca did surprise me. I had thought that he was just a one-time wonder with the Derby victory but now, beating Real at their home against Ancelotti and the likes of Vini Jr and Bellingham by preparing very well the tactical solutions and the lineup, is freaking impressive.
My remaining problem with Fonseca is how irregular he is. He seems to be capable of great tactical acumen like against Inter and Real, but then, he is also prone to errors of judgment like overusing RLC as a starter, and starting Okafor, or being too timid in the first half against Leverkusen. It is a bit frustrating when the genius Fonseca disappears and the mediocre Fonseca comes in. We never know what Fonseca to expect.
Let’s hope Fonseca is not just able to outcoach the head coaches of great teams like Inter and Real, but also those of the likes of Cagliari. Let’s see what happens on Saturday. Fonseca needs to find a way to break down the Serie A clubs that park the bus. He can’t just be good when the opponents give us space. We need to create that space against low block teams too.
Beating Inter and Real but losing to Parma and Fiorentina and struggling to beat Monza is certainly exasperating.
If we want titles and trophies, we need to be consistent, not just one-time or two-times wonders. Because, see, all games are worth 3 points regardless of the opponent, so it doesn’t help if we beat Inter and Real but lose to Cagliari next or draw next with dead last Bratislava.
So, I hope Fonseca learns from BOTH his failures and his successes. As in, learning that 4-3-3 might be the ideal formation for the kind of players that Milan has – that would be learning from his successes; and as in, realizing that RLC and Okafor should not be starters – that would be learning from his failures.
While I’m thrilled with this great win and I did grant to Mister Fonseca a score of 8 in my ratings post, I think the jury is still out on him, because we need consistent results across all competitions, in order to aspire to win trophies or at least to get a top 4 finish that will keep us in the UCL for another season.
But its not Fonsecas fault that players misses chances? He cant do anything about that.
Vs Fiorentina we had 2 players miss penalties, against leverkusen and Napoli we had players miss sitters.
The coach cant do anything about that.
I think what you wrote plays into my point. Like what’s the point of being able to beat big teams when you can’t win against smaller teams with a system of play (never mind the misses by players). I’d give some credit for “out coaching” but I can’t help but feel we got help by opponents form. Real’s last game they were mauled by Barca and even Ancelotti said their minds weren’t fully on the game due to the tragic floods. They also got beat by Lille already in the UCL and Dorts have them a proper scare. If they had scored a third I dont think even Real could have made that comeback.
Vs Inter we had an extra day rest and they played an exhausting game against City.
Not saying we didn’t play strong teams and beat them but they were both out of sorts and we took advantage. And I’m glad for the wins.
But a proper team on form like Pool and we got wrecked like exactly what happened.
The other thing is for now we’re still in the sneaking victories phase rather than being THAT team and that is congruent with our actual overall form. What I mean is, out of Inter, Real and is who are most likely to win a UCL title anytime soon including this season and the answer is definitely the other two way before us.
Again, very very happy for the W against Real but one game is not going to change my overall impression of the team. They can easily go and muck it up against Cagliari. And then what?
I’d like to see more consistency before truly singing praises
Phenomenal result.
And Reijnders was the man of the match for me.
THIS is what we need.
And the goal was bonus. It’s not about the goals, it’s about our ability to control the midfield. He, and Fofana AND Musah, finally got to grips with the midfield.
We won the game in the midfield. We then gave the ball to Leao to do his thing.
THAT is what won us the Scudetto. THAT is how we beat Spurs and Napoli to reach the semi-finals of the champions league. THAT is what we’re been missing for over a year.
And it’s not just about possession. It’s about dictating the pace of the game with and without the ball. It’s about looking in control.
Sure Real had their chances, and sure on another night it could’ve been a different result, but the SUBSTANCE was there. The BASE.
The three midfielders complimented each other perfectly. Fofana won the tackles, Musah did the running, and Reijnders provided the creativity.
They kept it simple when it needed to be, but also dribbled, aggressively at the right times.
Reijnders carried the ball forward and passed it forward – as opposed to turning around and passing it back.
Musah dribbled but not into cul-de-sacs.
