AC Milan and Inter have both been using a 3-5-2 this season under their new head coaches, but have different ways of deploying it.
Earlier in the season, we published a tactical breakdown of how the two Milanese sides converged on the same formation under Massimiliano Allegri and Cristian Chivu, but then went their separate ways in terms of the principles that each coach wanted to magnify.
With the derby approaching, our writer Rohit Rajeev has pointed out a key structural difference that stands out between the 3-5-2 used by Milan and Inter.
At Inter, the distance between the strike pair – usually Lautaro Martínez and Marcus Thuram – is consistently very compact. That proximity is crucial in a two-striker system because it allows synchronised movements: one drops, one runs in behind; one pins the defender, the other attacks space.
By contrast, the pairing of Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leão has struggled to develop those co-ordinated movements so far, largely due to limited chemistry because they seem to have alternated injuries all season.
Without that synchronisation and cohesion, the benefits of a front two (combination play, quick lay-offs and co-ordinated runs) become much harder to execute. It is something that Allegri will hope develops with time.