Leao is Leao. He’s shown that so many times it’s quite amazing that so many people were doubting him let alone criticising him.
The others hadn’t shown THIS level of quality. They’ve set their benchmark now. They need to build on it.
Thanks for the joy.
Hell has frozen over… 😱
100% – our trio bossed the midfield and that was the key – defensively there were still issues, but confidence in a stable midfield will see that improve.
No RLC no problem
Emerson Royal is actually a downgrade
Okafor and Tammy r not a Milan level player
4231 should be scrapped
Ball playing CB (like Bonucci or Romag) or a holding MF is required
Our boys at the back aren’t bad. The midfield set up is wrong. We have 433 players on hand trying to force them into a 4231.
Slide musah forward a bit from the RM game and see better results in the league. It give Emerson some help. Also with Tiji further left he can help cover for Theo when he makes those runs. The players are more than good enough. The system is the problem.
Why play a 4231 when we have no target man like giroud. We are a mobile team where players swap positions during plays and confuse man marking.
Just my two cents
Let’s not be deceived, our problem has mainly been with team who sit back and counter us.
Emerson had a really good game actually against an extremely difficult opponent. To say it was a flop is absurd. Yes he probably shouldn’t have gone to the ground there and giving Vini a chance to dive and draw the penalty, but why don’t you just rewind the tape back about 3 seconds and see why he was stuck in that difficult spot in the first place.
It was your favorite boy Theo who had the ball in the box and then kicked it right back to Real madrid leaving the defense totally exposed and Emerson basically having to guard two players.
Not to mention when Theo lets Brahim run unmarked in the box for a free header. But Theo gets a great rating no matter what and Emerson always a bad rating no matter what.
If you want to know how good a job Emerson was doing all you needed to watch was when Calabria came in and took his spot. He gave more opportunities in 10 minutes than Emerson did the entire match.
OK, but while you are absolutely right about Theo’s two mistakes (the one involving the PK, and the opportunity granted to Brahim) you are also overlooking that otherwise Theo did very well. Not only he did well in other defensive and offensive actions, but also for a change he was an effective captain, talking calmly with the ref without throwing his dissent tantrums that often earn him suspensions.
Leão was heavily scapegoated up to the game before this last one. Then he put together a formidable performance and there was no way to scapegoat him for this last game… and then Theo became the official scapegoat.
Let’s try to be more positive. This was a great win, a day of great joy, and while players did make mistakes (the formidable performance by Rafa for example wasn’t flawless, as he botched badly a couple of attacks; Theo like you said made two grave mistakes) neither of those mistakes compromised the result of the game, either because other players rescued the result (Mike making big saves) or because other players created enough scores (Puli and Rafa assisting, Thiaw, Alvaro and Tijjani scoring) to offset the goal conceded.
So, while it is true that those mistakes were made, can’t we, for a change, focus on the positives without crucifying our own players???
My point was, and you can’t tell that because apparently Ivan has the ability to edit people’s comments on here which is shady as hell, because the first and last sentence of my comment were deleted. I was pointing out the bias this site has towards Emerson while always giving Theo a pass for his defensive shortcomings when he is a defender.
Emerson had a really good game accept for one play where he was put in a terrible position by Theo’s poor clearance. And he gets a 5.5 rating and called a flop. Where Theo had multiple ad defensive plays that lead to a goal and could’ve lead to another if not for Maignan and Theo gets a 7 rating and gets praise on here from Ivan. I’m just looking for a little more objectivity from the writers on this site. We’ll see if they delete this part of my comment.
This win shows how well our transfer market moves have paid off and confirms Fonseca is a great coach. Credit to Moncada for the scouting and RedBird for their data-driven approach. Calabria, with his lack of pace, seems to be the only one struggling and likely on his way out.
While I support mgmt and the club in general I would not go so far.
From two summers ago we have Puli as a win.
Reinjders is clearly becoming that but we ne d to see it for a few more weeks before we can assume it.
Musah seems to have a much higher ceiling than once thought when also played in the right spot with the right setup by there is work to do there to show it’s reliable.
That is about 60m of the 100m spent on 10 players and we are still not sure about two of them.
I’d say the trend is certainly going in the direction that two summers ago mercato was pretty great.
Pioli clearly forced Reinjders and Musah into positions that didn’t suit them. We could see that last year. Fonzy comes along and now we see progression in all three. So at this point jury is still out but the trend is sure in the right direction.
This summer it’s already evident that Fofana was a great buy. Morata is energy we needed and a good buy. That is two of 5 players and about €35m of 80m
Last season one player from the Mercato shined (Puli) this year two already are.
Seems to me this is again Fonzy and his ability to change the approach to match the players. Of course the players playing in a rigid system will take time to adapt.
We have more out of Chuk this season than all of last.
RLC is, alas, not stepping up. He appears to be going backwards.
Ok4 had three starts and looked effective. He finds his shooting boots and zoinks. Pioli kept forcing him into a CF role.
So the trends are going well. I wish we could see more of the youngsters, but as many say we have yet to unlock provincial sides. So I hope we will as the season moves forward and Fonseca’s ideas become the norm and not the new.
Maybe he really is below average. But the trends seem to say otherwise.
Acmilan should remove their interest from cheilsa Federico since it involved swapping no Acmilan must not release Reijnder at all to any club any of our stars can’t be sold to any club
1. I think benching Leao was the right call. He looked much better yesterday and he tracked back also. Plus it will remind him that a starting spot isn’t a guarantee for any player. You have to show up and work hard for the team. He obviously is miles better then Okafor and as long as he works hard he should always be starting.
2. Pulisic does everything for this team. His corners have become so good which surprises me a little as he never really had that in his arsenal for the USMNT. I’m glad he got subbed towards the end as he looked tired. Morata had a great game too but it’s annoying how often he flops and complains. That being said he works hard and glad he got his goal.
3. I’m still concerned about Milans defense but they played a heck of a game yesterday. Even Royal had a decent game minus the penalty. Thiaw has been looking good so going forward I want to see him and Gabbia as the normal pairing.
4. Reijnders is becoming a beast. He’s always been a good player with loads of potential but now he is blossoming.
5. Milan will probably win the Champions League now….
1. It depends. It was correct maybe once or at most twice. It wasn’t correct against Napoli when we were already missing so many players, and it may have cost us 3 points.
2. Agreed.
3. Agreed.
4. Agreed.
5. Whoa. Now you are being a bit overoptimistic; I respect that and it’s nice to see passion in a Milan fan, but there is still A LOT of work to do. Currently we sit in 20th place; that’s a long long way to winning it all. We need to keep winning to make at least the playoffs for the next phase, then we need to win that home-and-away playoff, then we will face one of the top 8 teams and need to eliminate them over two legs, then there are the quarterfinals (two more legs), the semis (two more legs, against increasingly good teams), and the final. To go all the way we will need to beat some mighty teams. Yes, after what we did to Real Madrid, I think we can indeed beat any team at a given day, but the key is consistency. If we just beat Real but fail against others, it doesn’t help.
I was just kidding about the champions league 🙂 But we can dream right?
Yes, we can! Good!
Also I agree that he should have started against Napoli.
1. When our midfielders perform, we play really well. Last season, the midfield was non-existent and the attack and defense were stranded, no service and no protection. Fofana brought back some balance and we seemed to be gradually improving this season. The Reijnders, Musah, Fofana trio was fantastic against Madrid so the next few games will show if this is indeed the best combination. I have been very critical of Reijnders but he has really improved this season. If he continues along this path, he will be a very important player for us. Time will tell when it comes to Musah. I don’t know if he will play the hybrid right wing/midfield role consistently or will settle into one.
2. Leao’s performance was very encouraging because he showed he can do more than just drive on the wing and cut back. He was moving without the ball and getting on the end of moves in the box. He is a decent header of the ball as well. If he works on these things and his shooting, he will reach a new level. There is plenty of praise to go around for players and coach. The next step is consistency and sustainability.
3. Pulisic and Mike (I won’t hold the Napoli game against him) are leading by example when it comes to consistency, dedication, and mentality.
Good post!